SUNDRE – The summer months have over the past few years seen recurring instances of makeshift encampments popping up along trails in Sundre.
The town’s municipal enforcement department recently reported receiving an increasing number of calls from residents stumbling across homeless encampments on local trails.
“Summertime is our homeless season, is really what it is,” said Sam Zhao, Sundre's community peace officer.
“They go away in the wintertime when it’s cold, but typically we have some regulars that like to return to Sundre,” Zhao told the Albertan during an early July interview.
“Most of the times, it’s because Sundre is a nice place; people are nice, it’s quiet, it’s away from the downtown cities,” he said, adding some locals won’t hesitate to help by offering to pay for a meal.
“People are very caring around here,” he said, adding that’s why there are some unhoused individuals who like to come back.
There are generally a couple different types of people who find themselves in such a situation. For example, one person who has become familiar to municipal enforcement receives monthly government assistance and has access to resources, he said.
“But he chooses to live out in the woods. He chooses to not receive any mental health help – he does need it – he chooses not to take his meds. He chooses to sleep in a tent,” he said.
“And we’ve been dealing with him for probably about three or four years now,” he said.
“It’s hard to help these people that don’t want help,” he said, adding the issue becomes more problematic when residents call to report encampments that are close to their homes and whose occupants leave them feeling uncomfortable.
But there are also those who are simply going through a difficult period in their lives, he said.
“We’ve got people who are just down on their luck, who maybe got evicted, who’s leaving a relationship, who just need somewhere to stay for a couple days, a couple of weeks before they move on,” he said.
“Those are generally less of an issue than the people that choose to be out in the woods even though they have all the resources but choose to not help themselves.”
The encampments are more often than not found and reported by residents.
“We’re only as good as our relationship with the community,” he said, adding residents tend to walk the trails far more frequently than Zhao and his colleague Rob Plews, the town’s bylaw officer.
“We do have bikes that we ride the trails with,” said Zhao.
“I would like to do it more than we currently do. It’s just difficult with how busy we are to find the time to do that.”
Prior to 2023, statistics relating specifically to responses involving homeless encampments were not recorded. That year, there were three files. In 2024, there were 14 while the figure so far this year was already at eight as of the time when Zhao spoke with the Albertan.
So although there isn’t a lengthy track record, the number of encampments nevertheless seems to have increased over the past few years.
“And that’s because people – in my opinion – are just getting away from the cities,” he said, adding the issue is spanning out into rural areas.
“We’re at the very edge of it.”
When following up to investigate a report, Zhao said he never knows until a closer inspection whether an encampment is occupied.
“I don’t know if there’s anybody inside until I shake the tent,” he said.
“Most of the times during the day they’re usually not at their campsite because they’re out and about around town,” he said.
“They go back there at night to sleep.”
Sometimes, the individuals are known to police and in some cases even have criminal warrants out requiring assistance from the RCMP, he said.
“(But) some of them are down on their luck and they end up homeless.”
When someone is present upon inspecting a campsite, the officer said his approach depends on each individual and the situation.
“I would generally say we want to actually fix the problem,” he said.
“We can move them on, but they’re just going to go next door or to the next park or to the next trail and set up there,” he said, adding getting someone to vacate the premise is a short-term solution.
“That doesn’t actually solve the problem. We’re always looking for ways to actually solve this issue, and that is situationally dependent.”
Therein lies the heart of the matter.
“How do we actually fix the issue? I don’t know,” he said.
“I don’t think we can fix it. I think all we can do is manage it.”
What is done with all of the items found at an encampment also depends on the situation, he said, adding clearing out the site if someone is still living there isn’t necessarily the default course of action.
“The problem is these people camp in there. So, you know, they’re using the restroom out in the woods. There’s garbage everywhere. They’re eating out there. They’re cooking out there. They’re having fires out there at night – it is a fire risk, definitely,” he said.
And once they eventually decide to move on – which almost invariably occurs with the onset of winter – everything tends to get left behind.
“A lot of times they just leave, and they just leave all their stuff there as is,” he said, adding that’s another part of the issue.
“We are collecting a whole lot of junk and garbage and debris out in the woods where people go to walk trails to enjoy, but then people are stumbling across furniture,” he said, adding tents are usually full.
“It looks like a tent from the outside, but inside there’s stoves, there’s bookshelves, there’s tables, there’s chairs, there’s beds, there’s a heating solution. There might be a little heater in there.”
And all of these items – along with all the junk and the waste and the garbage that comes with it – often end up just being left out there when the person leaves, he said.
“Depending on if these sites are vacant … or after the season when they leave, we will go and clean it up,” he said.
“(But) if there’s somebody there, we have a conversation with them” to see whether they can be persuaded to find alternate accommodations.
If they refuse, that becomes a longer-term process to try and address, he said.
Either way, there’s no easy remedy or one-size-fits-all solution to what amounts to a complex social issue. But raising awareness and educating the public is also an important part of the equation, he said.
There are many stigmas and people are not always familiar with the kinds of circumstances that might lead an individual to live in such a situation.
“These conversations help educate people on the bigger picture,” he said.
“It’s not as simple as somebody living in a tent in the woods, we want them gone.”
These are persons with their own issues and Zhao said he wants to work with them to find solutions, which will be difficult and could take a long time.
“Just kicking somebody off of your front lawn to somebody else’s front lawn isn’t solving the bigger problem. It’s just taking your problem and giving it to somebody else.”
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