From cardboard-insulated shack along Empress Street to apartment in less than a week No-longer homeless man in poor health helped by social service agency, city councillor knows how lucky he and his dog are and how many others aren’t By: Tyler Searle Posted: 5:24 PM CST Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023 Last Modified: 5:56 PM CST Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023 Updates

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This article was published 16/11/2023 (1036 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Bill Pchajek’s descent into homelessness has opened his eyes to the plight of more than 1,000 other people estimated to be living on Winnipeg’s streets, raising questions about the efficacy of social services and the stock of affordable housing.

The 52-year-old truck driver and his dog Gabby will move into a two-bedroom apartment Friday, less than a week after he built an elaborate, makeshift shack that drew the attention of city officials and outreach organizations.

While he is thrilled to be off the streets, he knows many others are not so fortunate.

“Clearly, there is something wrong with our system. I was hoping to get in to somewhere by Sept. 1, that was my goal. And then it passed, and then October, and then November,” he said Thursday, speaking over the hum of a gas generator providing electricity to his temporary “home” on Empress Street.

He began erecting the structure atop the remnants of an old bridge that once crossed Omand’s Creek last week, using salvaged pallets, tarps and bedding. The generator provides lighting inside the cramped space, which is insulated with cardboard in an effort to conserve heat.

“I thought I was going to be here all winter, so I was preparing for that.”

Pchajek was forced into homelessness over the summer after suffering health issues and losing his job — and access to a semi-truck — that had served as his home for “a lot of years,” he said.

“I don’t have much rental history, so I believe that’s been a barrier, and having a dog has been a barrier,” he said of his challenge finding a place to rent. “My situation is going to get better and I’m going to be just fine, but we need to address the whole problem.”

Gabby, Pchajek’s border collie-German shepherd mix, has been by his side for nearly seven years. She helps him manage his dual diagnoses of Type 1 diabetes and Graves’ disease — an autoimmune disorder that affects the thyroid, causing a variety of issues, including anxiety and fatigue.

His health problems were further compounded by multiple infected teeth that recently required emergency extractions. As a result, he’s been unable to get back to work, he said.

He and his dog were able to survive without stable housing for several months, thanks to Pchajek’s savings and support from community members in the form of food and pet supplies.

As winter approached, he realized it was time to transition from living in a tent to a warmer and more secure space, prompting the creation of his shelter.

He said he chose the St. James neighbourhood because it feels safer than downtown; he described a series of frightening encounters at homeless shelters in the city’s core

“It’s a very difficult place to be because of the addiction issues,” he said. “People are desperate. I had my bag stolen twice at Siloam (Mission) and my diabetic supplies are life and death for me.”

Pchajek originally settled on a site a few metres further south and closer to the roadway, but City of Winnipeg staff asked him to relocate, saying the shelter would interfere with snowplows.

“There was a little bit of tension at first,” he said of his interactions with city workers. “But then the councillor Cindy Gilroy came in and smoothed things over.”

Gilroy’s Daniel McIntyre ward’s western boundary is just steps from Empress; she has been working to provide food, supplies and find housing for Pchajek in recent weeks.

“He is somebody that I think can easily be housed, so it really is a shame that he is out there,” she told the Free Press.

“Some of our other individuals are harder to house because they need supports, but Bill is a prime example of where we are failing.”

Gilroy said the various levels of government need to increase the stock of and accessibility to social housing, while also ensuring there are spaces for people who do not have addictions or mental-health issues and may feel unsafe staying in a traditional homeless shelter.

St. Boniface Street Links director Marion Willis agreed, saying addiction, health-issues and economic inflation have changed the demographic of homelessness. Her organization secured housing for Pchajek just hours after learning of his story, setting him up in a three-storey apartment building on Talbot Avenue.

Street Links will pay for his first month up front, giving him time to secure financial supports from the province. The effort is an example of the “direct to housing” approach, she said.

“I think the city and other (organizations) should be very interested in talking to us about how we made this happen.”

End Homelessness Winnipeg’s latest street census found at least 1,256 people were experiencing homelessness in Manitoba’s capital last year.

Manitoba Housing has a total of 6,243 units in Winnipeg; 110 are vacant and 3,565 people are currently on a waiting list, a provincial spokesperson said Thursday.

Each applicant is assessed based on their need, with priority given to people experiencing homelessness and those fleeing domestic violence. Wait times are dependent on the location and the size of a unit. Having a pet does not affect an applicant’s standing on the wait list, the province said.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca

Tyler Searle
Reporter

Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press’s city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic’s creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022. Read more about Tyler.

Every piece of reporting Tyler produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.