Senior homeless for 1st time

Photo: Colin Dacre

Up until Thursday morning, Ron Stevens was one of dozens of homeless people sleeping in tents in the yards of private homes across Penticton.

The 62-year-old Princeton man came to the city at the start of the year, moving to be closer to Penticton Regional Hospital after a two-week stint in a hospital bed.

“I need to be somewhere that has a good functioning hospital. Princeton has a Band-Aid station,” he said. “But I didn’t realize the rental market was as bad as it was until I got here.”

Stevens wasn’t able to find an affordable rental that would accept his dog, and he ended up at the cold-weather shelter. But since it closed for the season in April, he’s been camping in the front yard of a friend’s house on Main Street with one other man.

“Then all of a sudden we have bylaw officers coming in there, taking pictures, saying I have to take the tents down,” he said after being evicted Thursday.

He said he “understands" bylaw's point, but he's at a loss of where to turn — with the city recently clearing out homeless camps in Esplanade Park.

“I’m looking for anywhere that I can put my hat down and not worry about being kicked out tomorrow. I don’t mind paying some rent.”

Stevens explained he grew up in Princeton and worked his entire life as a chef. He was never homeless before getting sick and coming to Penticton. He was married and had kids, although they are spread around B.C. and unable to help. He was seeking part-time work as a cook in Penticton until his health took another dive.

"This is all brand new for me," he sighed.

Stevens is on the BC Housing wait list and is working to have his dog certified as a support animal, which should make it easier for him to find a home. 

“I don’t do well by myself, I have to have at least my dog to talk to," he said.

City of Penticton bylaw services manager Tina Siebert says there are currently eight to 10 properties within the city where bylaw is working to dismantle camps on private land.

“It comes up all the time. It’s an issue,” she said. “It’s a difficult situation for everyone and we want to make sure that we aren't just leaving these people nowhere to go. Anyone at any time could be homeless.”

Seibert said they try to work with the property owners to give those impacted some notice they have to move in an effort to “balance the heart with the hammer.”

With well over 100 homeless in Penticton, Siebert acknowledges they have to go somewhere. In some cases, they have worked to help them move with friends indoors or in a designated campground.

Stevens, however, didn’t appear to get any of that assistance because the city had been interacting with the property owner and he wasn't home when officers visited. 

“My stuff is all packed up sitting there and I got nowhere to go. I can’t even find a motel that will take my dog,” he said Thursday afternoon.

“I have my own private drug store I have to take every morning just to stay alive,” he said, reiterating that he doesn’t want to leave his doctor and the hospital in Penticton.

Seibert hopes multiple social housing projects under construction relieves some of the pressure on Penticton’s homeless and will help eliminate the urban camping issue moving forward. Until then, there is no easy answer for where people like Stevens end up.