'They are trying to kill us': Alberta city at odds with homeless outreach group
CTV
An outreach worker and a nurse lean over an orange mesh fence to speak to a woman on the other side as tents flap in the cold wind at a homeless camp in central Alberta.
An outreach worker and a nurse lean over an orange mesh fence to speak to a woman on the other side as tents flap in the cold wind at a homeless camp in central Alberta.
Someone is in trouble. He's described as bloated, purple and losing consciousness. Workers with the Open Door Association risk being fined if they enter the camp, which was set up in August on a plot of land owned by the City of Wetaskiwin.
One of the workers calls for an ambulance. They debate whether or not to jump the fence.
Wetaskiwin's only emergency housing shelter, the Open Door 24/7 Integrated Response Hub, was closed after the city terminated its lease.
Its clients then set up camp outside a local food bank. The city shut that down, too, and agreed to move the vulnerable population to land behind a Walmart on the city's outskirts.
While some health workers and community members can access the camp, the city singled out Open Door as not being allowed to provide on-site support.
In mid-September, Alberta Health Services notified the city that the encampment, where about 60 people sleep each night, did not meet minimum housing standards under the Public Health Act.
