LOCAL NEWS Storage facility user suggests fence would help

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With a brief stint in Maple Ridge in 2016, Greenstone remains on the streets and he has chosen Kamloops to be his home.

“A family issue is not really what you want to go around and tell people about,” he said of the incident, noting he is glad his wife is now clean and sober.

The couple has four daughters and Greenstone said he often tries to help homeless women in his travels, with the hope that if it was one of his own children, others would do the same for them.

“I take on the fatherly, protective persona,” Greenstone explained, adding he would like to create a calendar featuring homeless women in Kamloops, with a series of candid photographs. He would like to sell it so the proceeds could be used to help women on the streets in Kamloops.

Greenstone believes Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson might be on board for a cause of this nature and hopes to see some positive changes from city council moving forward.

While Greenstone does not utilize mail services at Cllémentem, he does value the storage bins assigned to visitors, as well as the showers, washrooms and laundry service. Without access to Cllémentem, Greenstone believes there would be an increasing number of complaints about the homeless population, since they would not have a place in which to clean up.

He said the reality is that nobody on the street wants to be viewed as anything other than homeless, especially not as violent offenders.

“Being homeless is bad enough,” Greenstone said, acknowledging altercations can occur on the street, but adding it’s typically not an issue that occurs with the general public, in his experience. Greenstone said always being on alert leads many people on the street to feel hypervigilant, which often results in a lack of sleep at times. That, Greenstone said, ultimately leads to mental-health issues being formed due to trauma or existing mental-health issues worsening for others.

“It’s all about relationships and how you treat people,” he said. When asked if the services could be improved at Cllémentem,

Kamloops Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson cited jaywalking and open drug use as reasons for his suggested review of how Cllémentem is being operated. The city-owned building at 48 Victoria St. W. serves as a mini-storage facility for the homeless population. The facility opened in 2018 as a free space where the city’s marginalized can store their belongings, use the washroom, take a shower and co-ordinate other supports and programming. It is operated for the city by the Kamloops Aboriginal Friendship Society.

DAVE EAGLES/KTW

Greenstone said the program does more than meet his needs on a regular basis.

“The mini-storage is now part of me routine,” he said with a smile. “Their attitude is open arms.”

Greenstone said he is considered a “normal human being” at Cllémentem.

“When you can walk into a place where people greet you with open arms, it’s a break,” he said. “They’ve never judged me or criticized me. It’s a true family.”

KTW also spoke to some of Greenstone’s peers who are accessing services at Cllémentem. They wished to remain anonymous, but spoke about the facility.

Taylor Bachand | Associate

They feel the existing location is “as good as it gets” since they are aware many residents in the city do not want to see such buildings and programs in residential areas, close to their homes. Some of the people who access Cllémentem have trailers, while others remain on the street. However, Cllémentem is viewed as the one-stop shop at which everyone from the community can access services without judgment or criticism.

A man in his 40s suggested a fence surrounding the property would conceal activities raised by the mayor and which the public do not like to see, such as drug use, which is not allowed on site.

Another man in his 50s said the public needs to hold other non-profit organizations and doctors accountable for providing mental-health support and training to staff, as well as for creating an awareness that use of prescription drugs can lead to addiction. He said prescribed drugs are traded for street drugs by those who depend on substances to endure the elements.

A handful of people KTW spoke with at Cllémentem said the homeless population wants to avoid people who are not homeless due to the ongoing stigma that exists when one is down on their luck.

We are pleased to welcome Taylor Bachand as an associate with our firm Called to the bar on Feb 1/23, before joining our firm Taylor completed her Bachelor of Laws with Honours at the University of Tasmania, Australia (2019), and her B achelor of Ar ts with Dis tinc tion at UV ic (2016) Planning to focus her practice in wills and estates, business, and real estate, Taylor's inherent curiosit y, logical adaptabilit y, and limitless energy result in personalized, cohesive legal solutions for her clients

After sp ending over a de cade tra ve ling the world , Tay lor returne d to hometown Kamloops , to make her life around family and friends . Outside of the office, Taylor enjoys finding creative projec ts that bring together like -minded people, exploring B C and beyond, and reading the occasional good book .

Congratulations Taylor, from all of us at Fulton!