This man living in a tent says N.L. government making more empty promises
William Whelan says he often fears for his life living in a tent
William Whelan says there's nothing warm or comforting about his home.
It's a small tent, which he says isn't always able to withstand the frigid winter winds. Inside the thin nylon walls he has a pillow and a checkered sleeping bag.
Every day, he says he fears for his life sleeping in his tent — he's afraid he'll either "starve to death or freeze to death," thoughts that keep him up at night.
When Transportation and Infrastructure Minister John Abbott said Thursday that the government's goal was to move everyone out of the camp and into somewhere warm by Christmas Eve, Whelan wasn't convinced.
"I didn't believe him at all because I'm still here and it seems to me like every day, someone gives us another promise that we never receive and we're just still all waiting," he said.
"We can't stay here, we're going to die. Or somebody will. Or else I'll be the first one, because I'm ready to give up. And I didn't think I'd ever say that, but it's the truth."
Losing hope
Abbott told reporters that the government is going to ramp up its efforts to provide people from the tent encampment with a roof over their heads and that everything is on the table — including shelters and hotel rooms.
But Whelan says he refuses to go back into the shelter system. That's a sentiment that's been shared by many other people living in tents, including many people living at the tent encampment outside Confederation Building.
Whelan has been homeless for around a couple of months — he's lived under a bridge on Water Street, in the Gathering Place shelter, and now, in a tent.
"I didn't want to wake up at all 'cause I just didn't have no motivation to get up," he said.
He says he suffers from anxiety and has trouble living in crowded spaces with a lot of people.
While housing is certainly important, said Whelan, putting people in a hotel room or shelter temporarily doesn't solve the root of the problem.
He says the people living in the tent encampment have become somewhat like a family but every person sleeping there has their own set of challenges.
There are underlying issues that lead to homelessness, he says, and the government has a responsibility to address them.
- Housing task force wants to move people out of tent encampment by Christmas, minister says
- Housing activist says N.L. government's homelessness task force is nothing but a 'press conference'
Whelan says more mental health supports or access to a doctor would go a long way. But at this point, he says, he's desperate — he just wants a warm place to rest his head, even if it's temporarily.
"I seem to think that the city [is asking], 'How are we going to get rid of tent city?' But it isn't tent city, it's 20 different people that needs different problems solved," he said.
"I just would like to have a job, I suppose. But I haven't worked in so long that I don't think I could even work anymore.… I'm too mentally handicapped now."
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With files from Heather Gillis