'Foster and build community': Weekly gathering highlights growing concerns for housing in Regina

Just over a year ago, the tent encampment located on the front lawn of Regina’s city hall was taken down and the folks living there dispersed – but they have not disappeared.

“We've been out here for the past couple of months on Sundays, just providing the community with the meal. We've got a free market. There's music and connection, which is the most important thing,” organizer Shawn Koch told CTV News.

"That's really what we're trying to do here. But we foster and build community."

Regina’s Pepsi Park has hosted a recurring community gathering called “Sunday Funday” for folks to access whatever they might be in need of.

Last Sunday was a particularly meaningful gathering, and the topic of the encampment was on the minds of many.

Koch was one of many volunteers who helped out at the encampment.

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He said he’s been seeing a concerning pattern since the demonstration was forced from City Hall.

“It's getting worse. There's more people that are falling into houselessness. There's more people that are dealing with mental health crises and addictions problems,” he explained. “It's a shame that the city, the province, the country, the world over doesn't seem to be grasping how bad the problem is.”

Tiro Mthembu of Good Trouble YQR spoke to the escalating need for increased support.

“We've had a lot of volunteer support and communities come together. The main thing is to look at this is not a responsibility of a volunteer, group to come together and do this,” he said.

“We need city, provincial and federal intervention to address the housing crisis [and] the food insecurity crisis that we're feeling.”

Both Mthembu and Koch expressed a sense of urgency when it comes to the issue of addiction and houselessness.

The community volunteers noted that while they, and others like them, can make a difference – the situation should be an election issue.

“The city plan seems to be ‘let them die.’ And that's the part where we're trying to roll forward, especially during an election year,” Koch said.

“This isn't going to go away. People in the community aren't going away.”

Anyone wishing to help out is welcomed to stop by Pepsi Park on Sunday evenings with donations of food, clothing, or other items.

Mthembu also noted that simply attending and joining in the conversation is a useful contribution.

“I would encourage most to ask your city councillor, ‘What are we doing to address the housing crisis that we're in?’ he said.

“I think the core values are why should our neighbors not have the dignity and respect to live with us and have the supports that are needed? Those are core held values of just humanity. That we need to fundamentally have a shift of approach as a city and say, ‘This is a crisis. Let's treat it as such.”