Safety concerns keep promised hot showers and laundry for homeless in Gatineau off-limits

A heated tent and a comfortable bed gets Jean-Francois Bourgon through the cold winter nights in Gatineau.

For more than a month, he's been living in a temporary camp in the parking lot of Robert Guertin Arena.

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The ‘Camp Guertin’ initiative comes from developer the Devcore Group and was approved by the city as a temporary solution to address homelessness in the area.

“It’s easy when you have heat,” he said. “I was living two years in a tent no heat, no hydro; nothing.”

He was promised access to hot showers and a laundry facility at the abandoned building nearby, but the amenities have yet to be made accessible to people.

“I clean myself with wipes and I wash my clothes in the washrooms,” said Bourgon.

The Devcore Group says there's been a setback, telling CTV News Ottawa that they were told by the Outaouais Housing Office (OHO) — the company that owns the former school building at 117 Carillon St. — that the building did not meet fire and safety standards.

“Devcore did what we needed to comply and everything is ready to go,” said Devcore president Jean-Pierre Poulin. “Now we got over 50 people here that have to walk one kilometre to take a shower and they have no place to wash their clothes.”

The Outaouais Housing Office declined an interview with CTV News Ottawa, saying they do not wish to comment on the matter.

Tents are set up until May 15 and Devcore hopes the OHO will work with them to come up with a solution quickly.

“I hope they will decide soon because it’s very hard to clean with the wipes,” said Bourgon.