Long-time Regina butcher frustrated over homeless encampment across the street

A Regina butcher who’s been in his Quebec St. shop for decades is voicing his frustrations over a homeless encampment across the street that he feels has changed the neighbourhood.

J. Fellinger & Sons Meats has been situated on its corner for 67 years, and for the past couple of months an encampment of homeless people in Core Community Park, also known as Pepsi Park, has been growing.

Ron Fellinger, owner of the butcher shop, said it started tucked away on the opposite end, but has since grown all the way to the sidewalk across from him and encompasses the whole park.

“We’re trying to keep our neighbourhood clean, our business clean, and I’m having to send my employees out to clean up every day, the garbage around here. Even the people passed out on our steps here, and we’re trying to get them off, and they’re quite belligerent,” he said, explaining his frustration.

He said he’s lost about a quarter of his business as well, saying people no longer want to stop in the neighbourhood.

“I’ve had several phone calls from regular customers saying that they just drove by and they saw this encampment and it spooked ‘em so they’re going to go somewhere else,” he said.

Fellinger said no one seems interested in doing anything about it, calling it a slap in the face to the businesses, but also the people in the neighbourhood. He said they no longer go out for walks in the area and can’t use the park anymore.

“We’re taxpayers; we expect a nice, clean neighbourhood, a safe neighbourhood to be able to walk around in. We’re not getting that,” he said.

A much larger encampment grew in that park a few years ago, garnering many headlines and sparking the creation of the Regina enhanced emergency shelter. Fellinger said it took at least a year for the neighbourhood and the park to recover from that.

He said there should be a place for people to go, but doesn’t think it should be in residential neighbourhoods.

Last week, speaking to media at the encampment, Shawn Koch said he feels for the people living in the neighbourhood – he’s one of the organizers for the mutual aid group Sunday Funday, which has been helping at the encampment.

“We are trying to coach everybody up about maintaining the neighbourhood, being good neighbours, picking up garbage. We’re preaching that, we’re trying to move forward with all those things,” he said.

Shawn Koch, with Sunday Funday, blames the existence of the homeless encampment in Core Community Park on the lack of social services and supports in the province. Sept. 9, 2026 (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)

He explained the group has been working to get infrastructure installed to help people living at the encampment. They’ve managed to get garbage bins and portable toilets, but are still hoping to work out a water situation with the city to aid in cleanliness. He’s also been asking for help in securing solar panels for power.

Koch said the encampment isn’t the fault of the homeless people; it’s not the fault of the neighbourhood. Instead, he placed blame on the provincial government, which isn’t doing enough to help people in need, in his view.

“This is what it looks like, and either we get busy helping people, or we don’t. And if we don’t, it’s just going to get worse,” he said.

And while Koch said he understands what people in the neighbourhood are saying, he also said they’re not unsafe; they’re just uncomfortable, and that might be what’s needed to spark change.

While the City of Regina has organized supports and has created an internal encampment response team, it’s the provincial government which has jurisdiction over things like social services and mental health and addictions.