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          • 10 Cormorant Road, Hamilton
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        • Selling Tobacco & E-Cigarettes in Hamilton
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    • Planning & Development
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      • Heritage Properties
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        • Complete Streets Design Manual
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Hands holding a heart under a home roof
Homelessness

City of Hamilton Encampment Protocol

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. People & Programs
  3. Housing & Shelter
  4. Preventing & Ending Homelessness
  5. City of Hamilton Encampment Protocol
  • Housing & Shelter
  • Preventing & Ending Homelessness
  • Cathedral Temporary Shelter
  • City of Hamilton Encampment Protocol
  • City of Hamilton Encampment Response
  • Emergency Shelters & Drop-ins
  • Hamilton’s Homelessness Ending Strategy
  • Housing & Homelessness Action Plan
  • Housing Stability & Rent Ready Benefits
  • Point in Time Connection
  • Resources for Homeless-serving partners
  • Resources for Individuals at Risk of and Experiencing Homelessness

For comments and concerns regarding encampments, please contact the Coordinated Response Team at [email protected] or  call 905-546-2828

The number and email are monitored Monday to Friday during regular business hours (8:30 am to 4:30 pm). All concerns shared will be actioned as appropriate within a 72-hour response time.

Report immediate threats to the safety and well-being of any community member, including loss of consciousness, frostbite, heat stroke, substance poisoning, or harassment by calling 9-1-1.

Background

The City of Hamilton recognizes the challenges faced by the unhoused members of our community as an intersection of the complex pressures and social inequities which existed before, and were exacerbated by, the COVID-19 pandemic: high costs of living, income not keeping pace with inflation, affordability and availability of places to call home, as well as the challenges or barriers related to mental health, addiction and those escaping domestic violence. Shelters and services have been pushed to capacity, with many community members faced with the reality of having nowhere else to go.

In its National Housing Strategy legislation, the Government of Canada recognizes housing as a human right.

A homeless encampment sits on a street in a downtown area

In line with that strategy, the City remains committed to the long-term goal of permanent housing for all, and protecting the dignity of unsheltered individuals, ensuring homeless and unhoused individuals receive the supports they need in the short-term, acknowledging that the long-term solution – safe and supportive housing – is one which Hamilton, and cities across Canada, cannot respond to quickly enough given the growing, immediate needs of the unhoused in our community.

The City provides several housing and homelessness support services in the community and financial support to numerous community partners. Housing-related services the City provides include support for the City’s housing authority and community partners, rental support, homelessness outreach, support for emergency shelters and transitional housing for residents experiencing homelessness. The City operates many of these with or on behalf of the provincial government and has received annual funding contributions.

In line with increasing demand, the City of Hamilton increased its housing-related budget in 2023 by 30% to more than $70 million, making it the largest investor in housing in the City’s overall housing budget, which reaches $146.6 million when accounting for contributions by the federal and provincial governments. Over the past few years, the City’s contribution to housing has grown faster than its provincial or federal government housing partners.

City of Hamilton 2023 Housing Budget Pie Chart

Canadian legislation, in the National Housing Strategy Act, recognizes housing as a human right, something that has been affirmed in international law. In addition, an Ontario court recently issued a decision that addressed the issue of individuals sleeping rough due to a lack of shelter space being available. In the recent decision in Region of Waterloo v. Persons Unknown, the courts decided that the Section 7 Canadian right, that is the right to life, liberty and security of person, was breached when and where there is not enough accessible shelter spaces for homeless individuals living in an encampment on the Region’s property.

In addition to evolving legal principles, homelessness in Hamilton and in other areas of Canada has hit crisis levels. In recognition of this, the City of Hamilton declared homelessness as a state of emergency in April 2023, joining the City of Toronto, Ottawa and Niagara Region. These declarations highlight the need for the investments and interventions required to take immediate action on the intersecting crises of homelessness, housing affordability and addictions and mental health. These declarations highlight the need for additional and rapid support and investment from the governments of Ontario and Canada to end chronic homelessness, prioritizing health and social service supports for the most vulnerable in our community, including unhoused women, youth and Indigenous persons.

