Our next cleanup will be on Saturday, September 17th, 9:30 am to noon at Richard B. Harrison Park.
Our meeting spot or "Staging Area" will be the beside the bike path adjacent to the parking lot at BrokerLink, 69 Wellington Road South. We will clean up the area near the bike paths.
We'll provide garbage bags and gloves (we also have a few garbage grabbers). Apart from weather appropriate clothing we suggest you bring a bottle of drinking water.
Families are welcome, however parents must be responsible for their children at all times.
As many of you who have attended a cleanup will know, it is
common for us to encounter people camping rough along the river.Homelessness is a multi-factor issue that
stems from a complex of social issues including (but certainly not limited to)
a critical lack of affordable housing, and addictions and the opioid crisis. The
City of London is currently monitoring about 350 active camps in this city;
many are located along the river where we hold our cleanups.
It is ARR policy and practice not to disturb or enter active
camps (unless invited). We cleanup garbage around the camps and along the
watercourse. We do not pickup items that appear to be in use, and where
possible, we reach out to urban campers to inquire if we can remove any of
their unwanted garbage. We regularly give out Tim Hortons cards so people can
get a meal, and we practice respect and empathy when engaging with people
camping rough.
On our cleanups, we often encounter needles and other
equipment used for consuming drugs. We ask volunteers not to handle these items
unless they are trained and comfortable doing so. Volunteers may simply make a
note of the location of these items and inform a trained volunteer (trained
volunteers are identified at the beginning of a cleanup).
At the beginning of each cleanup, the cleanup coordinator
welcomes everyone and goes over the safety protocols. If you have any questions
during a cleanup, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the coordinator(s) or
experienced volunteers.
