A warming bus and mobile safe injection site was helping people while parked in an alley parallel to Main Street in Penticton.

(DAN WALTON / iNFOnews.ca)

When temperatures reach extreme lows in the City of Penticton, 16 extra cots become available to homeless people, but they reached capacity during this week’s cold spell.

Temperatures dipped below -20 Celsius with windchill on the evening of Dec. 29, when iNFOnews was invited on an outreach ride-along.

The streets that night were as quiet as they’d been in a long time, according to Shayla Doble. She's been involved with Keep the Cold Off Penticton for the past four years, but now that the organization is on hiatus she is making the effort on her own.

At least two evenings a week – especially on the coldest nights – Doble loads up her SUV with warm clothes and blankets, hot drinks, homemade meals and convenient snacks to share with anyone who’s cold or hungry.

Shayla Doble, co-ordinator for Keep the Cold Off Penticton, takes her well-stocked SUV around the city to offer food and clothing to the less fortunate.

(DAN WALTON / iNFOnews.ca)

Even on a frigid night in Penticton, people who have been assigned a warm bed at one of the shelters still choose to spend their time outside.

One homeless man named Greg has a bed at the Compass House while his girlfriend has one at Burdock Place, however they spend their time together outside of a church where they were hugging to keep warm.

Greg said on Christmas Eve they slept outside because they didn’t want to be apart that night.

“Only family I have is her,” he said. “Built a little shelter up here, stayed together, it was good. Better than nothin’.”

Greg used to work in the oil fields, install garage doors, and he considers himself a Jack-of-all-trades. But he said finding a job when you’re homeless is very difficult.

“Been trying to get a job for a while. I’ll do the application and resume, looks all good, go in for an interview. Never get the job though.”

And finding an apartment without a job is even harder, he said, as steady employment is a prerequisite for most landlords. And the high cost of local rentals makes it even more challenging for the couple to escape homelessness. 

“Everything’s gone sky high so we can’t afford nothing,” Greg said.

Another man who was grateful for Doble’s hot chocolate and turkey soup had parked his bike beside an auto shop in the middle of town. He doesn’t stay at the shelter because he prefers to sleep in a camper trailer that’s parked on a sympathetic person’s land.

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In the Nanaimo Square area, two people who were staying at the Victory Shelter said they don’t like to spend too much time there because it makes them feel crazy.

One of those two people, a young man who said the shelter is “a gong show,” was pushing a shopping cart that had water bottles inside that were frozen solid.

He let a few things off his chest while drinking his hot chocolate and enjoying his soup. He feels let down by his family after his dad visited for Christmas to check in and give him cards from the family. An older man traded him a garbage bag full of empty cans in exchange for $20 worth of drugs, but he said the bag did not have $20 worth of cans so he felt ripped off. And he had a blistering scab on his hand – larger than a toonie – which happened because he got angry and punched a metal sign.

Despite all the young man’s reasons to feel frustrated, he had a friendly demeanour. He upgraded his winter jacket thanks to Doble. When she was initially ignored by another street person who she tried to call over, the young man, who knew the other by name, made him feel comfortable enough to come by and warm up.

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While driving down an alley behind Main Street we approached a bus that was parked in the laneway. Some people use the bus for warmth – like one man who was treating his frostbitten fingers – and it also serves as a mobile safe injection site.

A moment after pulling up behind the bus, which was blocking the alley, an impatient driver arrived and started honking. The bus immediately moved out of his way, although the driver still had time to roll down his window, swear and call it a “junkie bus” and point out people were shooting up inside.

“I hear people say homeless people are lazy,” Doble said.

“But from what I see, homeless people are quite the opposite. You try pushing a shopping cart from one end of town to the other. Building a shelter. Walking however many blocks just to wash their laundry somewhere.”

After Doble began her local outreach efforts, her commitment to the cause was cemented when her own brother fell into homelessness in Penticton.

She said it was hard not knowing what he was going through.

“When my brother was homeless, I remember always sitting down, being with my kids and wondering, how is he? Does he have shoes? In my warm bed wondering, where is he? Does he have a hot meal?”

Fortunately her brother is now off the streets.

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Doble herself has stayed at a shelter, although that was after fleeing an abusive relationship and in another community. She made the shelter sound like an unpleasant place.

“I felt like I was in their way all the time,” she said. “Like I was the burden.”

Outside of the Victory Shelter, where the 16 extra beds were made available due to the extremely cold weather, many of the people staying at that shelter were hanging out in the parking lot. Even at those temperatures it was a fun, social atmosphere. There were adults of all ages and no drinking, open drug use or aggression. Everyone who came over was grateful for a warm meal and clothing.

They were being nostalgic and chatting about childhood heroes like former WWE star Bret “the Hitman” Hart. Most people liked their hot chocolate extra chocolatey. One man said anyone staying in an emergency bed has fewer privileges at the shelter. And one woman explained how she likes to wear dresses, even in the middle of winter, but has to wear a pair of warm pants underneath.

Doble said folks seemed more chipper that night, which she guessed is because of how 16 more people had a bed to sleep on that night.

“People who are normally on the street aren’t right now because of those extra beds,” she said. “A cold snap can really be a blessing and a curse to some of them.”

Bob and Shayla Doble.

(DAN WALTON / iNFOnews.ca)

Since beginning her outreach efforts in 2017, Doble noticed the largest increase in the homeless population occurred this past summer. And while addiction and mental health issues remain a contributing factor towards homelessness, she considers unaffordable rent prices to be the primary driver of the recent spike.

Asked if the City could do a better job of addressing the homelessness issue, she said she doesn’t think so because local governments can’t have much impact on the cost of housing.

She said one of the most appreciated donations are sleeping bags and blankets, which get worn through quickly on the street. Mittens have been in short supply this winter, while warm hats and jackets are always valued.

Doble feels like it’s everyone’s right to be warm and fed. Her outreach efforts are possible thanks to donations and she pays for her own gas.

Anybody who wants to support her outreach efforts can get in touch with her via email here.

Beyond the material support, Doble wants to see people making more eye contact with street people. After speaking with so many over the years, she said the worst part about being homeless is how much they are ignored by the general public.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Dan Walton or call 250-488-3065 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

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