I’m a little late to the party when it comes to speaking up for vehicle residents, but here I am nonetheless.
This past weekend, my kids and I, along with some friends, people I’ve never met before, and some of the residents of the campground spent the day in the rain cleaning up the property.
We met with rakes, tarps, coffee, and baked goods delivered with smiles and warm hearts, and a crew of 20 volunteers set to work.
The goal was simple: let’s clean up the campground. To show the community we care. To show the District gratitude for leniency. And to engage with stewardship first hand, while mentoring youth in so doing. It was a much different scene on Sunday than it was Thursday night when the RCMP and Bylaw officers arrived unannounced to remove the last campers and their belongings.
After a peaceful standoff and protest, we were able to buy them more time simply by getting involved in the issue. And in the days that followed, a movement has grown. Scott Harkness of Van Bower Construction Group surveyed the site on Sunday, Dec. 20 in the rain with 3D-scanning /imaging to provide a site survey plan — pro bono.
Other firms are willing to build an emergency/crisis relief proposal with quantifiable costing as pertains to “winterizing” the campground as well as pitching a long-term vision for how this 35-site campground could transform to better meet the needs of campground users in the future. Other architects are also willing to submit design proposals to speak to both an immediate cost to make the campground “liveable” for the winter months (in hopes the DOS would consider leniency and allow the residents the next four months to remain on-site while awaiting a long term option and policy direction/outcome in the spring.)
By providing an immediate relief option, we are seeking to come alongside this community and support all people while recognizing the need for community involvement, creativity, and collaboration between the vehicle dweller community, bylaw, parks and rec, RCMP, and DOS. And our team of qualified talented community advocates is growing by the day! We have the skills and means to be Canada’s first city to create this solution.
We can set precedence nationally in how we respond to the needs and wants of this specific community and its nuanced subsets. We aren’t asking for a single blanket outcome — but we are asking that our voices are heard. And we’re speaking up for those who may not have that voice. Let’s appropriate some of that $3.76 million in COVID-19 relief funding towards those who need it. This issue isn’t about money and it’s not about community will. We want to know — what then are the roadblocks to making Squamish a community for everyone?
Jenn Hembruch
Squamish
