As mundane urban city life churns on around them, a growing population of people are seeking shelter, trying to survive another night.
Some are in tents tucked among the trees on a narrow median between a busy Calgary road, others are in blankets under bridges and benches, their hope dropping with the mercury.
“I lost my kids. I lost my home. I lost my family. I lost everything,” sobbed a woman crouched inside her tent pitched along Memorial Drive.
“You don’t know what it’s like to wake up wanting to die … I do,” she cried.
And she’s not the only one, said another woman sitting on a log inside a Calgary homeless encampment.
2:06 Calgary encampment dismantled over safety concerns
Frost sits heavy on the cluster of tents; shopping carts are wrapped in orange and blue tarps. A role of toilet paper hangs from a tree branch, everyone is shivering.
“Nobody cares,” said the woman on the log. “I’ve moved 64 times,” yelled the woman inside the tent. “Nothing is going to change.”
Since Jan. 1, 2023, the city’s encampment team received 6,476 calls for service. That’s an increase of 1,000 since the year before. According to the city, encampments are dismantled after a warning or if they are deemed unsafe.
2:40 Calgary responds to 4,193 calls about encampments so far in 2023
Across the river, a 33-year-old man organizes a large duffle bag containing everything he owns.
“I was robbed last night,” said Brandon Blanchard.
“That’s where we had our tent set up for like four days and the cops made us take it down,” he points to a spot on the bank of the Bow River. “And they gave us another $500 ticket,” said Blanchard, adding he’s received 15 $500 fines for illegal camping.
“You put your name on the housing list and then they say they are going to help you get into a house and you’re just a number, check in everyday and nothing,” he said.
He’s one of 2,000 people currently being triaged on a list for affordable housing.
1:06 Calgary police’s mounted unit reveals stolen goods at Bow River encampments
“You are looking at a three-year plan to get a couple thousand units online,” said Matt Noruma with Calgary Homeless Foundation.
“That is a drop in the bucket. We are about 20,000 households short of affordable housing that we need in this city alone. That plan is underway but it’s going to take time.”
Noruma said Calgary has on average between 80 and 130 encampments at any time. While he said there is enough shelter space for everyone, some prefer to live roughly outside.
Blanchard still has something many others Global News spoke with don’t: hope.
“Yeah, yes I do,” he nodded. “I want to get my life back.”
News Related
-
It was a chilly morning on the Kainai Nation on Friday and emergency services staff from the Blood Tribe came out in full support of those experiencing domestic violence. The ninth annual Domestic Violence Awareness Walk put on by the Kainai Women’s Wellness Lodge saw men in the community slip ...
See Details:
‘Walk In Her Shoes’ event held in Kainai Nation
-
Today, Manitoba announced that it will temporarily reduce costs for farmers using Crown land for grazing, haying and yearly cropping. The measure will bring the reduction rate up to 55 per cent from 33 per cent for the 2024 growing season. Carson Callum, general manager with Manitoba Beef Producers, said ...
See Details:
Manitoba announces reduced rent on agricultural Crown land
-
Small businesses and climate activists are looking at what the province’s newly introduced “gas tax holiday” bill could mean for Manitobans. The bill was introduced Thursday by Finance Minister Adrien Sala, and offers to remove provincial tax from gasoline and diesel. That means 14 cents per litre will stay in ...
See Details:
Who benefits from Manitoba’s ‘gas tax holiday,’ and for how long?
-
Halifax Transit is making a push to tackle what they say has been a growing issue for their workers. During the city’s transportation standing committee meeting on Thursday, Philip Herritt, the director of transit operations for Halifax Transit, outlined a proposal to help address violent incidents happening on buses city-wide. ...
See Details:
Halifax Transit pushes to get safety officers aboard buses and ferries
-
If you’re a listener of QR Calgary on the the AM frequency, the broadcast you typically hear will be unavailable as we do some maintenance on our transmitter towers starting Friday Nov. 24 at 11 p.m. until Saturday Nov. 25 at 5 a.m. This means we’re off the air for ...
See Details:
QR Calgary 770AM will be temporarily off-air for maintenance work
-
-
The city of Saskatoon has approved recommendations allowing for more housing opportunities, hoping to access federal funds and ultimately change what housing looks like in the city. “This is a generational shift in what housing looks like. More people will have access to stable and affordable housing, with walkable services ...
See Details:
City of Saskatoon takes steps to address housing affordability
-
James Busch stands atop a hill, overlooking new trainees undertaking a firefighting course. Below, navy sailors have a tall task ahead of them: extinguishing a burning helicopter. The chopper is a Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone, but it’s not a real helicopter. The near-exact replica of the chopper, in use for the ...
See Details:
Canadian Military trains to extinguish burning helicopters
-
-
James Busch stands atop a hill, overlooking new trainees undertaking a firefighting course. Below, navy sailors have a tall task ahead of them: extinguishing a burning helicopter. The chopper is a Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone, but it’s not a real helicopter. The near-exact replica of the chopper, in use for the ...
See Details:
Toronto pet owners face ‘excruciating decisions’ in cost-of-living crisis
-
James Busch stands atop a hill, overlooking new trainees undertaking a firefighting course. Below, navy sailors have a tall task ahead of them: extinguishing a burning helicopter. The chopper is a Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone, but it’s not a real helicopter. The near-exact replica of the chopper, in use for the ...
See Details:
Black Friday weekend kicks off in Kingston
-
-
James Busch stands atop a hill, overlooking new trainees undertaking a firefighting course. Below, navy sailors have a tall task ahead of them: extinguishing a burning helicopter. The chopper is a Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone, but it’s not a real helicopter. The near-exact replica of the chopper, in use for the ...
See Details:
Doug Ford says he will waive cabinet privilege in RCMP Greenbelt investigation
-
James Busch stands atop a hill, overlooking new trainees undertaking a firefighting course. Below, navy sailors have a tall task ahead of them: extinguishing a burning helicopter. The chopper is a Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone, but it’s not a real helicopter. The near-exact replica of the chopper, in use for the ...
See Details:
Pedestrian struck and killed on Highway 3 in southern Alberta
OTHER NEWS
Ontario’s police watchdog agency has been called in by its Nova Scotia counterpart to review new information unearthed by the inquiry into the 2020 mass shooting in the Maritime province. ...
Read more »
Those travelling across the Halifax Harbour over the next two weekends can expect a lengthier commute, as the 53-year-old MacKay Bridge will be closed as it undergoes critical repairs. In ...
Read more »
The City of Toronto says it will begin to clear out an encampment in Kensington Market on Friday morning due to it being an “immediate public safety risk.” Russell Baker, ...
Read more »
Residents have been allowed to return home as stabilization works get underway on a rockslide in Penticton, B.C. A rockslide evacuated 25 homes in the Pleasant Valley Mobile Home Park ...
Read more »
Whether it’s a big box store or online, the Black Friday weekend has been a concern for local businesses. Sarah Amies, executive director of the Downtown Lethbridge Business Revitalization Zone, ...
Read more »
A timber company working on the overdue and over-budget West Kelowna city hall project has filed a civil suit, claiming they’re owed hundreds of thousands of dollars. Seagate Mass Timber, ...
Read more »
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe has blocked a motion to launch a provincial auditor investigation into the Ministry of Social Services policy on hotel stays. The motion made by NDP social ...
Read more »