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Tri-City homeless speak out, allege mistreatment, ask for more services

A Port Coquitlam homeless man says police and bylaw officers routinely seize his belongings and are trying to push people like him out of the community.

A Port Coquitlam homeless man says police and bylaw officers routinely seize his belongings and are trying to push people like him out of the community.

Ross Brydon has lived on the streets for more than 15 years and currently resides in a tent along the Coquitlam River. He said it is not uncommon for homeless people like him to return to their camps to find all of their possessions gone and a card for 1-800-GOT-JUNK left behind. 

“They will take everything,” he said. “If you haven’t moved when they tell you to leave, if you aren’t gone by their set warning time... they will seize everything.”

A tent, a bike, some food and identification are among the items Brydon said have been taken over the years. The few possessions he owns, he added, he relies on for survival. 

“I don’t understand the thinking behind it,” he said. “Where does it help to take someone’s possessions? Anyone that hopes to assimilate back into society, they are not going to do it by having bylaws [officers] seize their belongings.”

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Ross Brydon, a Port Coquitlam resident who has been homeless for close to 15 years, speaks during a rally in front of the Port Coquitlam courthouse Thursday afternoon. - Gary McKenna

Brydon, who said he has two children who live in the area, once worked as a contractor. But he said he hurt his back on the job and because it was his own business, he did not have benefits to cover his time away from work. Without a way to make an income, he said it was not long before he ended up on the streets.

Paul Jones, Port Coquitlam's manager of bylaw services, said in a statement that homelessness is a "complex and challenging issue." She added that staff do a lot to connect homeless people in the community with services and outreach programs.

"The city's bylaw services division's first priority is to check on the individuals' wellbeing and ask if they need outreach services and refer them accordingly," she said. "They have never taken down active camps without fair notice and always give the individuals the opportunity to take what they want and then we dispose of what is left behind."

However, the treatment Brydon said he has experienced at the hands of police and bylaws officers prompted him to get involved with Alliance Against Displacement. Thursday afternoon, the organization held a rally in front of the Port Coquitlam courthouse and marched into Coquitlam, where demonstrators attempted to set up what they called the “We Exist Tent City” in a vacant lot next to a homeless shelter and transitional housing at 3030 Gordon Ave.

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Ivan Drury, an organizer with Alliance Against Displacement. - Gary McKenna

Ivan Drury, an organizer with Alliance Against Displacement who had a strong hand in the creation of the Anita Place tent city in Maple Ridge, said Brydon’s story is not uncommon in the Tri-Cities. 

“People come back to the camps they have established for weeks to find everything is gone,” he said. “There is just a business card from [1-800-GOT JUNK] behind. People are sick of that.”

Drury said homeless people are safer when they camp in groups.

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The Coquitlam RCMP ordered protestors off the vacant lot next to the 3030 Gordon Ave. homeless shelter, where they were attempting to build a tent city Thursday afternoon. - Gary McKenna

But attempts to set up a tent city in Coquitlam were thwarted Thursday when the RCMP ordered protestors to vacate the lot. After a couple of hours and multiple meetings between activists and Mounties, the marchers agreed to disband their camp and move out.

Drury said people will now be forced to establish camps on their own. And because of pressure from police and bylaws officials in the Tri-Cities, many homeless are forced to locate their camps in more precarious places, he said. 

“People constantly mention bears as a danger they deal with because they are pushed so far into hiding, they are out in a place where bears seek food,” Drury said. 

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Protestors marched past the homeless shelter on 3030 Gordon Ave. and setup what they called “We Exist Tent City” on a vacant lot next to the facility. - Gary McKenna

If governments are not going to provide housing, he added, homeless people will take matters into their own hands. 

Coquitlam RCMP Const. John Graham pushed back against some of the assertions made by Drury and other activists during Thursday’s demonstration. He said he has had cordial interactions with many of the people who were present during the protest, although he added many were not from the area. 

“On a daily basis, we have contact with people throughout the community,” said Graham, who has worked at the Coquitlam detachment for 10 years. “We know a lot of people here by first name and have good relationships with a lot of these people.”

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Demonstrators walked down Kingsway Avenue Thursday on route to 3030 Gordon Ave., where they attempted to setup a tent city.

Mayor Richard Stewart said Coquitlam has been supportive of initiatives to help the homeless, pointing to the Gordon Avenue shelter, which sits on land provided by the municipality. Council also recently approved re-instating a cold/wet weather mat program, which provides shelter to people during the winter months. 

Alliance Against Displacement’s attempts to set up a tent city is “troubling,” he said, and could turn residents against initiatives that help those who are living on the streets.

“If we ever lose that support, we will have a much bigger problem,” Stewart said, adding that Thursday’s protest “is not doing the cause any good.”

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Homeless people and activists rallied outside of the Port Coquitlam courthouse on Thursday afternoon. Many said they want the Tri-Cities to build modular housing units similar to what has been constructed in Vancouver.

But Mike Poleger, a homeless person who was at the rally, said the services provided in the Tri-Cities do not go far enough. He noted that there are currently dorm rooms at 3030 Gordon that are not being utilized that could provide a place for people to sleep now. According to the facility’s policy, those beds are only open during extreme weather events. 

“Why don’t they open this up? What is going on? Something is wrong with the system here," Poleger said.

Tawnya Lee, a homeless person who was a peer support worker with RainCity Housing, which operates Gordon facility, said the services provided in the Tri-Cities are insufficient. She wants to see modular housing built in the area, similar to units erected in Vancouver and several other communities around B.C.

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Tents went up on a vacant lot next to the 3030 Gordon Ave. homeless shelter in Coquitlam for a few hours on Thursday as part of a housing protest organized by Alliance Against Displacement.

“We need low-income housing,” she said. “Why don’t we have modules?”

Isabel Krupp, another organizer with Alliance Against Displacement, said the goal of Thursday’s rally was to shine a light on the lack of affordable housing in the Tri-Cities.

“You can’t build a home in a shelter,” Krupp said. “You can’t look after your family in a shelter. We need homes for people, not just shelter.”