Another meeting of Belleville Mayor Neil Ellis’ Understanding Homelessness Task Force saw the group speak with the city’s emergency response leaders on Wednesday.
Among those taking questions in the meeting were Belleville Police Chief Murray Rodd, Belleville Fire Chief Dan Smith, and Chief of Emergency Services – Hastings County Carl Bowker.
Each answered a variety of questions from a panel inquiring about homelessness, mental health and addictions.
During the meeting, Councillor Garnet Thompson asked about encampments and what role each of the emergency services plays in dealing with them.
Fire Chief Dan Smith said that while Belleville Fire & Rescue doesn’t have a formalized program when it comes to addressing encampments, there are fire crews that tend to them almost daily.
“I can tell you that when we’re there, our staff are assessing them for safety,” Chief Smith said.
“We do send our fire prevention staff out whenever we receive questions or complaints … just looking for the things that are an immediate threat to life. So the homemade wood stoves, if it’s unsafe, we’ll remove it. If they have a campfire under the tarp we’ll help them move it out from underneath, just to make it as safe as we possibly can.”
CAO for Hastings County, Connor Dorey, asked about the impact the crisis has had on frontline staff and what challenges it presents to long-term service delivery.
Police Chief Murray Rodd says a lot of times, first responders have to respond to repeated calls for the same individuals.
“In August and November alone, one individual accounted for 50 calls for service,” Chief Rodd told the panel.
“One month in May, one person accounted for 16 calls for service. We have people who are are north of 180 calls for service in a year.”
Rodd noted that a lot of times, police, fire, and EMS have to respond together when they get called to encampments due to safety concerns.
These can range from verbal and physical abuse, to exposure to bodily fluids and needle injuries.
He says that’s led to some frontline staff feeling burnout.
“We’ve had a known Hep C carrier deliberately spitting and potentially bleeding on our people and spitting blood and saliva on people,” Chief Rodd said.
“People just say, okay, I’m taking a month off here. I’m fortunate to dodge the bullet. I’m not infected, but I’m not coming to work either.”
CEO of the Belleville Chamber of Commerce, Jill Raycroft, asked about collaborations that have worked outside the norm.
Chief at Hastings Quinte Paramedic Services, Carl Bowker, says that there are multiple meetings with other community paramedic programs across Eastern Ontario to discuss what’s working and what’s not working.
“So it’s a little bit of trial and error to some extent, to kind of throw some mud and see what sticks on the wall,” Bowker told the committee.
“We’ve had to pivot. But from kind of those learned experiences, I think we’re further ahead today than we were a year, year and a half ago, at being more effectively positioned to meet the needs of these communities.”
You can see the full meeting at the City of Belleville’s website.
