John Howard Society
Concern for homeless community heightens as temperatures rise
VERNON - While the hot weather forecast has many of us planning fun ways to beat the heat, members of the homeless population are thinking about something else entirely: survival. Imagine heading into 40 Celsius weather with no air conditioning, no hat or sunscreen, and no water. That’s the situation Vernon’s Cammy LaFleur Street Outreach...
Rentals in Vernon more expensive and harder to find, report suggests
VERNON - It’s a harsher market in Vernon for those looking to rent and a community outreach worker says it’s even worse than the statistics suggest. The vacancy rate of available rental units dropped to 3.4 per cent in April 2015, down from 4.1 per cent the same time last year, according to the Canada...
One homeless man’s long road to finding affordable housing in Vernon
“I HAD TO ASK FOR HELP. IT WAS EITHER THAT, OR I’D STILL BE HOMELESS” VERNON - For the last 10 years, Roy You has lived on and off the streets. He travelled far from the Splatsin First Nation reserve where he grew up, searching for work in different places, never staying long. Many nights...
Better than money: John Howard Society gets major property donation
VERNON - The John Howard Society has received a gift few non-profits ever do: real estate. A 3,600 square foot suite inside the Creekside Professional Building was given to the society by a local couple, Mike and Beverly Davies, Tuesday, Feb. 17. It’s the largest gift ever received by the society, and believed to be...
The many lives of Mario Aragon, and the new one Vernon gave him
VERNON - When he was a kid, Mario Aragon’s grandfather nicknamed him ‘tiacuache’—Spanish for opossum—because the animals are said to have seven lives. Mario, now 53, has lived up to the moniker. His journey from the small Oaxaca village he was born in to Bill’s Place, an addictions recovery home in Vernon, has been a...
How Vernon is making Christmas wishes come true
VERNON - A phone card, a bus ticket, warm footwear: It’s not your usual Christmas wish list, but for those on the receiving end, the gifts may mean a call home, a family visit or keeping warm on the unforgiving winter streets. It’s part of an initiative called Homeless Partners, which collects stories from the...
MP’s remarks were ‘uninformed and disappointing’: Vernon homeless shelter
‘I WISH I HAD CONFIDENCE THAT I HAVE SUPPORT FROM MY MP’ VERNON - The executive director of a local organization committed to getting Vernon’s homeless people off the streets says recent comments made by the region’s MP are misinformed, especially considering the high number of deaths on its streets the past two years. Barbara...
Homeless deaths inspire memorial and call to action
VERNON - This past winter, Chuck Harper drove past a pair of homeless men he knew well from his work at the local shelter. He was aware of their addictions and health troubles. Having panhandled on the streets of Vernon when he was 16, he didn’t judge or look down on them— he called them...