'It took on a life of its own': Remembering Camp Hope a year later

One year ago, tents were pitched at Core Community Park in what became known as Camp Hope.

The camp became a place for people experiencing homelessness to gather and get much needed support.

Alysia Johnson, an advocate for Rally Around Homelessness said the camp highlighted the homelessness problem in the city of Regina.

“This is important to people,” Johnson said. “We just want to follow through and finish the job and end homelessness in our community.”

Johnson added she never imagined the camp growing the way it did and the impact it had on the community.

“It took on a life of its own. The moment that first tent went up, then it was 12 and then it was 30, and then it was 70,” she explained.

“There is some sadness because I know there are so many people left behind and they are really struggling. There has been a lot of death since camp shut down.”

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In honour of Camp Hope, community members gathered at Core Community Park on Saturday, giving out food and other everyday essentials to those in need.

Donated coats and winter wear were also available as more and more people prepare for the winter season.

“They brought everything from coats, jackets, mitts, food, wellness packs,” Leanne Jarocki explained, who volunteered at the park.

Donations such as winter clothing and other essentials were being collected at the former site of Camp Hope. (Luke Simard/CTV News)

Jarocki lives in the community and has noticed an increase in the amount of people experiencing homelessness.

“The issue of poverty and homelessness is a lot more prevalent than most people think,” Jarocki said. “I see a lot of people on the streets, people sleeping in doorways, and in empty lots.”

Camp Hope has left its mark in more ways than one.

Traditional medicine from Indigenous elders now grow in spots where fires were once lit to keep people at the camp warm.

“It felt like a really beautiful sign, you know, from the earth that said that there was a lot of love here,” Johnson said.

Traditional medicine has been planted in Core Community Park, where campfires used to burn. (Luke Simard/CTV News)

Johnson added that the work to end homelessness isn’t over.

“Obviously, we have a lot of work to do,” she said. “But it also gives me a lot of hope that people continue to show up when they're asked.”

A candlelight vigil will be held at Core Community Park on Saturday night.

The event is dedicated to the former residents of Camp Hope who have since died as a result of homelessness.