Camp Hope packed up as residents move to emergency shelter

All that was left in Core Community Park by mid-afternoon on Monday was a big red Loraas bin, filled with garbage and ready to be taken away.

Camp Hope had been in that spot for more than a month, filled with dozens of people in tents who had nowhere else to go.

Some residents were skeptical when the announcement of a new indoor shelter was made last week, but on Monday morning, close to 40 people were taken, by City of Regina bus, to a new emergency shelter to get inside and out of the cold.

“It was exciting, it was sad — a wide array of mixed emotions. It was pretty emotional for myself, anyway, just realizing that this started 38 days ago with me setting up one tent and to have hundreds of people come in and help and be a part of the solution,” said Shylo Stevenson, who has been speaking for the camp.

Stevenson went with the first 20 people in the bus, then went back to the shelter with the second busload of people and saw how the first group was settling in.

“A lot of people (were) getting comfortable indoors and being able to relax, shower, and get into some clean clothes and just get into a new setting, a new vibe,” said Stevenson.

There were more than 40 people staying at the camp, but the deal with the city was that the camp would be taken down once an indoor facility was found.

Stevenson said, as far as he knows, no one was left behind, but some wanted to stay closer to the downtown so they chose not to go to the new centre. Some found accommodations at other shelters and he said a few others reached out to family.

“This really opened everybody’s eyes in the community and there’s a lot more support and understanding and acceptance of people in this situation,” he said.

While the people aren’t living in the park anymore, Stevenson said there are still those who need help. He said people should reach out to Regina Treaty/Status Indian Services, the All Nations Hope Network and the White Pony Lodge to see what they need.

As for the park itself, in about 4 1/2 hours, all the tents were taken down and the fences were hauled away.

“It was really quick cleaning everything up and making sure that we left it the way it was when we came in as best as we could,” said Stevenson.

Stevenson said that, in the spring, they’ll come back to make sure they got all the tent pegs out and to try to get the grass back to normal as best they can.