Richmond city council will ask staff to hold a public community meeting to deal with the Hamilton homeless camp.
After three residents addressed the public safety meeting earlier this month, the committee recommended meeting with area residents – this will be dealt with at tonight's council meeting (April 23).
Hamilton residents Angela Ellis and Jonathan Chow spoke to the city’s public safety committee about the homeless camp in Hamilton. Ellis said petty crime has risen in the area and she expressed concern about the safety of residents and children.
In addition to safety concerns, Chow said there were incidents of public defecation, property crime and drugs used openly by those living in the camp. He also said it’s possible minor crime incidents were not being reported to police.
A report going to council tonight lists actions that the city is taking to address the issue, including increased patrols by the RCMP and city staff reaching out to agencies and look for long-term solutions.
In response to complaints from Hamilton residents, city staff have prepared a fact sheet for area residents and a staff report states they take “all complaints regarding the matter seriously.” The report also states staff are developing longer-term solutions, and that their frontline staff is trained to deal with the situation. In addition, according to the report, the city is collecting garbage regularly from the site.
The report coming to council from the public safety meeting states that there have been no official complaints from the school or daycare.
There have been about a half a dozen tents at Boundary and Westminster Highway for the past few months with people living in the camp.
