More safety measures implemented at Regina tent community

REGINA -

On Saturday, The City of Regina put a fence around the tents set up at “Camp Marjorie” in order to keep the residents of the camp, volunteers and the surrounding community safe.

Approximately 30 people are living in tents in the park, surviving off of donations from Regina residents.

During a press conference on Wednesday, Mayor Sandra Masters said the city and social services are taking steps to find permanent accommodations for those living in the park.

“I think what we are trying to do is work through the next couple of weeks in conjunction with the CBO’s, social services and mental health services to ensure that we have somewhere for these folks to go,” Masters said.

She said the city is in communications with shelters around Regina to get capacity updates and help come up with solutions to get people out of the tents and into warm spaces.

A task force of Regina’s Emergency Response teams are going to the camp twice a day to do wellness checks.

Volunteers told CTV News off camera that this includes checking minor cuts and scrapes as there is no running water or proper first aid supplies on site.

“There’s ongoing conversations going on relative to heating and fire,” Masters said. “There are regular checks going on and we are getting updates from the lead on the task force in terms of the emergency response.”

Masters added that the camp in Pepsi Park is currently illegal and there will be a limit on how long they can stay, but did not give details on that timeline.

Volunteers have made Facebook and Twitter pages to provide updates on the camp and well as put on the call for donations and volunteers.