homeless

Mar 17 2014

He wrote a book – And finished it

Boundaries that society puts on us shouldn’t be taken very seriously. It should be said, “if you want to do something, you should do it”.

This is how I approached the book I just sent to the printer. I knew very little about publishing a book. Books are made out to be scary things. Not just anyone can publish a book I thought. That was until I realized – because of the Internet – it was possible.

Not only that but I never thought a book on this topic could be pushished. Who would want to read a book about homeless people? Well it turns out a lot of kind folks. I have realized that many people care about the topic and are interested in the book. This once again proves to me that if you can dream something up, you can make it happen, because chances are there is a whole group of people thinking the same thing but frequently only one person actually acts on it.

That does not mean there won’t be a lot of hard work involved. I certainly put in the hours on the book. Wandering the streets meeting people, taking photos, talking to them. Then transcribing their stories and formalizing them and finally laying it all out in a beautiful book. No easy task for sure. My hours and the hours of those that helped me were many.

But now comes the time for accomplishment, of feeling proud to have produced a product that will enlighten those who read it and help to give a voice to those who would otherwise not feel they have one.

The book, the physical book, made of paper, 10” by 8” in size isn’t even here yet. It hasn’t even been 24 hours since the book files went to the printer. Still that feeling of satisfaction overwhelms.

www.yellowknifestreets.com/book

Aug 31 2013

Last night was unreal

Last night, on a Friday night, I had the most wonderful time just taking in Yellowknife and the North. It will never get old and I will say it over and over and over and you will get tired of hearing it from me but it is oh so true.

If you are bored, just leave.

My evening started when a friend and I grabbed a quick dinner and our cameras and headed out. We didn’t know where we were going but I wanted to trying push forward with my project about recording the stories of many of Yellowknife street people.

I was absolutely blown away, and I have done this several times now, how welcoming, polite and generous many people are when I approach. I thank them for their time. I only hope they know how much I appreciate the conversations I have. Throughout the 2.5 hours we walked the streets we met many people. For the last hour we were down town we spent it with someone very special to me. We sat down with him and just had a blast talking about so much and I am so blessed to be called his friend. I can’t wait to tell this mans story, he is truly a wonder soul.

We left downtown eventually and headed towards Pontoon Lake where we were going to set up for some aurora shooting.

As we pulled up to “the spot” a large lanky looking dog trotted out from the shore of the lake onto the road. Only thing was this wasn’t a dog, it was a white wolf. A beautiful creature. He slowly meandered across the road, checking us out. It was to dark for a photo but he crossed the road and walked up a rock face onto a hill. Standing there staring at us, all we could see was his outline as a silhouette against the ever fading blue sky. It was special.

I often feel like I have this small gift for showing up at places exactly at the right time to get the best show of Northern Lights. After the wolf left, we pulled in and setup. As soon as we did the aurora just took off, dancing, twisting, sparkling and moving. Green and purple. It was a show that you’d think cost lots of money. Who is the lighting genius that created this number.

15 minutes later it was over.

Nights like this don’t happen very often but boy am I feeling good that I got to experience all that.

Feb 18 2013

Baking Bread for the Homeless

Well it is about time I do something with this bread I like making. I have been playing with this idea for a while but I have finally put in motion the project of baking bread for the homeless of Yellowknife.

It wont be big and fancy like I have seen in other cities. I’m simply going to make a bunch of bread and drop it off at the Salvation Army’s bread racks.

They get bread dropped off on Monday and Thursday, so my plan is to drop off a bunch of loaves on Wednesdays.

The nice thing about this project is that I will be getting the flour and sugar for the bread from Yellowknife’s Food Rescue program.

Stay tuned for an update.

Dec 09 2012

Leonard and Gina on the Yellowknife Streets

My encounter with Leonard and Gina is still one that I’m in shock about. Let me tell you how these two are the begging of something bigger that I hope to accomplish.

On my way to work one morning, at approximately 6:50a.m. I walked past the TD Bank ATM area. Inside I saw two bodies on the ground, snuggled together and sleeping. I thought it was rude of myself to take a photo of them but I did. I didn’t know why I did it yet but as the morning progressed it started coming to me.

I have grown up around Yellowknife’s homeless folk, they don’t scare me and I sympathize for them. A lot of them have addictions, they come from broken homes and can’t just break the pattern they are currently in. When I see them around Yellowknife I see people who have stories of hardships, and these are the stories I want to tell. Why? Because I think knowing who these people are will give us all a new perspective on how we can help them.

On my way to get lunch on the same day I took the photo of the two people sleeping, I met Leonard and Gina on the sidewalk. I was taking a photo of something else and Leonard asked what I was taking a picture of. As I started talking to him, he explained to me his story. Leonard use to have a camera like mine and liked to take photos, but some months ago he lost it.

As you would guess, Leonard and Gina are not from Yellowknife. Leonard is apparently from PEI or started off his journey there. He has hitchhiked clear across Canada. About a year and a half ago he met Gina and they have been together ever since, they even refer to themselves as husband and wife even though it may not be official.

Why these two keep traveling I don’t know but before coming to the NWT, the two where in Whitehorse for sometime and then when the opportunity arose they hitchhiked right into the NWT. Leonard told me he had never been to the NWT and wanted to check it out.

What really stuck out to me about these two is how honest they seemed and how optimistic they both appeared. Leonard had said that he is an alcoholic, he didn’t shy around it. It is his addiction.

As our conversation was winding down we got on the topic of where the two had been staying. Up until that day they had a tent in the bush where they were living – Leonard and Gina as a couple wanted to stay together and neither overnight shelters allow that so they opted for their tent. Unfortunately a fire, presumably from their small stove they used for heating, lit their tent on fire and they lost all their belongings and heating fuel. Not even thinking about the couple I photographed earlier I asked where they stayed last night. Their response, TD Bank ATM area. I was shocked to have come full circle with the couple from the morning. Leonard then praised the people of Yellowknife because between leaving the bank that morning and meeting me on the street another resident had heard about their tent and gave them another one.

Leonard and Gina aren’t perfect people and many have also told me how these two can be aggressive and rude but I gave them two minutes of my time and they seemed very thankful to be recognized and spoken to like normal people. It wasn’t until we were practically walking away from each other did Leonard ask for money for a coffee. He didn’t guilt me into it or pressure me, he simply asked. I did give him two dollars, however I would have rather given a coffee card he could redeem, which I’m working on getting.

We don’t always know the stories of those we see on the streets, we often don’t give them the time of day and simply think of them as an eye sore. But just imagine if we did. Sure some stories will not be pleasant some people really are two lazy to try and turn their lives around but others have had the misfortune of getting into these situation they can’t get out of. I don’t have a solution I can only tell the stories of these people in the hopes it help find one.