Homelessness in Hamilton
Affordability in Hamilton’s Housing Sector
An Encampment Protocol
Resources

Despite having a comprehensive strategy with many effective interventions in place, the level of need for affordable housing and homelessness supports is exceeding available resources.

This challenge significantly worsened during the pandemic, when Hamilton’s coordinated system enabled community partners to come together to respond quickly to expand emergency programs. This response, which received generous provincial support, included expansion of drop-in programs, street outreach services, isolation centres, and shelter spaces from 341 pre-pandemic to more than 500 through the pandemic. Data from the Municipal Benchmarking Network Canada shows in 2020 and 2021 Hamilton invested more dollars and had more shelter beds per capita than other comparable communities.

In 2022, 4,037 individuals accessed homeless-serving programs funded by the City of Hamilton, of which 26% of people were experiencing chronic homelessness (those experiencing homelessness for more than a six-month period) and 27% were in significant need of health or social service supports. As of the end of December 2022, 1,536 individuals were considered to be actively homeless in Hamilton, up from 1,024 in 2020 before the pandemic and, as in other jurisdictions, this number is continuing to grow.

Another issue challenging Hamilton’s support systems is the rapid increase of housing costs and inflation which are creating significant affordability pressures, particularly without an increase in provincial social assistance rates. The result: the scarce supply of affordable housing in Hamilton is often not accessible to people with very low incomes as rents have outstripped social assistance support levels.

These challenges often disproportionally impact equity deserving groups. There is an acute need and opportunity to develop more targeted supports and to deepen coordination between health, housing and support for Hamilton’s Indigenous community to ensure the experience of those being assisted with housing and other supports is more seamless. The City is now focused on deepening its collaboration with health sector partners. The coordination and investment in the healthcare system and the housing sector require working together in closer cooperation in order to address these challenges.

Availability of Housing Supports and Municipal Resources

The City of Hamilton’s housing budget is $146 million in 2023, of which 51.6% was provided by the City, 26.5% by the provincial government, and 21.9% by the federal government. Over the past 10 years, the proportion of the support from senior levels of government has been falling as demands and needs have been rising. 28% of individuals accessing homelessness services also required health-related services, which is a provincial accountability and not in the City’s mandate to provide. In addition, health resources are limited in availability.

A Human Centered Approach to Homelessness

The City supports the ongoing investment in the construction of new housing to address the local and regional housing shortage, with an emphasis on addressing the need for affordable and supportive housing. Housing and supports for individuals with health and mental health challenges is the City’s single largest area of advocacy when speaking with the governments of Ontario and Canada. This is true as a priority for other municipalities, who face similar challenges. 

As the City advocates for higher levels of government to provide additional funds and programming to individuals in need of support, it is proposing to move from a strategy of actively discouraging encampment to providing a framework which would, subject to some provisions, allow encampments of limited sizes to be on public property.

The City appreciates encampments are not a solution to homelessness. The City also acknowledges that in the absence of available shelter for individuals living encamped, a situation that is occurring more frequently than in previous years, asking them to move without providing an alternate location for them is not supportive or fair.

The City’s encampment response needs to support and recognize immediate needs of unsheltered individuals until appropriate resources are available to house and support those experiencing homelessness in Hamilton.

The City is putting forward two strategies:


Encampment Protocol

Permit encampments in clusters of no more than five tents in certain locations, subject to restrictions on locations.

By establishing these guidelines, the protocol provides predictability and certainty to unhoused residents as to where they can go and make clear to members of the community who are housed the limitations on where tents are permitted. 

The protocol aims to:

  • Establish guidance on where tents and temporary shelters are not permitted, which in turn provides individuals who are sleeping unsheltered options for compliant locations.
  • Create stability of location, where unhoused community members can keep connections with service providers.
  • Enable service providers and local organizations the ability to better serve the health and safety needs of individuals in encampments.
  • Balance the needs of unhoused individuals in our community with those using parks and open spaces for recreational purposes.
Sanctioned Encampment Sites

Would identify 3-5 locations across the city where services and supports would be centrally located and provide for a larger number of unhoused individuals to set up tents.

