What happened when a Canadian city stopped evicting homeless camps

Faced with a housing and homelessness crisis, Halifax has set aside city sites for people to live in tents. Not everyone is behind the plan.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatchHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS ElectionUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsArts in MotionTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveAudioWeatherNewslettersWhat happened when a city started accepting - not evicting - homeless campsBBCEncampment residents like Andrew Goodsell say Halifax's skyrocketing rent has made housing unaffordable for manyAs cities across North America grapple with homelessness, one Canadian city has taken a different approach by regulating tent encampments instead of banning them, as it tries to tackle what one official calls the issue "of the decade".

Andrew Goodsell has called his small orange tent on a grassy patch in downtown Halifax home for almost a year.

In late October, on a park bench outside his makeshift dwelling, the 38-year-old described life at the homeless encampment where he lives with about a dozen or so others as “depressing”.

“I wake up in an area I don’t want to be,” Mr Goodsell said, as a stream of cars drove by.

“I’d much rather wake up in a spot where I could take a shower and maybe make myself something to eat. But I’ll still get myself out of bed.”

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3wq7l1lnqpo

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