The people who call a makeshift campsite in Kitchener their home are clearing out.
Residents of “Tent City” in the area of Mill and Sterling streets were told they had to vacate by July 1.
The city officials said if they didn’t leave the property beside the former Schneiders plant by the given deadline that they would face trespassing charges.
“The cops already gave us two warnings,” said resident Josh Lammert. “They said if they come back we’re going to jail.”
City officials say the tent city popped up a few years ago and that the property owners are frustrated with the cost of clean ups.
“We’re not slobs,” said resident Karl Butler. “A lot of it was left from prior people before us.”
“They said if we cleaned up we would be able to stay,” said Lammert. “So we cleaned up and now they are evicting us.”
Butler says he’s going to risk staying another night.
“I guess we’re taking our chances and see what happens from there,” he said.
Butler adds he wants to make sure his friends are taken care of.
“These people are not all grungy and they’re not all users,” he said. “They are normal people like everybody else out there. If we as humans would start treating people the same way more, our society could change.”
Lammert says he's leaving because he doesn’t want to get in trouble with the law.
