Residents at Coquitlam encampment facing challenging conditions

While the number of people living at an encampment on Gordon Avenue in Coquitlam has decreased since earlier in the year, those still living there are facing a number of challenges.

Last weekend, heavy rainfall pelted the Lower Mainland, and residents of the encampment had no choice but to wait out the storm in their tents.

“… folks were not coming out of their tents. They were essentially hunkered down,” said Macarthy Whyzel, founder of The Uplifting Group, a community group that works to help the unhoused.

“So we were here during this time handing people their daily food, their meals, etc., through the tarps, checking in on them. But it was not a fun place to be, that’s for sure.”

Whyzel says there was a lot of water pooling around the encampment and many tarps that weren’t properly installed.

This summer, there were over 100 people at the encampment, according to outreach workers, with both sides of the short street lined with tents.

Workers say there are around 30 people living there now. Some of the former residents have been able to get a place in the Tri-Cities’ main shelter, which is located on the same block as the encampment.

The 3030 Gordon Shelter has 30 private rooms and provides three meals a day. Shelter clients say they can stay there for up to three months.

Whyzel says unhoused people in the Tri-Cities are underserved.

“I think realistically, we look to the Tri-Cities. We have three cities, one shelter. It’s not adequate. It’s not enough,” he said.

“And something that I think has been said time and time again, and I stand by it, we just need more wraparound services. A shelter’s great, but we need more treatment centres, we need more detox centres, we need more facilities to help folks with what they’re going through.”

The Leader Spirit asked BC Housing what potential housing options are available for those remaining at the camp, but a spokesperson says the agency can’t provide any information until final provincial election results are released.

The City of Coquitlam didn’t respond to requests for comment, but it has previously said it was pressing senior levels of government to address homelessness.