Saskatoon residents react to encampment at 20th Street and Avenue K

Saskatoon residents living near an encampment at 20th Street and Avenue K have different perspectives on what should happen to the people living in tents on those lots.

Multiple residents in homes near the encampment said nobody from the encampment had bothered them or caused any sort of disturbance.

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Andrew Lariviere can see the encampment from his front porch.

Lariviere said he hasn’t been bothered by the encampment. He, himself, used to be homeless and dealt with addiction.

“I’ve switched my whole life around, raised my kid since he was six months old by myself,” he shared.

Though Lariviere said the site might not look nice, he said the people living there haven’t been bothering anybody.

Homes near the encampment at 20th Street and Avenue K on Sept. 25, 2026. (Libby Gray/650 CKOM)

“I get the struggle,” Lariviere said. “Does something need to be addressed and does something need to happen? Absolutely. As far as kicking them out, maybe we could, maybe, figure out a way to help them, instead of continuing what’s going on here.”

Down the street, beside the encampment, Janelle Henry said she doesn’t have any issues with the people who are living in the encampment.

“Everyone’s been fine, it’s just, like, garbage getting blown over, stuff like that,” Henry said.

She noted there is always furniture in the alley near her home, which they try to clean up, but it continues to show up. Henry has also noticed needles in the area.

Henry purchased the home a couple of years ago and she said these hadn’t previously been issues. With her son just learning to walk, she’s concerned that she can’t let him out around the house.

“It’s just an unfortunate event for everyone around. Like, it sucks for us, sucks for them, obviously,” she said.

While people have only started to notice the encampment in recent weeks, Henry said the tents have been around for longer.

“We’re the ones who’ve been having to, like, deal with it directly, right?” she said.

When protesters arrived Thursday to prevent fencing from being put up and the encampment cleared by the City of Saskatoon, Henry said she understood, but “they’re not the ones who have to deal with it on a daily basis.

“They just go home to wherever they are,” she said. “They don’t live directly beside it.”

Henry’s main concern is the public drug use around the encampment, which she said she can see from her kitchen window. She doesn’t want her son to be exposed to these issues at a young age.

“It would be good to protect him from it for now until, like, he can understand, like, the social issues behind all of that kind of stuff,” she shared.

There’s no clear answer as to how to respond to the encampment for Henry, however.

“The city doesn’t know what they’re gonna do with them either, and they don’t know what to do,” she said.

Henry shared that she wants to be sympathetic to those living in tents just beyond her own home.

“It’s just tough. They’re just wanting somewhere to sleep, rest their head, lay around … but at the same time, I have my family here,” she shared.

Encampment residents request washrooms, garbage bins

Those living in the encampment have called on the city and others to provide them with basic necessities like washrooms and garbage receptacles to keep the space cleaner.

On Friday, housing activist, David Fineday – who is living in the encampment – shared with some reporters present at the site that he had been unable to make it to a bathroom in time because there are no facilities on the three lots where people are staying.

“How do you think this makes me feel?” Fineday asked, answering that he felt very embarrassed.

David Fineday, considered the “mayor” of the encampment, speaks with reporters on Sept. 25, 2026 at the site, after experiencing a bathroom incident. (Libby Gray/650 CKOM)

Fineday — who is regarded by some of the people living in the camp as the unofficial mayor of the area — called on the city to provide facilities — outhouses and Loraas bins for garbage.

“What if we just get shovels and start digging outhouses?” he said. “Where am I going to change? What am I gonna do, man? What about these people?”

Fineday said he was sharing what had happened to him to show the difficulties people at the encampment are having to deal with.

He reiterated that there is no violence at the encampment site and encouraged people to come and visit, sit on his blanket alongside him and have a discussion.

“Here’s my teepee. I put a blanket down there and I’ll talk to anybody,” Fineday said. “Everybody, come and talk. Let’s get this out. Let’s get this on the roll. It’s going to be snowing 40 days. I want most of these people to be housed in homes and apartments.”

Fineday said there are also plenty of other empty lots where other tent cities could pop up in Saskatoon if people can’t find places to live.

–with files from 650 CKOM’s Mia Holowaychuk