We had 8 people stay at the shelter last night (all men), 7 the night before and 6 the previous two nights. Twelve different individuals have stayed with us so far this season, all men, and only 3 of them had stayed with us last year. So lots of new faces, new stories and after a short period of adjustment by all, we've settled into a community again and it feels great. I'll provide some updates on our new guests shortly. In the meantime, since we saw 37 different folks last season, you may be wondering where are the other 34?
Well, many are unaccounted for, but here's an update on some we know about:
"Dave" who celebrated his 60th birthday with us last winter, is in Richmond hospital, after collapsing in August. He's still quite weak and unable to walk due to swelling in his legs. He's in good spirits, in no pain and says the food is good. He's waitlisted for a long term care facility in Vancouver. Seeing him now lying in his hospital bed, it's hard to imagine this same man spent most of the past few years riding his bike in search of bottles, with so much chronic pain, spending all those nights in an abandoned house. I'm relieved to know he's being so well cared for now, but saddened by the fact that it took a near death incident for proper care to be provided.
"Wally" had found accomodation last winter in a rooming house in New West, found a job in his construction trade, but has fallen back on hard times. He's currently staying in Richmond House (Salvation Army emergency shelter) and is on borrowed time as he's stayed beyond the normal 30 day maximum.
"Sonny" who had been living a very rough life, sleeping under concrete parking ramps and the like is thriving. He's living in a parked motorhome in someone's driveway in Richmond. He looks great. His hands are clean (if you knew Sonny, this in itself is a miracle) and more importantly has been clean of substances for several months.
"Kip" who landed a job as a cook at Tim Horton's just at the end of the shelter season, moved into some accomodation in New West and we'd been seeing him pretty regularly at the Community Meal but haven't seen him since the summer break.
"Otto", the man with a car and a job but no gas for the car to get to work (we gave him a huge bag of empties to buy gas) is not doing very well. I ran into him in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside and he's lost pretty much everything.
Sadly, one of last winter's guests passed away this summer. Mid 40s. I don't know any details except it was sudden and tragic. He only stayed with us a few nights, but he had a large, unforgettable personality. He was a semi-regular at the Community Meal and his last meal with us was the last meal of the season. That night, he dined outside with a couple others on the newly purchased picnic table.
"Dorothy" dropped by the shelter for a coffee Sunday night. She lived last winter in a permanently parked camper on the riverfront and joined us several nights when her propane ran out or it just got too cold to heat. She was recently evicted by Vancouver Port Authority and is temporarily staying in a newer camper parked in the back driveway of a Richmond megahome, paying the owner $450 per month for the privilege. She is looking for a better place to park her camper.
"Lance" was also evicted from a different camper parked in the same riverfront location. His current whereabouts are unknown, but he now has a girlfriend and may be staying with her. By the way, neither Dorothy nor Lance have a vehicle -- they get their campers repositioned by friends.
"Roy" who stayed with us a couple nights last winter is in his regular spot in one of the city parks. He's one of those folks who prefers the solitude of his own place rather than a shelter. In Roy's case, his place is actually public property. There was an article in the local paper about him living in this place, with a photo and description of its precise location and complaints from the users of that facility, but he's somehow managed to remain there.
"Carl" is still in subsidized seniors housing in Burnaby and doing very well, hoping to return to Richmond one day when a spot opens up. He occasionally joins us at the St Alban Community Meal and is trying to help his good friends "Will" and "Maurice" get accommodation. Will and Maurice are 2 of our three returning regulars this year. Will actually was placed in subsidized housing in Surrey last spring, but was evicted a couple months ago and is back in his tent in the same woods he and Carl spent last winter. Will and Maurice have a good lead on a suite in Richmond so let's hope that works out for them soon. And I look forward to them appearing in the next "where are they now" list.
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