City of Hamilton boards up area outside city hall often used by homeless to keep warm

An area at Hamilton City Hall where homeless people were known to cluster for warmth has been boarded up.

Roger Boyd runs the Men’s Street Ministry and posted several “before and after” photos that have been circulating online and bringing up questions of why the city would board up the area.

In his Facebook post, Boyd says the homeless used to sleep in the area because of the heat that comes out of the building. The “after” photos show the areas completely boarded up.

Boyd says the city first put up metal barriers to try and discourage people from lying next to the vents. Over the weekend, he noticed the boards were put up.

“I was upset. I was upset because it is the only place that I know of where there was some heat coming out to keep them alive at -25 C,” said Boyd.

The city of Hamilton says the area is a designated fire door and must stay free of any obstructions.

Rom D’Angelo, Director of Facilities, says the spot is not a warming centre and said there were often altercations and other prohibited activities taking place.

“Fights, drug use, and whatnot that created disorder. This was viewed through our security cameras as well as reported by our staff and security guards at City Hall. We needed to take action in order to create a safe space,” said D’Angelo.

Boyd says he shared the images online not to bash the city, but to raise awareness about the realities out on the streets of Hamilton. He says the ministry is seeing more and more people seeking help just to feed their families.

“We are feeding families, we are feeding kids that come into the trailer not just once, but on a regular basis,” he said.

The city has five warming centres along with library and shelter locations but not all offer overnight accommodations.