Week four of a cleanup of a homeless encampment in Moncton began on Monday morning.

The community spans about two kilometres in an area between Wheeler Boulevard and the Trans Canada Highway.

Director of Community Safety Conrad Landry says up to 50 people lived there, “They were very cooperative, but there was a lot of debris. There were some wooden structures that they built, and there were some tent sites and even some evidence of burned items. There were also items that they gathered throughout the time they were there. It was it was fairly well organized. It hasn’t been there just for months, I would say, at least a year.”

He says the process to remove the individuals started a few months ago.  Landry suspects at least 30 people were living there, but that number could be as high as 50.  He says all have now moved on.

He also stated that based on what they saw, the majority will probably just move to another site, and are a group who prefer to live on their own instead of in a shelter or somewhere else.

“Some have gone to shelters, but the majority, we assume have established somewhere else. We already found some that relocated and we moved them again. So it’s an ongoing process.  We also have to remember that this is a vulnerable population and that we want to offer them resources,”  Landry adds.

When it comes to removing an encampment, Landry says they request the assistance of the RCMP, and they also work with the province, by-law officers and YMCA Reconnect.

“The city has a contract with a company that does cleanups, but in this particular case, because it’s a little deeper in the woods, it was a little harder. We couldn’t bring dump trucks close to the site. Everything had to be taken out literally shovel by shovel and using a small Kubota,” Landry says.

The City gets calls on a daily basis about people camping or debris, and they are for areas all over the City, but Landry adds they are often found near resources including access to food, clothing or medical.

As to whether he feels this is a growing issue in our community, “I think it’s growing, but I think the difference now is we have better control, we have better services. We have a system, working with the province, working with the nonprofits, with the city, etcetera. The difference now is at least we can manage it better. Now we need to find some solutions. It’s not a one-size-fits-all solution, everyone has to put their hands in,” Landry says.