- by Anne Finlay-Stewart, Editor

It's complicated. Complex. Far beyond a short comment on Facebook, but I can imagine them now.
More police. “No respect”. Longer jail sentences. Lower rents. Mental health care. Freedom.

City By-law and parks staff were in Stoney Orchard Park on Tuesday removing the remains of what appears to be a large encampment.

This is the public park that one of our most influential developers wanted to buy a slice of in 2020. Owen Sounders rejected that proposal in letters and petitions, citing wildlife habitat, and peaceful walking space. While we were there, a young mother was walking the trail with a stroller.

Neighbours say police have attended this area before and parties happen, but some people were staying more than the evening. There is no place in Owen Sound where you can camp legally for free without a private property owner's permission, and definitely not in a public park.

There is a fair sized area of damage -  broken, chopped and stripped trees primarily - some charred, some newly damaged, some older.  City staff did a good job of cleaning up, but large fire pits, pillow stuffing,  beer cans, plastic, and bedding were still in evidence when we went there Wednesday.

This was the fifth place in Owen Sound we'd found the remains of fires, all with plastic, broken glass and cans – most with wood from structures, trees or furniture from within a few yards radius. Not one of them had a source of water or even a bucket of sand nearby. Clothing, bedding, trees and structures all at risk.

The barn at Victoria Park, not too far from the Rec Centre and its facilities, is the only place we've seen encampments that had access to a bathroom. The City-owned building is leased by the Owen Sound Agricultural Society and used to store boats off-season. You can regularly see smoke and the occasional fire truck there, as people tear wood from the overhang at the back to build a fire eight feet below it.

Those who have been working on poverty and homelessness in Owen Sound for many years have resisted the suggestion that they supply tents, yet isolated tent encampments have been here for years now. More this year as the motels take back their emergency shelter rooms for the tourists and travellers finally returning after the pandemic. Does the distribution of donated tents signal that the fight for adequate, affordable, safe housing has been permanently lost?  Is there any resilience left in the system?

It's a complex situation that reflects current housing, mental health, poverty and substance use issues. It includes both immediate safety and security concerns for individuals and the community, and longer term protection of natural resources and public spaces.

We pay for police, by-law, park clean up,security patrols, fire services and waste management all at the local municipal level. Saying "housing is a County issue" is not accurate.

These are conversations for our council, service agencies and the community to have. Together. In public. Now.