Winter, a difficult time for most Canadians, is made even more so when you have to face it without a roof over your head, something Barry Joseph Shae, a resident of the sleeping cabins, can relate to.
“If it wasn’t for them… I think we all would have died this winter,” he said.
Enter the sleeping cabins program. Launched in January, it hopes to not just provide housing for the unhoused, but also assist them in getting into a more stable housing situation, according to executive director of Our Livable Solutions Chrystal Wilson
“While they are here we work on getting their id, getting their taxes done, medical, dental, anything that they need,” Wilson said. “Whatever barrier that they’re facing to exit homelessness”
It started with 10 cabins, and has now grown to 15 as of Tuesday. Even within the short period of time that it’s operated, it’s already making a difference in the lives of some of the residents, according to Wilson.
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“One of our residents found out yesterday that he’s moving into permanent housing so that’s pretty exiting for us,” Wilson said.
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That resident is Shae, a man who can’t say enough about how much this program means to him.
“I don’t have a family,” Shae said. “The only family I have is Chrystal and the rest of the gang.”
Despite moving on, Shae intends to come back and help out in anyway he can. As Our Liveable Solutions works toward finding a more permanent location for the cabins, people like Shae are just grateful for the difference the program has made in their lives.
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