Former Regina city hall encampment residents staying at a motel in Balgonie: volunteer | CBC News
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Some residents of a now dismantled tent encampment in front of Regina City Hall are now staying at a motel in Balgonie, Sask., according to a volunteer of the camp.
Over the course of a few hours on Friday, police swept through the encampment, dispersing residents and arresting 11 people, while fulfilling a promise made by city officials to clear the area after a fire destroyed a tent on Thursday.
Madison Massier, who volunteered to help out at the encampment, says there are at least five former camp residents staying at a motel in Balgonie — a town about 25 kilometres northeast of Regina city hall.
The motel’s managers confirmed the Saskatchewan Ministry of Social Services booked seven rooms until Aug. 8. They said people checked in on Thursday.
Massier says she is worried about the residents in Balgonie.
“Being a vulnerable person out there [in Balgonie], there’s no resources, there’s no access to services, there’s no hospital, there’s no emergency services out there,” Massier said.
“It could be a very dangerous situation for a lot of people.”
Massier says some of the residents checked in to the motel on Thursday while others checked in on Friday.
She traveled out to the motel to check in on the residents on Saturday. She was happy to provide her contact information if the residents needed anything.
WATCH | Residents of homeless encampment outside Regina city hall told they must leave:
Regina police and fire officials received a hostile reception Thursday after informing residents of the homeless camp outside city hall that they plan to clear the space in the next 24 to 48 hours.
Despite being able to provide some support — Massier says the living conditions at the motel are a large change from the camp outside city hall.
“I’m sure they’re scared, they had a place where they knew they could get support. They knew there was at least someone there 24/7,” Massier said.
“There’s at least someone that could call someone for you, or have first aid, or administer naloxone or any of the sort.”
Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Social Services has yet to respond to CBC News’s request for comment on why some of the former encampment residents are in Balgonie, what support is being provided for them and how they will get back to Regina.
Balgonie community helping the residents
Several Balgonie residents have brought food or clothing donations to the motel for the former encampment residents.
Rodney L. Koch is one of them.
“If you don’t have clothes to wear and stuff like that, I have no problem with helping out that way,” Koch said. “I think that’s just part of Saskatchewan’s nature to help out and make sure people get somewhere to sleep, clothes to wear and food to eat.”
“That’s part of life.”
Massier is thankful for the support the residents have received in Balgonie, but is worried for the residents once they have to leave the motel.
She added it’s been hard to keep track of the encampment’s former residents since it was dismantled.
“We have noticed some tents popping up in other areas around the city and a kind of grouping together again, staying outside the YWCA and other typical places that we would have seen people before the camp started,” Massier said.
Massier wants the Ministry of Social Services to do more for Regina’s vulnerable population. She would like to see a push toward more low-income housing and social housing support.
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