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Surrey
An old Ford helps steer kids away from a life of crime SEE VIDEO WITH LAYAR
Gord Goble Now contributor
SURREY — It reads like the implausible plot for the feel-good movie of the year: The would-be hero – a cop, a good one – stumbles upon the rusted hulk of a 1935 Ford Slantback withering away in a far-off prairie pasture. Dude brings it halfway across the country, then spends the better part of a decade breathing life into it. Except he doesn’t work alone. Instead, he enlists the aid of disadvantaged kids from the poor side of town, kids who might otherwise be compelled to pilfer a car rather than lovingly restore one. Complications ensue, of course, but the closing scene – where the car and the cop and the kids lead a parade through the downtown core – is nothing short of a happiness factory. Only this isn’t a movie, it’s
real life, and we’re just now entering the final act. When VPD Sgt. Tim Houchen found the car, or what was left of it, in a Saskatchewan farmer’s field seven years ago, he likely didn’t know all it would spawn. Then again, maybe he did. Houchen is one of those guys who believes. He believes in ideals, and he believes in old-school wholesomeness. “When you look at meaningful conversations between a parent and kid,” Houchen says, “those conversations were over mechanics with my dad, fixing a car, a boat, a truck. That’s where our meaningful conversations took place.” And he believes that “if you remove the cultural stigma of the police and the Downtown Eastside (of Vancouver), it’s far easier for a youth to come to you and take those steps required to have a relationship. It’s personal.” And that’s what the NASKARZ (Never Again Steal Cars) program is all about. Currently using the see ‘WE FIND’ › page 5
Teens in the NASKARZ program with Ewald Penner (second from left) and police Sgt. Tim Houchen (right). (Photo: GORD GOBLE)
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Help for the homeless
Extremeweather beds open early Amy Reid Now staff Twitter @amyreid87
SURREY and WHITE ROCK — Extreme-weather beds opened early this year. While the program usually kicks off in mid- to late-November, a heavy rainfall warning triggered an early opening for Nov. 1 and 2 in Surrey and White Rock. “It was the first time in eight years we were ever open that early,” said Jonquil Hallgate, executive director of Surrey Urban Mission. The mission’s new location at 108th Avenue and King George Boulevard has a shower, which will be particularly useful for its clients this time of year. Hallgate said the mission saw nine people on Friday, Nov. 1 and 28 people on the Saturday. In Surrey and White Rock, there are 80 beds, with 20 more that can open if needed. Delta is not participating in the extreme weather program this year. The beds are called to open when weather conditions become dangerous for those on the street. Temperatures of -2 C, significant snowfall, gusty winds or prolonged rain can trigger an opening. The beds are then available on and off throughout the cold season. “Some years we’ve hardly been open and other years, we’ve been open 50 nights,” Hallgate said. In addition to providing an indoor place to sleep, the program includes a warm meal. Peter Fedos, extreme weather coordinator for Surrey-White Rock, said the service can make the difference between life and death. see TUQUES, GLOVES › page 3
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