UNCERTAIN FUTURE
Harley Klipperstine, from left, Joseph Redwood and Tyler Barkhouse are homeless and part of a makeshift tent community set up in downtown Regina.
On Monday morning, a group of men recovered from the weekend’s rainy weather by drinking coffee and warming up around a campfire.
Bedding hung from the chain link fence nearby as they sat and visited with one another.
It may be late in the season for camping, but what sets this group of campers apart from other outdoor enthusiasts is that they are camped in an abandoned lot in downtown Regina. The men are homeless. If it were not for the donations of tents and blankets they have received, they may not have had a dry place to sleep Sunday night.
Motorists may not have noticed the four tents covered in a plastic tarp tucked against a building on the 1800 block of Osler Street next to the Salvation Army’s Waterston Centre, but the group has been calling the area home since May.
Harley Klipperstine said the men are not protesting anything, nor are they asking for anything. “We are just homeless,” he said. Klipperstine said they can’t afford shelter even at the Salvation Army, so they are doing what they can to just survive.
It all started when a couple of men began sleeping underneath a tree in the abandoned lot.
Over the summer, the men began to make the muddy lot their own by keeping it neat and tidy.
Artwork on the wall near the campsite drew the attention of people passing by, and that’s when donations for the camp they call the Urban All Nation Band office began trickling in.
Despite having very little, the men share what they have with others in the area, whether it’s a blanket, a coffee or just conversation.
Klipperstine said it has been through the kindness of strangers they have had a safe place to sleep at night all summer long, and it’s appreciated.
Unsure of how long they will be allowed to stay, the group remains positive they can survive winter with just a few more blankets and supplies.
Police will not consider intervening unless there is a complaint made by the property owner.
Klipperstine does not know who owns the property.
Joe Redwood, another camper, said he’s homeless simply because he cannot find work. Trained in masonry, he says the demand for his services has dried up and with no income, he can’t afford a place to live.
Klipperstine does odd moving jobs to help provide some camp essentials, but said addiction is an issue and has contributed to him being homeless.
“We aren’t asking for anything,” he said. “We got ourselves here and it’s up to us to get us out (of this situation).”
He said other homeless men have stopped by the camp and indicated their desire to join the camp.
Redwood and Klipperstine say they would not turn anyone away from the camp, but have no idea how long the camp will be up and running.