The City's latest encampment statistics show 377 calls for encampments have been reported since June 19, 2023. (Photo: LNN)

By Christian Oldale

City of Lethbridge provides October encampment update

Oct 17, 2023 | 3:25 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The City of Lethbridge has provided its monthly encampment update for October.

Since the spring, the City’s Encampment Strategy has helped guide the response to encampments including outreach services for individuals experiencing homelessness.

The City’s latest encampment statistics show 377 calls for encampments have been reported since June 19. 202 have been identified as encampments through the encampment response triaging system.

In total, there have been 23 coordinated encampment clean-ups with a total of 627 structures and 32,058 kg of debris removed.

As the weather gets colder, the encampment response team will transition to evaluating the past season and planning for 2024, but will still remain available.

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Eric Foster, Encampment Support Specialist with the City of Lethbridge said, “As we start to see the colder weather set in, we know there will be different challenges for the vulnerable populations in our community.”

He added, “Because of this, we are shifting our efforts to prepare for the winter season and evaluating our encampment response to make any adjustments ahead of next spring.”

The Streets Alive Mission’s contract will end on October 31 and the City will continue to work with the Blood Tribe Department of Health to analyze the Street Medicine pilot project.

During the winter months, the encampment team has also been working alongside Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services, in order to identify abandoned buildings that are potentially at risk for trespassing.

Heath Wright, LFES Chief Fire Marshal said, “We have seen significant loss in our community with fires in abandoned buildings. To help protect the community, we have been actively working with building owners, the Encampment Team, Regulatory Services, Lethbridge Police Service, and Alberta Health Services to try and prevent this from happening this winter.”

The City’s emergency management department is working to coordinate efforts and plan for potential warming centres if the City activates the Extreme Weather Response Protocols.

READ MORE: Lethbridge News Now.

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