When Hamilton’s couple, Margaret from Jong and Calvin Graham, received a city warning ordering them to leave their riel camp last week, they say they had no choice but to retire more deeply on the forested side of the escarp.
“Basically we camouflage our store to look like a bush,” said Graham, 34, to CBC Hamilton Sunday. “We could see everything that happened, but nobody could see us.”
They have lived in a tent near the Rail Trail since the fall of 2023. Because De Jong is discouraged, his two children live in parenting care, which has been devastating, he said. But she and Graham have nowhere to go.
On May 6, police officers and statutes already gave them other people who lived throughout the section of the railway path between Wentworth and Kenilworth avenues who had to leave within 24 hours, which is when they moved their store, the couple said.
De Jong said he has been calling women’s shelters three times a day looking for a place but without success. She and Graham also requested one of the 40 cabins in the new outdoor shelter in Barton-Tiffany Lands, but is also full.
“I just want everyone to know it’s not right,” said Jong. I just want to listen to my voice because at this point I don’t know what to do. I want to be able to raise my children. “
Jong and Graham were among a group of residents and defenders of the camp who spoke at a press conference on Sunday. It was organized by the Hamilton camp support network in response to the evictions of the path.
Hamilton police said they were present during the weekend to help the Municipal Police clean the area. The city used “large equipment” to eliminate approximately 24 trucks from “debris” from the area, police spokeswoman Jackie Penman said.
“These notices were issued after many complaints from nearby residents about security concerns for them and people living in the camps,” Penman said. “It is important to keep in mind that residents had the opportunity to eliminate their belongings before cleaning operations occur.”
Unused force, says the police
On Friday five sites were clear and the police did not make arrests or tickets or accused anyone, Penman said. “No one was removed from the area by force.”
The city did not provide an answer to CBC Hamilton questions, including how many people were affected, how complete the city’s shelters are and if people living in other places on the path will be affected.
Jong and Graham estimated that there were about 40 people in camps in the area, but it is not clear exactly how many they have left.
“What has happened on the railway path in recent days is not human at all,” said De Jong.
Jeanguy Parent, 58, who goes through JP, has been living near the path for almost a year.
“Where should we go?” asked.
The parents were away from the outdoor shelter because they prioritize couples and those of pets, two categories in which it does not fall, he said. He is also waiting for affordable and support lists, he added.
The father, who is Oneida Nation, said that they have not yet expelled him from his camp, but that an officer told him to happen soon. He is asking the city for longer, until next week, so that he and others can try to find another place to go.
“We should not have to live in fear in our own city,” he said.
In recent days, I have heard of several residents that the police surrounded the path of the Escarpment railway to carry out a camp raid. Today, the community met at Corktown Park to talk about it. #Hamont pic.twitter.com/a7zu9UFPVV
Gessie Stearns, a defender who investigates the lack of housing, said the city needs to create a better plan.
“I would like to ask the city to leave these people alone,” he said. “Trucks that moved, people moved, were absolutely deplorable and horrible and people were trapped without knowing what to do.”
She noticed that the city spent $ 5.1 million more than planned When building the outdoor shelter in Barton-Tiffany Lands, a project that is supposed to be temporary. The money, from a federal housing subsidy, could have been used for permanent and affordable homes, said Stearns.
