Shannon
Camilleri, left, is one of the subjects of Tent City, a documentary by
Colleen Furlotte, centre, being screened at the Shediac Film Festival,
organized by Colin Thornton. (Vanessa Blanch/CBC)
In a twist of fate, a documentary about Moncton's tent city is
being screened at the Shediac Film Festival on the same day that people
at the site were packing up after being evicted.
The film, called Tent City, will be screened Wednesday night as part of the festival's fourth edition.
Wednesday
was the original deadline set by the City of Moncton on its eviction
notice this week. As many as 40 people lived at the tent site on Albert
Street this summer, but the city wants everyone out.
Because of rain, the deadline has been extended to Thursday.
Shannon
Camilleri, who used to live at the site and is a subject of the
documentary, said she has mixed feelings about the eviction.
On
one hand, she's hopes people will find space at shelters, since winter
is coming, but she also knows first hand that restrictive shelter life
isn't for everyone.
"Early curfews, you know, even limited time
of when you can eat, things like that," Camilleri said.
"Those things
play a big factor, especially when you're an adult and then you're kind
of expected to have child-like rules. Doesn't work for everybody."
About 40 people lived in Moncton's tent city during the summer. (CBC)
Director Colleen Furlotte said she learned a lot about the homeless community while making the documentary.
"What
was surprising to me is that there are some things that were happening
in tent city that are very desirable and that are actually lacking in
the community," said Furlotte.
"When you have a shared struggle, there's a great amount of empathy there. So I think we have something to learn."
Festival organizer Colin Thornton has a simple explanation for why Tent City was chosen to screen at the festival it's a good film.
"We
send out submissions to as many filmmakers as we can and get responses,
and Colleen's movie was a cut above and so it was in," said Thornton.
Information Morning - Moncton
Life inside Moncton's tent city
17:51
As people are evicted
from the city-owned land where they were tenting, a documentary film
about the encampment is set to screen at the Shediac Film Festival. 17:51
Thornton
said he was aware there were homeless people in Moncton, but he didn't
appreciate the extent of the problem until he watched the documentary.
"I had no idea that people were living in Moncton like that," he said.
"It
was a real eye-opener for me, and I'm almost certain that for the
filmgoers tonight it'll be an in-depth study of a segment of the city
that nobody knew about."
'Real stories'
While the film
is available to watch on YouTube, Furlotte said the question-and-answer
session after the screening is one of the selling points to watching
the film at the festival.
"I think this one is important because a number of cast members are scheduled to be there tonight," said Furlotte.
"So
to be able to speak directly to the people … aside from getting to see
them onscreen and hear them, to actually have them there and to be able
to talk to them and have them go into more depth, I think that's going
to be really powerful."
Camilleri said she's excited about participating in the Q&A session and finds it's inspiring to be able to share her story.
Join us for the worldwide release of "Tent City" - an independent Canadian documentary fully produced in Moncton, New Brunswick.
"These are real stories by real people and we're bringing it tonight," she said.
"It's
probably going to be one of the only times you're ever going to hear
all of us on the same platform at the same time telling just how it is."
Camilleri, who now has a home, said people might not believe that nine months ago she was homeless.
One thing she wants people to leave the screening thinking about is that homelessness doesn't have one face.
"There's
many faces to homelessness," she said. "And for there to be stereotypes
and stigmas in 2019 surrounding homelessness, I think that's what needs
to change."
The documentary will be shown at 7 p.m. at the Shediac Multipurpose Centre.
Rick
Thornhill was at the Albert Street tent site on Wednesday, helping a
friend who lives there. He doesn't have room in his home for his friend,
but says he will do whatever he can to help, including storing his
belongings. (Vanessa Blanch/CBC)
Rick Thornhill was parked across from the entrance to the
Albert Street tent city on Wednesday morning, waiting in the rain for a
friend who lives there.
"I'm just trying to help out one of these guys, who is now down and out over here," the Riverview man said.
"He's
helping me out with a little bit of work, and now they're getting
kicked out, so I've offered him a place to bring his stuff. I haven't
got room for him in my house, but at least his stuff won't be scattered
all over Moncton."
On
Monday, the City of Moncton issued an eviction notice to remaining
residents of the tent site, where as many as 40 people were living over
the summer.
The
city said its "tolerance for tenting" in public spaces is lowering and
Don MacLellan, the city's general manager of community safety services,
said officials are letting people at all tent sites know they must
leave.
According to the latest numbers from the Greater Moncton
Homelessness Steering Committee, 134 people are living outside in the
city.
We're
receiving lots of phone calls and emails from people wanting to
volunteer and [asking] how can we come and help the people transition
from being in the tent city?
- Trevor Goodwin, YMCA ReConnect
Thornhill said his friend doesn't have any money and so far, he doesn't have anywhere to go.
"He's
just kicking and scratching right now to eat every day. My wife's been
making sandwiches … and I give them to him and he enjoys them and he
thanks me.
