Durham police cleared out a large tent-city encampment Wednesday in Oshawa that, at one point, housed more than 30 people.

Staff Sgt. Tom Melnick is the patrol services leader for the central east division for Durham Regional Police, which means he looks after patrol operations for Oshawa. He estimated there were about 30 people living at the site before police were called in to clear it out.

The site, at 101 Quebec St., is a green space with an old soccer field on it, near Pinewood Centre of Oshawa and backing onto the Oshawa Creek valley. Tents ringed the soccer field adorned with tarps, and a porta-potty sat at the entrance to the site.

“It’s unfortunate the homeless don’t have any permanent solutions with regards to housing, so, at the moment, they’re sort of migrating place to place. Unfortunately, in this instance, because it’s private property, they don’t have permission to stay here,” said Melnick.

Officers gave residents notice on Friday, and by Wednesday morning many had moved on. Those who remained received volunteers’ help in packing up and moving their belongings.

Melnick said there was social service support, as well as mental health support and nurses on site.

“We have all the social agencies, and there are some advocates for the homeless that are also here helping … We have a great commitment from our faith community; we’ve had faith leaders down here offering assistance. We have individuals that are advocates for the homeless that are here trying to help, as well. Basically, the community is doing everything it can to try to help out. It’s just an unfortunate situation.”

Though there were about a dozen officers on site, the goal was not to arrest people or forcibly remove them, Melnick said. The 15 or so remaining residents of the tent city peacefully packed up their belongings on Wednesday.

Melnick said officers have spent two years building relationships with Oshawa’s homeless community, and the goal is to encourage them to access services.

“This has been a long-term relationship we’ve built with folks. I don’t believe criminalizing the homeless is going to help us in any way. These people don’t have the resources to pay fines. It’s not going to help them get the help they need — it’s going to make the problem worse.”

Though some may have accessed emergency housing, many of the residents of the tent city moved onto another site, northwest of downtown Oshawa.

Jamal, a 22-year-old man, who recently spent a couple of nights in the Quebec St. tent city, said he moved to the new location Sunday but was hoping to get into a shelter in Ajax on Wednesday night.

He spent his day on Wednesday in Memorial Park, a suitcase with his belongings beside him.

Jamal said the people who had been camping at the other site had also received eviction notices.

“It was surreal. There was a communal tent where people would sit and play music until 1 a.m.,” he says of the atmosphere at the tent city, adding that it was also the spot where people would go to buy and sell drugs.

He didn’t sugar-coat the situation, saying fights, drugs and robberies were not uncommon.

“There are young girls who end up hooked on drugs and prostituting themselves,” he said and added that he believes the main reason people end up living in tent cities is because of battles with addictions.

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Jamal’s personal story involves a difficult childhood with mental health problems and later struggles with addiction. He has been in and out of shelters in Durham Region and Scarborough since he was 16, interspersed with short periods of living with his parents.

“The thing I can say about (the) tent city is most people are afraid to go there because it’s known to be a violent and unpredictable place.”

It’s become a pattern in Oshawa — tent cities cleared out, only to pop up in another location the next day. As they grow, police and bylaw are once again called in to clear them out.

“It’s a cat-and-mouse game,” said one man, who was spending the day at Memorial Park. “They kick you out, and you go somewhere else, and they kick you out again. Where are we supposed to go?”

Reka Szekely is a reporter for DurhamRegion.com. Reach her via email: rszekely@durhamregion.com

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