A delicate situation on one of Innisfil’s most visible properties has come to an end, apparently.
South Simcoe police and several witnesses confirmed Dec. 2 that an unsheltered woman living in a makeshift encampment on a vacant property at the southwest corner of Innisfil Beach Road and Adullam Avenue was removed from the site.
She had been living there for about six months and was in violation of the Trespass to Property Act, police spokesperson Samah Othman said.
“She was served notice last week, and arrangements have been made for alternative shelter,” Othman said in an email. “Her belongings were removed by family members and she left the property with her family.”
The woman was not charged, Othman said.
Town of Innisfil communications manager Jane Cocking said the property owners requested the notice, and it was served by police.
“The town … can confirm the unhoused individual on the private property at 1051 Innisfil Beach Rd. was issued a notice of trespass,” Cocking said in a statement. “The property owners have since cleared their property of any items that were left behind.”
This site is operated by Mishay Construction, a Toronto-based company that specializes in high-rise residential and commercial buildings.
Vice-president Dani Mishayev says the woman was initially allowed to stay on the site during warmer weather because he “felt bad for her.”
“I started getting lots of telephone (calls) from residents, telling me I’m allowing homeless to live on (the) property and more and more are going to start living on properties,” he said. “Every day, people yell at me. It’s become like her place, you know.”
Mishayev said someone contacted his insurer, who reached out to notify him the liability coverage on the property would be cancelled unless the woman was moved.
“Now it’s going to be cold, freezing,” he said. “If she fell there, they’re going to sue me personally. Insurance forced me to take this action right away. I don’t have a choice.”
When asked whether it was an appropriate time of the year to move an unsheltered person, Mishayev responded: “I don’t think it’s safe to be on the property as well.”
“She has family. She has places to go,” he said. “(Innisfil) offered her lots of shelters to go (to). I don’t think any homeless need to stay outside. (People) don’t want to see homelessness everywhere — it doesn’t look good.”
While the company does have plans to develop the site, those are still in relatively early stages and had nothing to do with the woman’s removal.
“The (town) didn’t ask us to do (this),” Mishayev said. “We love Innisfil. We want to build condos and some rentals — we want to be nice to everyone. This is a good country. If you want help, they’re going to help.”
The woman’s setup had been a consistent flash point for residents on social-media groups — while many offered assistance and empathy for the situation, others called this case of visible homelessness an eyesore and claimed it was negatively affecting the appearance of the town’s main commercial area.
This encampment had grown, too, over the months, going from from a basic camping tent and several packed shopping carts to an arrangement of tarps and wooden skids that had to be dismantled in recent days.
“Balancing empathy for those in need with the rights of property owners is a complex issue,” one person wrote in the Alcona Chats Facebook group Dec. 3. “It’s our collective hope that more support and resources will be made available to help those in need, and that compassion will continue to guide us in addressing these complex situations.”
Others called it a “difficult situation for everyone involved,” or argued she should have been forced to accept help sooner due to the cold weather.
Earlier this year, Innisfil ideaLAB and Library staff noted a significant increase in the number of residents asking for assistance in addressing housing, food insecurity, cost-of-living and mental-health issues since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Anyone in need of housing assistance can contact the County of Simcoe’s Coordinated Access System. Or, if a housing agency or shelter can’t be reached, 211 may help direct them to support.
A list of local resources is also available at innisfilidealab.ca/social-services.
