{"id":4434,"date":"2020-04-17T22:27:37","date_gmt":"2020-04-17T22:27:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emilyrosemichaud.com\/?p=4434"},"modified":"2020-04-17T22:28:41","modified_gmt":"2020-04-17T22:28:41","slug":"brewery-creek-day-6-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emilyrosemichaud.com\/fr\/2020\/04\/brewery-creek-day-6-7.html","title":{"rendered":"Brewery Creek, Day 6 + 7"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tent City: Inconvenient Shelter \/ Invisible People (in progress).<\/p>\n

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Been thinking about life circumstance lately. How, despite the grandest of plans, we are brought to places we did not imagine ourselves to be.\u00a0The last few Saturday afternoons, I have gone with my cedar posts to the shores of Brewery Creek, across from an encampment, known as Tent City in Old Hull.<\/p>\n

On day 6, one of Tent City’s*\u00a0residents called out to offer\u00a0help. I replied no and continued along. He arrived shortly after – as I was untying rope and setting up a tripod – and\u00a0introduced himself. We carried on our\u00a0conversation as I set up the shelter structure and took some photos.<\/p>\n

Once the structure was up, many bikers on the path\u00a0expressed their annoyance at having to go around me. My shelter was inconvenient and in the way. I moved the structure to the grasses, among milkweed and sumac, closer to the water. It immediately became a more inviting place to listen to the sounds and stories of the creek, including the activities of the encampment.<\/p>\n

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This man shared with me some of\u00a0his experiences living on the creek for the past four years, outdoors throughout all the seasons.\u00a0He spoke of life circumstance, the other creek residents, of friends lost. He spoke of the discrimination he’s faced by cops and countless others. He also spoke of his dreams: the most vivid one included\u00a0swimming and fishing in a clean\u00a0creek.<\/p>\n

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I returned to the creek again today and intend to return\u00a0regularly. The idea is to build\u00a0and dismantle the structure\u00a0again and again and to see what arises. The intention, to\u00a0create dialogue with passersby on the perceptions of these shelters and the people on the other side of the water, metres away. The essence is to build and to gather; to sit and to wander, chat, write, share thoughts on could\u00a0become of this place with the folks I meet along the way.<\/p>\n

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Initially, I\u00a0imagined a project that facilitated a way for the two sides of the creek to meet somewhere common, mirroring their difference and circumstance. One side is hurried, perhaps uncomfortable, the other side forgotten, inconvenient. How does\u00a0slowing down long enough allow us to understand hardship (personal or societal) more authentically? What role does the creek play in this understanding? If the waters were clean, how might it bring people\u00a0together? How might bringing folks together make the water clean?<\/p>\n

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*I have had a long time curiosity with Tent City in downtown Hull (Allumetti\u00e8res blvd. + Highway 50<\/a>), and now that I live in the neighbourhood, my relationship is deepening.\u00a0Nestled along the banks of Brewery Creek, close to where Highway 50 South ends, the tents and creek residents overflow from G\u00eete Ami, a homeless shelter and resource centre that accommodates folks in transition, undergoing hardship or with\u00a0nowhere else to go. Known by the residents as ‘Le Noel des campeurs’, the community is tolerated by the City of Gatineau because it seems to be their most feasible solution: It is less expensive to put up with\u00a0squatters than it is to build social housing. A pilot project is currently in effect\u00a0to let them stay until next Fall.\u00a0To learn more\u00a0about the future of this land and the ongoing negotiations\u00a0between the City and G\u00eete Ami, the following articles\u00a0summarize well\u00a0(in French):<\/em><\/p>\n