‘Without tent city we’d be lost:’ Nanaimo’s invisible homeless join downtown camp
NANAIMO — Standing near the entrance of downtown Nanaimo’s tent city, Dereck Paul says he’s on the verge of a breakdown.
“I don’t know what we’re going to do,” he told reporters early Friday after the van holding all of his and his wife’s possessions was towed away. “The van is all we have and that’s the last possession my wife has from her parents who both passed away. We’re really struggling to make ends meet.”
Paul and his wife are what’s called the “invisible homeless.” They have nowhere permanent to stay, in this case living at friends’ houses and apartments or in their van, but you won’t see them living on the street. They moved from Powell River, where they were looking after family, and are in Nanaimo looking for work.
Once their van is found they’ll use the last of their money to have it towed to Discontent City, set up at 1 Port Dr. beside Port Place Shopping Centre.