HALIFAX — The latest temporary shelter erected in a public build by Halifax Mutual Aid now sits in Cogswell Park, already occupied.
It's the first one constructed since police and protestors clashed over the city's removal of a similar structure almost three months ago.
"It took until that time for everybody to regroup," says Campbell McClintock, the volunteer group's spokesperson, "and everybody living in the shelters to feel safe enough to put up another one."
But even so, he says there was tension here Saturday morning.
"Shortly after beginning the build," he says, "there was a police car that pulled up and they stayed for the duration of the build."
According to reports, a handful of Halifax police officers showed up at the site. While McClintock says they remained "on the sidelines," he says they did take down the names of volunteers and members of the public who were there as witnesses.
McClintock says the police presence made the participants in the build uneasy because of what happened in August.
Halifax Regional Police have confirmed police were there. Const. John McLeod, who speaks for the force, wrote in an email that "officers responded to information related to the illegal construction of a structure on Windsor Street near Quinpool Road on Saturday morning."
McLeod says no arrests were made, but adds the investigation is continuing.
Because the park is municipal land, the city deems the temporary structures as a violation of municipal bylaws.
But McClintock says the group went ahead with the build, because they're tired of waiting for other options to materialize -- while the weather gets colder.
That frustration is shared by others working to address the problem of homelessness in the city.
"It's getting colder, we have to winterize things," says Vicky Levack, "because we don't know when those modular units will be available."
Levack is with PADS Community Network, a group of volunteers that assists those living in an encampment off Chebucto Road.
At the end of September, the city announced it had purchased enough modular units to house 73 people.
When asked for an update by CTV Monday, a city spokesperson said there would be new information being shared at city council Tuesday.
Levack hopes to hear some good news.
"All the residents want is a move-in date, they want to see where they are going to live and in what conditions they are going to live," she says.
Other housing projects are also taking time, including a plan by local Catholic churches to build temporary shelters on their properties.
The Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth put out the call to interested parishes last month. Monday, McClintock says that process is stalled over municipal building codes, although a spokesperson for the archdiocese would only say it's "working on logistics" and had no update to share on the project.
Meanwhile, those without a home are doing what they can.
Encampment resident Craig Stewart spent his day Monday packing his belongings into a plastic tote, moving out of his tent and into a hotel for the next month.
While he's grateful to finally get a spot, he says it, too, is a process that is taking too long – and leaving too many out.
He's left his tent behind at the Chebucto camp, to be disinfected and made available for the next person who needs it.
