Leighton Kimmel organized a donations drive with 15 other friends and recovering addicts during this weekends freezing temperatures in Kelowna.

Image Credit: SUMBITTED/ Leighton Kimmel

During freezing temperatures last weekend, Kelowna resident Leighton Kimmel went to great lengths to make sure those stuck outside on the rail trail were fed and warm.

With a Facebook post, several messages asking for help, and a whole lot of organizing, Kimmel and his mother, Carman Jones, were able to drive a truck full of winter supplies and food down to Kelowna’s “tent city” and Leon Avenue.

“I think it was less than 12 donations and like 300 bucks and it was amazing what we were able to do,” Kimmel told iNFOnews.ca. “We were able to actually help everyone there and give everyone a burger (and a) coffee.”

Kimmel suffered from addiction and spent time on the streets in Kelowna and Vancouver. Now, after nearly a year clean, he wants to help those who are in the same position.

“It's very isolating and even when I went into detox last year, people coming into detox said when they were on the streets, they didn't even feel like … they didn't even feel like a human,” Kimmel said, breaking into tears. “My mom did this last year; she said the one thing we forgot to do this year was give them all hugs because they really appreciate that.”

Kimmel was overcome by the gratitude he received from people living out in the cold and was surprised that, despite their desperation, they wouldn’t ask for more than was necessary.

“They wouldn't take what they didn't need so that their other friends could have what they needed.”

He and his mother were also overwhelmed by the number of people living out in the cold.

“(My mum) said last year there (were) way less tents. It wasn't even half the distance down the rail trail,” he said.

When Kimmel was homeless, he spent winters in Vancouver. However, he is no stranger to the terrifying risks of extreme weather without shelter.

“I was in Vancouver… which isn't anywhere near as hot as Kelowna. But it got (to) like 30 degrees, a heat flash, and I was homeless. And no matter what I did I couldn't stay away from the heat. I got such bad heatstroke. I was hospitalized for a couple of days.”

This weekend, Kimmel invited 15 friends, all recovering from addiction, to help deliver supplies to the rail trail residents.

One of those individuals was Mackenzie Laboucane who, as a teenager, spent long winters in Calgary on the street.

Laboucane is familiar with the cold and expressed her dismay at the living conditions and lack of resources on the rail trail, particularly the lack of access to emergency indoor shelters.

When Kimmel and Laboucane were handing out food, temperatures were so cold that people wouldn’t leave their tents for a hot meal.

“People are out there starving and the cold's even preventing them from that,” she said.

The pair believe this is also why the city’s warming buses weren’t full.

“When we went down there, they had all the warming buses out, not one person was in them. I think at the end there was one guy in there,” Kimmel said.

“And a lot of them are in poor health,” Laboucane added.

Both were also shocked by the number of seniors living in tents.

Leighton Kimmel and 15 other volunteers handing out donations to residents living on the Rail Trail.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Leighton Kimmel

“There were a couple people that… when they came up, I thought they were volunteers helping us,” Kimmel said. “They were older, and I wouldn't have thought they were homeless.”

Laboucane noticed many seniors over the weekend, a lot of whom were Indigenous. Many were also suffering from substance use.

For Laboucane, people suffering from addiction have little hope of recovering while living on the street. From her time working for the John Howard Society, she has seen the benefits of putting housing first and then working on recovery later.

The notion that people living on the rail trail are getting enough supplies, attention and care, is little more than a fallacy for Kimmel. 

"It's crazy because, like, I even talked to some people who are now clean, who used to have addiction problems, and they still have this idea that people at the rail trail are getting dropped off so much stuff by so many organizations,” he said.

“The biggest thing is, when we left there, they didn't feel as alone… They said people come out and bring them coffee and stuff but never anything like that,” he said. “A couple of the guys down there, I talked to them about it and they said it made living in the cold that much more manageable and, like, obviously it's not manageable, but it made it that much easier for them.”

From his own experience, Kimmel knows how loneliness affects the homeless community. 

“That's the biggest thing that fuelled my entire addiction,” he said. “A lot of people that I know that get clean, they feel alone.”

Despite Kimmel’s stock of donations, some people were only seeking companionship.

“This one gentleman was walking up to the car, and me and my friend asked ‘all right buddy what do you need?’” Laboucane said. “And he's like, I just need a hug. And he came and we both just hugged the guy and made his day. They're human.”

With the success of their most recent visit, Kimmel hopes to do another drive on Jan. 27. This time he is working with a care worker who, along with 30 to 50 of her clients, is creating individual care packages to give to the residents.

Anyone who wishes to donate can get in touch with Leighton Kimmel by clicking this link.

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