NEWFOUNDLAND
Residents of the tent encampment in St. John's share their hopes, fears with winter on the horizon

CBC
Sun, November 19, 2023 

Melanie Liebrecht, left, and Brandon Poulin are pictured here in front of their tent. Liebrecht said it is freezing every night. (William Ping/ CBC News - image credit)

For some of the people sleeping in tents behind the Colonial Building in St. John's, the encampment is an instance of history repeating itself.

"In the 1800s, there was a tent city here as well because of the Great Fire," said Melanie Liebrecht, one of around 20 people currently living on the grounds near Bannerman Park.

"They didn't give up hope either," said Liebrecht. "If they can do it, we can be the modern age of them and we can succeed as well."

Though Liebrecht is trying to remain hopeful that those living in tent city will find housing before the onset of winter, it is hard for her to remain optimistic.

"This is ridiculous and we've fallen through the cracks and we've gone through enough and been promised enough and nothing follows through," said Liebrecht.

Searching for a way out

Liebrecht's husband, Brandon Poulin shared similar concerns.

"We're survivors," Poulin said, describing the people living in tents. "We've managed to become a bunch of misfits from different places in the world and we've become a family unit."

"We hold Bible study and we eat supper and we take care of each other and we take care of ourselves. And nobody goes without. And if we see that somebody's tent or tarp is falling apart, we all pitch in to help. It's become a community."

Poulin says as much as they love the people around them and the community that they have built, he wishes it were under better circumstances. "Something needs to change," he said.

"I do want to work, I'm passing out resumes every day, asking what resources are available to me to better my situation for me and my wife daily. We're no further ahead than when we first got here"

"I gotta clean myself with moist wipes, a hobo bath in the public bathroom," said Poulin.

"I have no problems with Trudeau bringing in people from other countries, war-torn countries, wherever that needs the help," Poulin said. "I'm proud to be a Canadian and and I'm proud to accept that. But at some point you have to say 'I'm sorry, I have to stop for a while because my own are suffering now, my own are on the streets now.'"

Residents of the encampment behind the Colonial Building in St. John's spent much of Saturday figuring out how to windproof their tents in advance of some rough weather predicted for Sunday. (William Ping/ CBC News)

On Saturday, many in the tent city were concerned about the rainy and windy weather in the forecast for Sunday.

"We just talked about how to organize stuff from blowing away cause we don't want it to look too messy here and make it look like we're throwing stuff all over the place," said Gregory, another person who has been living in the tents. He didn't want to share his full name with CBC News. "There's no beer cans and needles, it's pretty self-sufficient."

Gregory explained that while some people do drink alcohol and use drugs on the premises, they have been making every effort to keep the space clean and safe.

"That's the respect," Gregory said. "Everybody respects each other."

Gregory said though there have been some arguments break out among the people in the tents, staying outdoors is still preferable to the other options they have for shelter.

"A lot of people don't want to go there because there's people who robbed them or raped them or it's gonna be a fight," Gregory said. "That's the main thing here. People are together because they feel safe."

However, not everyone feels safe.

Panic attacks

Lesley Caines was packing up her tent on Saturday with the hopes that The Gathering Place would accept her.

"Violence is a big concern here," Caines said, as she recounted several recent incidents where the police had to intervene.

"There was an axe swinging around here," Caines said, describing an incident on November 14th where the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary arrested a 24 year old woman on charges including assault with a weapon and uttering threats.

"People are arguing all hours of the morning and my tent was actually broken into," Caines said. "My medication was stolen."

"I'm scared here," Caines said. "I never had panic attacks before this."

Mark Wilson is a community activist who has been volunteering at the encampment. He says the lack of government response is embarrassing.

Mark Wilson is a community activist who has been volunteering at the encampment. He says the lack of government response is embarrassing. (William Ping/ CBC News)

Mark Wilson is a community activist who has been volunteering his time to help those living in tents.

"There is a real need for government or the Red Cross to step in," Wilson said. "Volunteers are being relied on for everything here and it's simply not a good practice."

"Let's be real about this, no one wants to be living in a tent in mid to late November in Newfoundland and Labrador," Wilson said.

An embarrassing lack of response

Wilson said the lack of response from government is especially frustrating due to the number of resources owned by government in the area.

"There is no bathroom down here," Wilson said. "So why can't the city open the Bannerman Park bathroom?"

"The pool house has showers, and could be used as a warming shelter, but it's not," Wilson said.

"To think that some of this very simple low hanging fruit can't occur is just embarrassing," Wilson said. "The government has got their head in the sand or they are just unwilling to do anything to support folks that are just barely surviving."

"In Newfoundland and Labrador, we know how to get stuff done better than most places," Wilson said. "So why are we not just doing it? We need shelters."

"If this was Muskrat Falls and there were new workers coming in, they'd have those work trailers where people sleep, where they shower," Wilson said. "You just get it done so that things can happen. And that's not happening here."