These sanctioned encampment sites would differ from the encampment protocol as these would house 20-50 tents at each site, and the City could provide essential services and supports, including health services, sanitation and water, community supports and connection with local organizations.

Sanctioned locations would be predictable to find for both unhoused Hamilton residents as well as those that offer them support, including the City, community organizations and service agencies.

It has been shown that access to health and social service supports increases opportunities for unhoused individuals to transition to more secure shelter or housing and may also improve healthcare outcomes.

This approach is similar to those already underway in Waterloo Region, Toronto (pilot), Halifax, and Vancouver, which provide examples of how such initiatives can be undertaken quickly and ahead of receiving Provincial and Federal investments in housing and services. ​​​​​​

If sanctioned sites are approved, the protocol would serve as an alternative for unhoused residents who are unable or would not choose to live in a sanctioned site. If the City decides not to proceed with sanctioned sites, the protocol would serve as the primary guide as to how and where encampments can occur.

As a community, it is important that we have a response to encampments, as, encampments will continue to exist in Hamilton as well as other cities across Canada in the short-term until more housing is built and much needed investments in health and social services are made by the Provincial and Federal governments.

Municipalities cannot tackle this crisis alone. We will continue to advocate to senior governments for assistance. Until that help arrives, we need to consider approaches to supporting our fellow Hamiltonians without shelter in the short-term. When additional investments are secured, it will allow the City to engage in a more wholistic approach to housing, and supports, which will make the existence of encampments unnecessary.

Proposed Encampment Protocol (HSC20038(f)/PED21188(c)) (City Wide) – May 17, 20…Encampment Pilot Evaluation (HSC20038(e)/PED21188(b)) (City Wide) – Jan 18, 2023Encampment Response Update (HSC20038(d)/PED21188(a)) (City Wide) – March 24, 20…Encampment Response Update (PED21188/HSC20038(c)) (City Wide) – September 9, 20…Encampment Update (HSC20038(b)) (City Wide) – Feb 4, 2021Appendix A - Bylaw Enforcement Protocol - Report HSC20038(b)Encampment Update - Expenses (HSC20038(a)) (City Wide) – Dec 9, 2020
  • Public Health | City of Hamilton for healthcare, mental health, addictions support
  • Supported Housing | City of Hamilton Social Housing
  • Tenant & Landlord Resources | City of Hamilton Landlord Tenant issues
  • Preventing & Ending Homelessness | City of Hamilton Homelessness- Encampments, emergency shelters, dashboard
  • Housing Stability & Rent Ready Benefits | City of Hamilton Financial (eviction prevention)
Council Motion: Declarations of Emergency in the Areas of Homelessness, Mental …City Operating Budget increases housing investments by 30%National Housing StrategyProgress on the National Housing Strategy – March 2023 Summary of the Region of Waterloo’s Encampment Decision (OMSSA) - May 2023
Encampments in Hamilton - Have your say
Engage Hamilton

We want to hear from you!

We are asking members of the public to review and comment on the proposals being considered by City Council to inform the materials that will be presented to Council in August 2023.

Visit engage.hamilton.ca/encampments

Stay in Touch

Sign up to receive updates from City staff as the Encampment Protocol progresses.

Not sure which city ward you live in? Visit www.hamilton.ca/findmyward

Notice of Collection


The City of Hamilton collects information under authority of Section 227 of the Municipal Act, 2001.  Any personal information collected for the Engage Hamilton Encampment Protocol Public Consultation will be used for a report to council regarding an Encampment Protocol. By providing your email address, you are consenting to receiving emails from the City of Hamilton and/or their agents/contractors for purposes related to the Engage Hamilton Encampment Protocol Public Consultation. 

Information collected for this initiative may be stored on servers located in Canada and the United States and may be subject to Canadian and/or American laws.

Questions about the collection of this personal information can be directed to Michelle Baird, Director, Housing Services, [email protected] 905-546-2424 x4860.

Date modified
September 22, 2023
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