"This
morning, he said, 'I don't know why you're helping me.' I said, 'Well
you know I can't help all of you, but I can sure try helping one.'"
Some don't know where they'll go
Standing
at the entrance to the Albert Street tent city, Trevor Goodwin,
director of the YMCA ReConnect street intervention program, has been
helping residents pack their belongings into waterproof bins.
Media were not allowed to enter the tent site.
Trevor
Goodwin of the YMCA ReConnect program is helping the eight remaining
residents of the Albert Street tent city to pack their things and find
new places to live. (Vanessa Blanch/CBC)
Goodwin
said some people are planning to move in with friends or family while
they wait for housing, and others are going to one of the shelters.
He
said some still don't know where they will go, and many are asking what
happened to a new emergency shelter that was promised.
The reaction, obviously is, 'This sucks,' Goodwin said of people who have been living in the tents.
"There's
been a lot of talk from the population that we're dealing with: 'When
is the new shelter going to be opening? We thought that was going to be
our home — or at least an option for us and it currently isn't.'"
There's still no clear timeline for when a new House of Nazareth shelter on Albert Street will open. (Shane Magee/CBC)
Cal
Maskery, the director of Harvest House, said his shelter is already at
capacity for its staffing level. With colder weather coming, he expects
the need to grow and said up to 100 people may be at the shelter.
"We have the space, we could accommodate more, but we just need staffing to do it," Maskery said.
"As the weather gets colder of course more are going to come."
He said the shelter can accommodate 34 men and eight women. Any more than that would require additional staff and resources.
House
of Nazareth had announced a new shelter would open at 75 Albert St. in
August, but no building permits have been issued, and there is no
indication of when it will be ready or how many people it
will accommodate.
Maskery said the delay in opening the House of Nazareth shelter is making it difficult for Harvest House to plan ahead.
"We'd just like to know what's happening so we know the timeline, how long we need to do this, what we need to prepare for."
Cal Maskery, executive
director of Harvest House shelter, says he needs more staff to
accommodate the growing need for beds as tent sites close. 0:50
Thornhill,
who worries that people will end up "laying on street corners," would
like to see people allowed to stay at the tent city or another public
space.
"They're people. I don't know what else to say. I'm
frustrated and a little pissed off that the city, especially with the
weather like this, they're kicking them out of their own little homes."
'They deserve more than sleeping in tents'
On
Wednesday, the city extended the deadline for leaving the tent
site until Thursday, to allow people time to pack and move in dryer
conditions.
Goodwin said he has been impressed with the way the
City of Moncton has treated people at the tent city and with the
response from citizens since the eviction order was announced.
Security
prevented anyone from entering the tent city on Albert Street but City
of Moncton staff and outreach organizations are providing transportation
to people and their belongings to shelters. (Pierre Fournier/CBC)
"There's
actually a lot of community support," he said. "We're receiving lots of
phone calls and emails from people wanting to volunteer and [asking]
how can we come and help the people transition from being in the tent
city?
"So that's a positive thing that we hadn't seen a lot of during the summer."
Goodwin
isn't asking for any specific donations but said he wants the community
to be mindful that many of the people he is working with are going
through a very difficult transition.
"These are still human
beings and they deserve more than sleeping in tents, and more than being
shuffled around, and that's the situation that they're in right now."
Vanessa
Blanch is a reporter based in Moncton. She has worked across the
country for CBC for nearly 20 years. If you have story ideas to share
please email: vanessa.blanch@cbc.ca
With files from Information Morning Moncton & Kate Letterick
21 Comments Commenting is now closed for this story.
David Raymond Amos Should we call this article round 2 of and ongoing showdown of the media versus Moncton?
Methinks Moncton made and major faux pas blocking the media form tent city during a federal election N'esy Pas?
David Raymond Amos Well it nearly
closing time and judging from some of the comments the milk of human
kindness continues to run pretty thin in SANB territory when their hero
Mr Prime MInister Trudeau The Younger's makes his bid for a second
mandate N'esy Pas?
Moncton serves eviction notice to homeless people at tent site
Saying its tolerance for the tent site 'is lowering,' city tells people to leave by Wednesday
CBC News ·
Homeless in Moncton's tent city get eviction notice
Twenty homeless people living in tents on Albert Street in Moncton have been told they have to leave by Wednesday. 0:59
Moncton has served an eviction notice to about a dozen homeless
people living in tents on city-owned land on Albert Street as part of a
broader shift in tolerance toward tenting in the community.
The
city is urging those living at the site, which over the summer had as
many as 40 people, to move to shelters. The notice was issued Monday,
and it calls for those living at the site to be gone by Wednesday.
The
city planned to issue such an order once a new homeless shelter nearby
opened. But House of Nazareth has yet to open, and there's no clear
indication when its shelter at 75 Albert St. will be ready or how many
people it will be able to accommodate.
The city barred the media from entering the Albert Street
property Monday to talk to residents, but news of the eviction order
spread quickly among the city's homeless.
