Penticton community trying to help man searching the streets for cans to pay off his debt

Photo: Contributed

An organization focused on providing mobile outreach and other initiatives related to homelessness in Penticton is highlighting a local they feel needs support from the community.

Bob Richards is a previous Ironman Penticton competitor who gave up the sport to help his sick wife. He spends his time looking for recycling bottles and cans to assist in reducing the debts brought about by some unfortunate events.

The Keep The Cold Off Penticton Foundation, run by Mike Forster and Kristyn Trickey, usually focuses their efforts on helping the homeless. However, they chose to share Richards' story anyhow.

“We were driving around last Monday on our route looking for our friends on this super cold night. Hunting for people, we saw a person looking in recycle bins on the road. I did a u-turn, and we drove up asking him if he needed anything. He told us he is not homeless or in need of food, but explained his story. We have seen him a few nights we have been out now, and again on this cold one,” their Facebook post reads.

Forster and Trickey gave Richards their cards and told him to contact them if he ever needed help.

“He emailed us his story and gave his permission to share it with the community. It's been posted just like he sent it, and we would love if we could come together to help him pay off his debt by donating bottles to him.”

After sharing his story on Facebook, community interest quickly picked up and a GoFundMe was started.

“A kind and caring individual that took out a loan to help his fellow citizens. One would imagine that fate might look kindly on such an individual. Unfortunately, that is not always the case,” the GoFundMe reads, describing part of Richards' story.

“We would like to help Bob get back on his feet from a financial situation caused solely by his kind-natured need to help others.”

Richards wrote that in 2010, after the box plant in Oliver was closed down, he started security work in Penticton. He ended up working twelve-hour shifts from 8:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m., four days on, and four off.

“In the meantime, to help the family in Oliver out as the kids were finishing school, I took out a huge loan to help them purchase a mobile [home] in Penticton. I could not get a mortgage on a house as well as my own,” his story reads.

“In March of 2014, they move out and when I managed to get a key once I found out, it was a total wreck inside. Cost of pad rent and repairs plus insurance were out of the question and I had to give it away and transfer the credit line to my mortgage. A hard pill to swallow, but at least then I managed to cut down on the money I owned, and wasn’t going to add over a thousand to my debts each month.”

Now that his wife is in care, Richards has worked to drop the loan balance from over $130,000 to $93,000.

“Bound and determined, I’ll get back on my feet without the financial stress," he said.

The story, along with Richards’ reply email ,can be found online on the GoFundMe and the original post on Facebook.