By Spencer Sterritt

Homeless in Nanaimo: Living on the edge

Mar 9, 2017 | 3:56 PM

NANAIMO — Nanaimo’s Sherry Morris can tell you all about the fine line between the comforts of home and flirting with homelessness. She came dangerously close to being on the street after a landlord dispute, but managed to find a place to call home at the woman’s shelter Samaritan House.

“After having homes all my life…living in a single room with basically half my stuff in the same room is hard,” she told NanaimoNewsNOW when we visited her cramped bedroom. “I have seen so much, that it totally made me realize there is so much homelessness in the city. It’s sad to see.”

Since finding herself without a place to call her own, Morris said it hurts to feel the stigma those experiencing homelessness often feel.

“No one wants to have you around, it’s too much for people to think they have to care. Everyone walked away.”

After numerous back and knee surgeries, Morris said she’s essentially confined to her cluttered room since it hurts too much to move around, but she does get outside for smoke breaks and out of her room for meals.

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At the time, Morris said she could barely focus on the future given the constant pain and uncertainty in her life and finding employment wasn’t on her horizon.

“Now that I’m here, I can’t even think of this stuff right now. I’ve just very lost right now.”

To cope with the pain, she admitted to using street drugs such as heroin but was in a methadone program.

“I’m not a constant street drug user but being that I was put in this position, I did end up getting some of the street drugs.”

Clutching a tissue, she asked “What the Hell am I still doing here? I’ve got nothing. I’m living in pain…it’s so hard to do.”

Samaritan House staff confirmed Morris did move out into non-market housing shortly after she spoke to NanaimoNewsNOW.

Guiding Morris on her journey was Darcy Botham, who’s worked at Samaritan House for nine years.

Having experienced homelessness herself after fleeing an abusive husband with her children, Botham said she’s learned how to relate and create rapport with those she works with.

“I don’t refer to people as ‘the homeless,’ I refer to them as ‘people experiencing homelessness,’” she said. “If I call them the homeless, it labels them. This is a beautiful person who’s experiencing homelessness right now and they have a story and family.”

By using this language, Botham said it leaves options and possibilities for people in their conversations.

“They don’t need more reminders of where they’re at and how different they are. I use my stories often times with women to say ‘Yeah, I get it, it’s really hard being in a place you don’t know.”

She said being open and fostering a connection is the most important aspect of her job when helping someone through their addictions.

“It’s the segregation, separation and living in the shadows that creates so much of the unhealthiness,” she said. “So getting people to come out of the shadows and connect with people again, I’ve seen the difference over time.”

Fundraising is currently underway for Samaritan House to expand and double their space, which will provide more storage and resources for their users.

spencer.sterritt@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit