City supports residents and community health and safety with partial closure of Belle Park
Today and tomorrow, Addiction & Mental Health Services, Kingston Community Health Centres and the City continue to facilitate access to belongings for people who were sheltering near the Integrated Care Hub. Effective Sept. 27, 2024, the City of Kingston will close approximately one and a quarter hectare of Belle Park to all users for an undetermined period. The closure is under the authority of City of Kingston By-Law 2009-76 and prohibits all access to and use of the park, including recreational activities and sheltering overnight. The K&P Trail next to Belle Park is also affected by the closure and cannot be used by pedestrians and cyclists.
During the closure the City will undertake a cleanup and remediation of the area, which is the site of a rodent infestation and soil contamination that presents significant personal health risks to people in the area. The City will work closely with KFL&A Public Health to ensure the environmental contamination is addressed and the property is restored.
Last week, people previously sheltering in the encampment next to the ICH and Consumption Treatment Services (CTS) were allowed to retrieve personal belongings from the area with support from Addiction & Mental Health Services (AMHS), Kingston Community Health Centres (KCHC), the City of Kingston and Kingston Police. Safe and secure off-site storage for other belongings identified by individuals has been offered.
The ICH consortium partners (AMHS-KFLA, Trellis HIV & Community Care, KCHC, Providence Care and Home Base Housing) continue to keep the ICH and CTS closed while they finalize plans to provide safety for all when they reopen services for public access. They have requested that the City continue to provide fencing and security to the site while they make plans for reopening.
In the interim, AMHS, KCHC, the City and other partners will continue to work together and assist in connecting vulnerable people to indoor shelter and daytime services and facilitate storage and retrieval of other belongings. The City also recognizes that vulnerable people may choose to shelter in other areas of Belle Park, or any municipal park overnight, and the emergency shelter system continues to have capacity.
Contact Us
City of Kingston
City Hall
216 Ontario Street
Kingston, ON K7L 2Z3
Canada
contactus@cityofkingston.ca
Phone: 613-546-0000
Fax: 613-546-7816
The City of Kingston acknowledges that we are on the traditional homeland of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and the Huron-Wendat, and thanks these nations for their care and stewardship over this shared land.
Today, the City is committed to working with Indigenous peoples and all residents to pursue a united path of reconciliation.
Learn more about the City's reconciliation initiatives.
