Image: Ryan Smith, Hope Community Cleanup Society / It's become a routine occurrence for Fraser Valley residents and community-minded volunteers to take the lead in cleaning up public trash dumps that were once homeless encampments. In the latest public eyesore to manifest itself, Ryan Smith of the Hope Community Cleanup Society says he and his wife plan to tackle a homeless encampment on Tuesday morning (Dec. 17) in Hope.

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Community cleanup in Hope

Hope residents poised to clean up another homeless encampment Tuesday

Dec 16, 2024 | 3:59 PM

HOPE — It’s become a routine occurrence for Fraser Valley residents and community-minded volunteers to take the lead in cleaning up public trash dumps that were once homeless encampments.

In the latest public eyesore to manifest itself, Ryan Smith of the Hope Community Cleanup Society says he and his wife plan to tackle a homeless encampment on Tuesday morning (Dec. 17) in Hope.

“As many of you know, this is by the river across the dike from the bike park,” Smith said. “My wife and I are going to go clean this up tomorrow morning. If you have some time and would like to lend a hand, we’ll be at the bike park parking lot at 11 a.m. with our trailer and garbage bags. Bring gloves and any other PPE (personal protective equipment) you think you may need.”

The camp has been cleaned up multiple times, Smith said.

“They just keep coming back,” he told Fraser Valley Today Monday.

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Image: Ryan Smith, Hope Community Cleanup Society / A homeless camp in Hope.

Smith says he’ll push the District of Hope to install signage around the camp to try to prevent future encampments from materializing.

“We’re going to push again to get some signage put up in the area,” Smith said. “Really, it’s the least they could do.”

Smith says the camp contains what you would typically expect at a run-of-the-mill encampment.

“From what we saw it’s mostly just garbage and household items, we didn’t see any needles, but there definitely could be some, so be aware,” Smith wrote on Facebook. “See you then.”