B.C. government clears Abbotsford rest stop homeless encampment - BERITAJA

The B.C. authorities has cleared a bum encampment that has been astatine an Abbotsford remainder extremity for the past 3 years.

Dozens of group utilized to unrecorded astatine the Whatcom Road Park and Ride, which sits connected provincial land.

Crews utilized dense machinery to commencement moving structures and debris aft erecting yellowish fencing about the area connected Tuesday.

Abbotsford constabulary said they had been called to the encampment much than 200 times successful the past year.

A 69-year-old man was changeable and killed astatine the campy successful March successful what constabulary said was a targeted shooting.

Then, a occurrence collapsed retired astatine 1 of the RVs utilized for housing a fewer days later.

“We proceed to telephone connected the provincial authorities and different bodies to activity done the situation, activity done to support a cleanable situation down here, get immoderate rule and order, immoderate information bid connected a regular basis, and not make this parkland and thrust what it presently is, which is retired of sight, retired of mind for the different levels that request to return and hole this,” Sgt. Paul Walker pinch the Abbotsford constabulary said successful precocious March.

The provincial authorities says that complete the past month, 20 of the about 30 group surviving astatine the Cole Road remainder extremity were supported by outreach teams successful uncovering replacement housing.

Bruce Banman, Conservative MLA for Abbotsford South, told BERITAJA that the encampment was a “blight” connected the neighbourhood.

“These neighbours present person been screaming for years to person this cleaned up. It should not return years, it should return weeks,” he said.

“People should not unrecorded for illustration this, and if you fto group unrecorded for illustration this, they will unrecorded for illustration this.”

In Abbotsford, location are presently much than 300 supportive homes open or underway, the authorities said successful a statement.

There are 145 shelter spaces funded done the Homeless Encampment Action Response Temporary Housing (HEARTH) initiative, and 89 imperishable shelter spaces, on pinch the 10 impermanent wintertime shelter spaces.