A meeting has been held in the neighbourhood where a tent city has been set up by homeless people in St.Catharines.
Co-Chair of Queenston Neighbours, Caleb Ratzlaff says the encampment at Centennial Gardens Park dominated the meeting which was supposed to deal with how to spend fundraising dollars.
Ratzlaff says frustration was expressed at the meeting by some residents living in the area.
He says their group remains committed to getting to know the homeless residents living in the tent city and working with the organizations who are assisting them.
Ratzlaff says they continue to have a proactive approach to the issue trying to show compassion, saying housing is a basic need.
Some residents in the area say they fear for their safety and it's sad to see a "refugee camp" set up in the city.
Other residents would like to see overnight housing programs such as Out of the Cold and Out of the Heat extended so there isn't a gap where homeless residents have to find shelter.
The Out of the Cold program wrapped up March 31st and the Out of the Heat program starts on Canada Day (July 1).
The group has organized park clean ups and says it will continue to do so.