It's sure to bring a sigh of relief to those living near Sarnia's Rainbow Park.
The Sarnia Police Service (SPS) said as of Thursday, the homeless encampment has been completely removed at the south Sarnia property near Front Street and Johnston Street.
Police, city bylaw, and security were on site to complete the cleanup of discarded property and debris.
Bylaw teams and members of the Integrated Mobile Police and Community Team (IMPACT) had worked with around five individuals for the past week to find alternate accommodations. They've either voluntarily connected with family members, obtained placements at shelters, and/or received important social service interventions.
Sarnia Police Chief Derek Davis said no arrests were made, but officers were prepared to take that step if needed. He said this has been a longstanding issue in the community, and a lot of work has happened behind the scenes.
"All of us at different levels, city, police, residents and businesses have all felt some frustration with some of these challenges," said Davis. "Behind the scenes, I can say that city bylaw and certainly our IMPACT team members have done an exceptional job looking to connect to services and working with individuals and getting them assistance. It's been almost months of effort."
Davis admits there are still challenges across the city, noting they'll be continuing their downtown patrols.
"I see no need to change that current plan to keep the high visibility there," he said. "Homelessness is still an issue in the city. Although the Rainbow Park location is now clear, some of those challenges will go to other spots in the city. We're going to have to adjust and adapt and be prepared to deal with those as they pop up."
Davis thanked nearby residents for their patience, and said he realizes they've been put through a very challenging time.
They complained about things like unsanitary conditions, fires, drug use, and violence.
"They have been exceptionally patient, and they've been very frustrated," said Davis. "There's been no easy or instant solution to this problem. It's just unfortunate that that's where it has landed for such a long period of time. I'm glad that it looks like that's going to abate quite a bit now. They've been through some difficult challenges and we certainly recognize that."
Davis was asked about whether there are plans in place to avoid another encampment popping up at Rainbow Park.
"We certainly learned a lot dealing with this one," he said. "I expect, as police, we will continue to have policing challenges with some of these issues. The earlier we can intervene and prevent something from becoming bigger, the better it is for everyone."
In a news release, the City of Sarnia said it will continue to enforce its Encampment Response Protocol which prohibits encampments on all city-owned property.
Health and safety measures, including fencing and temporary washrooms, were added to Rainbow Park last June, but they were scaled back in January.
Ways of dealing with encampment had been discussed by Sarnia City Council since early last year when there were about 90 people living there.
There were talks about dissolving it in April of 2024, but Sarnia council rescinded its decision about a month later after it was determined the city didn't have the legal authority to evict encampment residents from the park.
In a 7-1 recorded vote on January 20, Sarnia council endorsed a motion from City/Council Councillor Bill Dennis to direct staff to dismantle all encampments immediately -- including the entrenched encampment at Rainbow Park.
The vote was prompted by a judge's ruling that the City of Hamilton did not infringe on the Charter rights of encampment residents when enforcing its bylaw during daytime hours that banned tents from parks.
As of December 31, 2024, the city confirmed that $701,224 was spent on health and safety measures at the park.
Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley has said he wants the County of Lambton to allocate most -- if not all provincial funding geared toward "winding down" homeless encampments to the city.