Hailey
Hachey, 21, has spent most of the past five years without a home. He
knows everyone who lives in the Albert Street tents and spent a night
there himself this summer. He was "pretty bummed out" to hear
the news that his friends were being evicted. Hachey said many people,
like him, don't want to stay in shelters and prefer to be outside.
Hailey
Hachey, 21, was upset to hear that the City of Moncton is evicting
people from the tent city on Albert Street. He has spent time there and
would like to see the city give land to homeless people where they can
create a community of their own.
"We have authority figure issues," he said. "It's one of the biggest reasons we stay on the streets. There's no authority." Michael Fougere, 33, is living in a rooming house now but spent much of last winter in an emergency shelter or outside. He said he knows many of the people who live in the tent city. "Where are they going to go? What kind
of help are they going to get? Cause they don't even have the shelter
that they supposedly said they were going to have done up.
Michael
Fougere is worried about the people at the Albert Street tent city who
are being evicted. He said he "has a heart" and wants to see the new
emergency shelter opened quickly. (Pierre Fournier/CBC)
"These people can't win. It's ridiculous." About 125 people are living "rough" in the city, according to a recent count by YMCA's ReConnect street intervention team.
Space available at Harvest House
Catherine
Dallaire, Moncton's general manager of recreation, culture and events,
said the city believes there are 12 beds free at the two
shelters, Harvest House and House of Nazereth's building on Clark
Street. House of Nazareth executive director Jean Dubé did not return requests for comment Monday. Cal
Maskery, executive director of Harvest House, said that with recent
cold weather his 44-bed shelter has between 30 and 40 people sleeping in
the dorms each night.
Cal
Maskery, executive director of Harvest House, said his shelter can
accommodate 44 people and has between 30 and 40 people staying there. He
has asked the city and province for money to open an overflow area. (Pierre Fournier/CBC)
"We're trying the best we can to be prepared for whoever comes in," he said. Maskery
said if the number of people exceeds 44, Harvest House can accommodate
more people downstairs but would need funding from government to hire
additional staff.
"We've
been in talks with the [City of Moncton] and with the province about
some staffing," he said. "So space, yes. Staffing, as of yet, no for the
overflow. "But our policy has been we don't turn anybody away when they come looking for help."
There's still no clear timeline for when a new House of Nazareth shelter on Albert Street will open. (Shane Magee/CBC) On
Monday, the city issued a news release with what it called a
"transition plan" for those living outside as cold weather approaches.
The
news release offers few specifics, saying that "more permanent housing
options will be sought for as many people as possible" and that in the
meantime, the two existing shelters will be relied on to provide
emergency housing.
'People have lost their will'
"Our
responsibility as a community is to work together over the long term in
order to provide the proper housing options," Trevor Goodwin, director
of the YMCA ReConnect program, said in the news release. "An 'out-of-sight, out-of-mind' approach is not sustainable."
Communities
across New Brunswick are seeing an increase in homelessness and food
bank usage. About 40 people lived in this so-called tent city in Moncton
during the summer. (CBC) At
city hall, councillors were told at a committee meeting Monday afternoon
that the city was changing its approach to tents on public property.
"Our
tolerance for tenting in the city is lowering," Don MacLellan, the
city's general manager of community safety services, said. He said city
officials and other groups would tell those living at the various known
tent sites around the city to relocate. "An option is not
squatting on private property if a private property doesn't want you
there, and it isn't using public spaces for tenting or being in a park
after 10 p.m.," MacLellan said. He said several tent sites in the city along High Street and near Castle Manor on Mountain Road have been shut down recently. Ryder
Patriquin, 29, said he was one of the first people living at the Albert
Street tent city. He was evicted earlier this summer and has been
living in a shelter built from a tarp in various spots throughout
Moncton ever since.
Ryder
Patriquin was evicted from the Albert Street tent site during the
summer. He expects people who have to leave will do the same thing he
has — find another spot in the city to build a shelter. (Pierre Fournier/CBC) He expects people who are forced out of the tent city this week will do the same thing.
"I
think it's going to become the problem … again," Patriquin said.
"People everywhere, the crime rate might go up again, who knows?" He said he has found a spot for his tent that is private and safe, and he would welcome some of his old friends from tent city. "The spot that I have is big enough and welcome for a few people," he said. "People
have lost their will throughout their life to do anything else other
than this. It's a comfortable, carefree kind of escape from normal day
life — as hard as it is. But sometimes life is harder that the streets."
34 Comments Commenting is now closed for this story. David Raymond Amos Methinks
the milk of human kindness runs pretty thin within the wealthy SANB
territory particularly during the time of a rather interesting federal
election N'esy Pas?
David Raymond Amos
"The
city barred the media from entering the Albert Street property Monday
to talk to residents, but news of the eviction order spread quickly
among the city's homeless."
Methinks that is a rather telling thing N'esy Pas?
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