Signage that reads "No Admittance" is posted at the entrances of Milligan's Pond in Barrie, in anticipation that the city will remove people who are living in the wooded area, which covers a wide swath near the downtown.
In a statement to Barrie 360, city clerk Wendy Cooke said, "The City of Barrie, in collaboration with the County of Simcoe and Barrie Police Service, has taken coordinated action to address the Milligan's Pond encampment this week. The City will provide details on the Emergency Order and actions taken to date in the coming days."
Security personnel were posted at the entrances on Tuesday, preventing the media and public from accessing the property.
A security guard at the entrance to Milligan's Pond off Boys Street told Barrie 360 on Tuesday that he was not to let anyone into the wooded area for the safety of the public and those living in the homeless encampment.
Outreach workers can access the encampment, and two of them, who had been meeting with several people living in tents up a path from one of the entrances, told Barrie 360 that individuals had until 9 a.m. Thursday to vacate the city-owned property, or they would be considered to be trespassing.
Mayor Alex Nuttall declared a state of emergency in Barrie on September 9 to deal with homeless encampments.
At a recent meeting of the city's executive committee, Jeff Schmidt, general manager of community and corporate services, said that as of October 27, there were 607 homeless individuals linked to Barrie, and 54 individuals living in encampments.
"166 of these individuals are in shelters, 47 are identified as couch surfing, 340 are currently in the temporary family shelter program, and 54 are in encampments," Schmidt said.
Since the emergency declaration, he said the number of encampments on city-owned property has decreased from 35 to 15.
"Besides the significant sites, Mulcaster Street, Bradford Street and Victoria Street, the majority of the sites have either been identified as abandoned following investigation or were locations containing debris that only required cleanup efforts," stated Schmidt.
The mayor said more than 80 per cent of individuals who had been living in encampments are currently receiving housing and support services.
The County of Simcoe, which is responsible for shelter services, and the City of Barrie have slightly different definitions of what constitutes an encampment. The county describes encampments as outdoor structures that are actively being used overnight by two or more individuals experiencing homelessness, while the city considers an encampment to be one tent or structure on a property.
