Loggers Lane campground 'worth exploring': mayorSylvie [email protected]
A homeless man whose had more than his share of highs and lows since coming to town is proposing a solution to Squamish's homeless dilemma, and Mayor Ian Sutherland said the district may be willing to consider it if it's brought forward.After being ordered to pack up his tent and trailer from the Westmana property next to the Howe Sound Women's Centre where he'd been squatting for two months, Steven Bowbridge told The Chief the District of Squamish should dedicate a piece of municipal land to the town's homeless population. "Every time you get set up somewhere they come and tell you to leave," said Bowbridge. "Well, find us a piece of land to squat in."Bowbridge pointed to the municipal campground on Loggers Lane as an appropriate place to allow people to set up in winter since the district closes the area all winter long.Sutherland said the district would look at such a plan if the proposal was brought to Municipal Hall.
"It's an interesting possibility and it's definitely a good suggestion to look at," he said.
"It would probably make sense to at least look at the possibility of that and see what the issues are. But like anything else, there's going to be liability issues and other issues to overcome but it's definitely worth exploring."
But the idea of allotting municipal land to squatters could be controversial, he added."There would be, I'm guessing, a pretty lively debate in the community over the pros and cons of it."
Bowbridge and longtime resident Vern Larsen's recent attempt to set up camp on a dilapidated footbridge running parallel to the Mamquam Blind Channel near the Women's Centre resulted in an order to move from District of Squamish bylaw enforcement officers. The district gave the men a few days to move, and upon appeal, allowed them a week's extension.
Rod Searle, who lives in a van and receives disability payments for his own physical ailments, routinely drops by the bridge to make sure the men and their tents "haven't blown away." He said he feels the district should provide land because "it's our right to have somewhere to live. What are we, outcasts?"Bowbridge made headlines last winter after the trailer in which he and his partner Claire Johnston lived was destroyed by fire while the couple was in Pemberton seeking work.
Since then he said he's had several positive experiences from generous locals and business owners who regularly help him out. Larsen, who has lived in the area for 22 years, said he was going to look into the possibility of co-op housing in town.
Larsen worked at the Easter Seals camp three years ago, and is also an artist who has, in the past, been commissioned to paint business windows with Christmas motifs. He said he's no longer able to work because of health problems and no longer has supplies to paint murals.Larsen said he receives social assistance, but it's nowhere near enough to pay for rent.
Sympathy for those in his situation has grown, said Larsen, and locals have been helping immensely."Years ago, nobody cared," he said.
Women's Centre staff have brought the men blankets and residents have brought them food and empty bottles. Someone even brought over a barbecue, said Bowbridge. Local businesses have also given Bowbridge food when he's asked for it, and he said he pays them what he can when he's collected enough bottles.
Bowbridge said his trade is cement finishing, but despite peppering the community with his resume, he hasn't been able to get a job because he's discriminated against since he has no fixed address.
He said the town could benefit from a form of "cash corner" seen in other cities - a designated area where construction work site superintendents could pick up labourers in the morning for a day's work. He said there should also be a facility in town for job and computer training.
Bowbridge said he used the drop-in centre's extreme weather shelter this week, but it was inadequate because he couldn't come and go as he pleased.That speaks to the indignities placed on the homeless, said Searle.
"They give you nothing here," he said. "There's not even a social service office here."
Searle warns that the community should brace themselves for a much larger influx of homeless transients looking for opportunities during the Olympic Games.
