Six months in,
#Hamilton’s
#mini-cabin community has experienced hope and despair as staff and residents navigate the choppy waters of overlapping housing and
opioid crises.
And by the end of the month, as many as 10 are expected to be housed, adds Katherine Kalinowski, chief operating officer of Good Shepherd, the social-service agency that runs the cabin community for the city.
“The fact that people are making these moves is actually astonishing and wonderful given the dynamics at play,” said Kalinowski, noting some have lived outside for many years and faced a severe housing affordability crunch.
But with two residents dying there in July, tragedy has also left a mark on the community.
Kalinowski confirmed the two deaths but noted she couldn’t speculate on potential causes without information from the coroner and for privacy reasons.
Residents, however, told The Spectator an overdose was suspected in one of the deaths, the circumstances of which police say included drug residue and paraphernalia found at the deceased’s cabin.
Any time Good Shepherd, which operates emergency shelters, housing and other programs, experiences such critical incidents, reviews are conducted, Kalinowski said.
“We’re always looking at how we can minimize risk; how we can respond in different ways and perhaps be more effective.”
The city opened the temporary outdoor shelter in February on vacant municipal land at Barton and Caroline streets near the west harbour CN Rail tracks.
It involves 40 temperature-controlled cabins with beds for 80 people. The site has washrooms, showers and laundry facilities.
Meals are provided in a common area, where residents can congregate and receive a variety of services from on-site staff.
Those include health and mental health care, addiction support and housing-focused case management, with the help of other agencies.
Last year, council approved the Barton project — along with 192 more spaces in Hamilton’s conventional shelter system — to get people out of tents in parks.
Roughly 1,600 people in Hamilton are homeless and the city has estimated about 150 of them live outside.
In March, the city resumed enforcing a bylaw that bars tents in parks, after council scrapped a 2023 protocol that allowed encampments subject to rules.
The
#Barton #cabins are prioritized for couples and people with pets, living situations that aren’t accommodated in the regular shelter system.
So far, the feedback from residents hasn’t been without criticism, Kalinowski says.
“But for the most part, people seem to feel appreciative and hopeful in the environment.”
The cabin that he, his partner and their dog share is better than a tent, says Al, a 61-year-old who declined to give his last name because he didn’t want his family to know about his living situation.
“They’re trying to help as much as they can,” he said of the Barton project staff.
As residents settle, some are speaking about potential treatment, she noted. “People seem more stable, better rested, better nourished, more focused.”
They’re also in one spot, rather than transient, bouncing from one location to another.
That’s a “huge” advantage, says Dr. Kerry Beal, a physician with the Shelter Health Network, who operates a clinic at the Barton site.
The stability allows for continuity of care for such untreated problems as diabetes, osteoporosis, cancer, wounds and addiction.
“In a lot of cases, these are people who have been homeless for enough of a period of time that their medical care has gone to hell in a handbasket.”
Kalinowski says it’s positive that some residents are thinking about next steps, but a lack of supportive housing remains a barrier as they look to move on.
That’s what’s needed to house all 80 people at the Barton site, she says.
“Everyone should have a home of their choosing that works for them, and we need to aspire to that. And if it’s happening slowly, at least it’s happening.”
City staff expect to present an evaluation report on the Barton project to council in late 2025.
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