Camp Marjorie has been a very busy place over the last 12 days.
The camp in Pepsi Park has been seen over 100 different individuals spend at least one night inside of a tent since opening up on October 8.
One of the volunteers at Camp Marjorie, Kelsey Dumont says they have received a lot of support from the community through support and donations. She noted that the Regina Fire Department has allowed campfire pits with briquettes inside of the park to provide some warmth to residents. Dumont added the residents of Regina have helped out in a lot of ways. “People are dropping off blankets, we just had a couple of more tents this morning that have already been called, blankets, warm clothing, the community has been really great at bringing in hot soups and hot liquids like coffee and tea. Truly we couldn’t help these folks to the degree that we are without all the support from those in Regina.”
Dumont says that social services has been offering hotel rooms for residents but adds that it’s only a temporary solution. She added that they have been able to offer some of our residents two nights stay at a hotel, but at the end of those two nights the residents usually end up back at Camp Marjorie because they are unable to find a permanent place to stay.
Along with the residents of Regina, Dumont noted that officials from the City of Regina have also been very supportive in allowing Camp Marjorie to be operational, despite violating city bylaws. “Mayor Sandra Masters has been extremely supportive in the position that she’s allowed to take, obviously we’re going against bylaws but she also recognizes that all of these folks here are citizens of Regina and that they need safe housing, right now the housing looks like a tent in the middle of a park, but she’s also really helping to put pressure on the ministry , social services and landlords and saying we have to get these folks out of this tent area.”
While Camp Marjorie has received support from the municipal level of government, the same can’t be said from the provincial level. Dumont noted that Regina Needle Recovery and Support Team have been trying to schedule a meeting with Social Services Minister Lori Carr to bring awareness on the situation and today they found out they would be meeting with Carr on December 15 for 30 minutes.
Dumont noted that there has been no talks about relocating the camp unless it’s finding a more secure indoor facility.
