CLLÉMENTEM IS ‘AS GOOD AS IT GETS’

Those who store their belongings are allowed to access their bins for 15 minutes each visit.

“Now, I might be on the streets and I might be homeless, but I’ve not lost my mind,” said Rick Greenstone, a 53-yearold man who has been homeless off-and-on since 2015.

At 48 West Victoria St., where First Avenue and Lansdowne Street meet next to Riverside Park, a small building roughly 800 square feet in size serves the city’s homeless community, people who need access to a mini-storage unit to keep their belongings safe. It is also a place for mail services, complimentary snacks and clothing donations, laundry machines, showers and washrooms.

The city-owned building is known as Cllémentem and it is operated by the Kamloops Aboriginal Friendship Society.

Since Dec. 1, the hours of operation have expanded to run six days a week, Mondays to Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., with closures on statutory holidays.

Greenstone, who is a Kamloops transplant from Rossendale in England, visits Cllémentem daily as a part of his routine to practise hygiene, socialize with the community and safely store his belongings.

Prior to that, his belongings were turfed in other circumstances throughout the city.

“They used to call me Rick of Rossendale,” Greenstone explained with a chuckle. “Rossendale is near Lancashire, in northern England, but say it’s outside of Liverpool. I’m a Liverpool fan and they need all the support they can get.”

Prior to relying on access to Cllémentem, Greenstone utilized services at the nearby Mustard Seed after his departure from the Emerald Centre hostel in 2015, where he spent time after being released from Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre.

He was incarcerated for assault and breach of probation.

Lawyer