Erica Stewart has been living in the homeless encampment on a Kelowna section of the Okanagan Rail Trail for close to two years. She attends school presentations to spread awareness about homelessness.

(GEORGINA WHITEHOUSE / iNFOnews.ca)

Erica Stewart has been living in a tent on the Kelowna section of the Okanagan Rail Trail for almost two years now.

Stewart spent her working life in the hospitality industry, working at five-star hotels, as a flight attendant and then as a waitress and bartender at a Kelowna casino. That's until the COVID-19 pandemic put her out of a job for 16 months and left her without enough money to pay rent.

“I had a really poor relationship during that time as well. It sort of affected me and definitely affected my finances too,” Stewart told iNFOnews.ca. “And then I was sort of bouncing around with friends downtown and couch surfing, I guess, living in my car and what not. Then I came to visit some friends that I knew down at the rail trail and I just ended up down there.”

Being part of the tight-knit homeless community gave Stewart a sense of belonging she hadn’t felt anywhere else in the Okanagan.

“It's hard to explain, but they just feel like home, you know, and I think that I like to play a role in the life of the rail trail,” Stewart said. “A lot of people talk to me about their things, their problems, or (if) they're having issues."

Stewart's role as a mediator, caretaker and voice for the city's unhoused residents has also given the community the representation they have long been lacking.

“It's really hard for some of them. Their self-esteem is so low, and they already feel like they're dead. They have nothing left,” Stewart said. “And it's pretty sad, actually. I talk to a lot of upset people that are, you know, in desperate times. And it's hard. And it's sad."

In an email to iNFOnews.ca, the City of Kelowna said that local governments are petitioning to senior levels of government, who are responsible for homelessness, mental health and addiction, for more support. 

"The city is also advocating for the province to take a regional approach when it comes to funding emergency shelters," the statement read. "To ensure this type of housing is available in all communities, rather than a sporadic approach." 

However, those in desperate need of help struggle to find it from the city, province or even sometimes charities, Stewart said.

“We get breakfast brought to us every morning. So, we get one cup of oats, a juice box, a granola bar and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. A lot of times the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are mouldy. A lot of times. And the mice won't even eat the oatmeal.”

Stewart said many of her peers are so deprived of decent, nutritious meals that they are on the brink of starvation.

She estimates that close to 25% of the tent city residents suffer from physical disabilities that prevent them from walking to Metro Community downtown where they could access a hot meal, showers and wash clothes.

“There are a lot of people with infections and things like that,” Stewart said. “You cut your leg on something and then it just festers and festers and festers. Like some people's legs are like double the size on one side."

Stewart says homeless people are often treated poorly by medical staff and would rather avoid seeking medical care until it is absolutely necessary.

Those who can make the kilometre walk from the rail trail to Metro Community are often in competition to use one of the two showers available.

“They're pretty much the only place you can go to have a shower and there's only two showers and they're only available from 10 a.m. till 3 p.m. So how many people is that? Not very many. And there's 200 of us out here.”

Stewart herself receives $635 per month in welfare, which she says only just covers food costs and necessities.

She says that any help she has asked for outside of her welfare has fallen on deaf ears.

“I've asked for help with working. I've asked for help with my mental health. I've received none.”

Stewart says she prefers to sleep in her tent on the trail after some experiences that left her feeling unsafe in some of the city's shelters.

However, life on the trail comes with it own unique difficulties.

“We feel a little bit like a zoo out here," she said. "People stare. People bring their kids down and say, 'Oh, if you don't listen to me, this is what you'll end up like'... people drive by and video us. They come by on their bikes. They call us names.”

This constant barrage of verbal assaults can make assimilation back into society even more difficult for residents of the trail, Stewart says.

“Without an identity and without hope, I don't know how you're supposed to live up to your real true potential, you know? You don't have a sense of identity and you've been cast down so far and you feel like nobody cares about you or nobody will help you.”

Many of the residents also suffer from addiction, a problem that can be difficult to solve in the best circumstances and even worse on the street.

“Their families have turned their backs on them. The system has failed them. And once you get down here, you know, a lot of them, they're looked down upon, and if people just keep telling you you're nothing, then it's not going to change anything,” she said.

“Why wouldn't they want to drown that with something? I can understand how low they get and how hopeless it is. It's hard to dig yourself out. You can't dig yourself out of that without some help. And the system certainly doesn't lift you up.”

Homelessness is a year-round issue in Kelowna, but plummeting temperatures in the winter can make everyday struggles much more dire.

During the extreme temperature drop earlier in the year, the warming buses provided by the city filled up quickly and many were left to tough it out in tents, Stewart said.

Stewart hosted 11 friends in her tent. They huddled together next to her portable heater to keep warm while temperatures outside dropped to minus double digits.

“I'm part of the community and I feel like I am fighting for them and I do care," she said. "I want to improve all of our circumstances, not just my own."

Stewart’s work has extended beyond the tent city as well. Recently, she talked to 150 children at Glenmore Elementary to spread awareness about the realities of homelessness.

“We're just normal people like everybody else and we're just struggling, you know. A hand up would be better than kicking us while we're down.”

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