Kitchener is currently home to “A Better Tent City”, which features several tiny shelters (pictured) akin to those proposed for Hamilton. Photo credit: CBC/Paula Duhatschek
Tiny shelters for those experiencing homelessness may soon be constructed in Hamilton. A new organization called the Hamilton Alliance of Tiny Shelters (HATS) launched on Monday, Jan. 31, 2022 with the goal of successfully constructing and operating a 10-to-20 shelter community as an alternative for those that typically live in tents.
The goal is also to provide wrap-around services to those living in the community, including healthcare, mental health support, addiction counselling, system navigation support, and permanent housing supports.
A number of well-established anti-poverty organizations are part of the HATS steering committee including the Social Planning and Research Council of Hamilton, Hamilton Community Legal Clinic, Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction, Indwell, and the First Unitarian Church of Hamilton Housing Committee.
A similar community, called “A Better Tent City” already exists in Kitchener, Ontario where 50 residents live in tiny shelters. While small and simple in design, the shelters provide warmth and security, things that a tarp or tent cannot provide.
“The cabins are intended as a temporary solution to fill the systemic gaps in the current housing crisis,” according to the HATS website.
If HATS, Hamilton City Council, and other community partners agree on a plan for the tiny shelters, the cabins would be built by the Stoney Creek company “In the Backyard” which typically constructs sheds. Each cabin would have lighting, heat, a small fridge, microwave, and a fire extinguisher. Washroom, shower, and laundry facilities would be provided via an on-site communal trailer or shipping container.
But HATS faces some hurdles when it comes to where the shelters will be set up. The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) suggested that the shelters could stand at the site of the former Sir John A. MacDonald Secondary School, which was decommissioned in 2019. The building remains standing, but the school grounds have space for the shelters. In fact, the school grounds were previously used as an encampment by those living in tents. That encampment was cleared by police earlier in the pandemic.
However, it was discovered that the decommissioned school building has been subject to flooding in the past month which means that it might have to come down earlier than expected. Thus, the site would not be able to host the tiny shelter community because it may become an active demolition site in the near future.
On Thursday, Feb. 17, Hamilton City Council directed city staff to begin searching for other viable sites for the tiny shelter community.
Other hurdles include finances and zoning requirements. The plan would be to use the shelter allotment of shelter residents’ social assistance in order to support operations, but an additional $100,000 would likely also be needed for staffing.
Zoning requirements that could cause trouble for the shelter development include municipal bylaws that typically require any shelter to be connected with sewer and water services, as well as requirements that limit the number of emergency shelters in a given area: one shelter cannot be within 300 metres of another.
Nevertheless, there is agreement on Council that the concept should move forward. Whether that agreement is enough to overcome all the hurdles remains to be seen.
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
