Their stories.
Hear from some of the members of the homeless community about their path, and how local charities have helped — in their own words.
BUTCH MCKENNA
“You’re on the garbage truck going to the dump, you don’t have to stay on it. Jump off the truck. End of the road is death. ” — Butch McKenna
Butch is a 69 year old Hamiltonian. Educated at Ryerson as an Electronics Technician, he worked for Searle Pharmaceuticals for years. He was married “twice or so” as he put it (now divorced) and has two children, an adult girl and boy who he is now estranged from. Butch worked hard and travelled for work from Vancouver to the Maritimes Monday to Friday, he drank at home on the weekends to alleviate stress. After a serious motorcycle accident and injuries that cost Butch his job, 4 months in hospital and nearly a year rehabilitating, alcohol eased the pain. What started as a weekend stress reliever ended up being a pain killer. Butch is an alcoholic.
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When Butch hit rock bottom he found himself homeless for 2 years. He was able to use the men’s shelter system, The Wesley and Mission Services for about 8 months each until he “bailed” due to the difficult clientele. There were mental health issues and addiction issues to deal with in these facilities such as violence and abuse. This is when Butch found himself truly homeless and couch-surfing* for approximately 6 months. He has been in and out of rehab during these years which has been successful only on a short term basis. He has not been able to keep even a volunteer job, let alone a paying job. He is currently registered at St. Joseph’s Healthcare in Hamilton with the RAAM Program (Rapid Access Addiction Medicine through the City of Hamilton) to try and find a medicinal way to help his alcoholism.
After being on the waiting list for assisted living for nearly two years, Butch’s turn came up. He now has his own apartment, collects a pension and feels much more secure and able to help others. He pays his recent good fortune forward by bringing homeless men to his apartment for a shower, to do laundry, have a meal and sleep on his couch. Butch is a good guy, well spoken and bright and continues to try and better himself. Butch has needed the system to survive. Throughout all these difficult years, he has looked to Out of the Cold Hamilton for a good meal in a warm place that also offers a place to feel like he belongs, a place for community.
We are glad you survived Butch!
RALPH
“I got too much for nothing in life. Time to return it” — Ralph
Ralph is a senior citizen. He has COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulminary Disease), is on oxygen 24/7 and gets around on a scooter. He is an avid reader, loves music and considers his friends at Hamilton Out of the Cold (HOOTC) his family.
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This is Ralph’s story. Ralph is from PEI, from a family of 11 kids whom, for the most part, is estranged from. Ralph “fell into the wrong crowd” and dropped out of school far too early and came to Hamilton in the 70’s. He started drinking and doing drugs at a very early age and found himself an addict a few years later.
He did marry and have a son, however, was divorced some years later. This is when things went downhill for Ralph. He was diagnosed as bi-polar and spent years trying to figure out meds that would work for him. He self medicated with pot and took himself off prescription drugs often. He was even hospitalized and was given electric shock treatments among other treatments. He struggled with drug and alcohol addiction and being bi-polar. Ralph is aware of the terrible stigma that comes with a bi-polar diagnosis. It’s a fact, mental illness is the #1 cause of homelessness.
Ralph was on disability due to his bi-polar diagnosis and was unable to make ends meet. He found himself homeless, first living for 9 months at the Salvation Army, then at the Y until he had no choice, due to his COPD and needing oxygen, to get a subsidized apartment. In the meantime, in order to try and prioritize his meagre finances, and coincidentally living across the street from HOOTC, he started to frequent HOOTC to get a good hot meal. What he found there, other than good food and a few extra dollars to help him manage the rest of his needs, he found a welcoming second home. A place where he felt a part of the community, where he made long lasting friends. He can’t get there any longer because of his illness but he adores the people there and misses them immensely.
Ralph is a success story. He now has a home, his attitude is positive, he never abused the system, he used the system to get better. Mental health is the key reason he was homeless.
“I’m at the end of my life, I have nothing but time now. I’m so grateful to people like Cindy at HOOTC. I want to give back now”. He has spoken at schools and local synagogues set up by the people at HOOTC to speak about homelessness and mental health.
This is his way of giving back.
MURRAY
We met with Murray in downtown Hamilton. A phenomenally intense and passionate middle aged individual, Murray is very well known in his Hamilton community. Whether it’s the general population, the homeless, the addicted or the individuals working to better the lives of the homeless and/or addicted in such places as shelters where he once lived, safe injection sites and Hamilton Out of The Cold (HOOTC) where Murray goes for a hot good meal, everyone is Murray’s friend.
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Murray, who was unable to work due to an injury while he was doing a job painting, found himself homeless. During this time, Murray found shelter at men’s shelters and is a very resourceful guy. He learned the system in a positive way and was able to get out of the shelter system and now is passionate to advocate for others. He sees the pain people with homelessness and addiction endure and it’s his mission to be able to give back by improving the lives of these individuals and making sure they know how to navigate the system and get the help they so desperately need. He’s a no-nonsense kind of guy, shoots from the hip and ready to help anyone he can.
The people at HOOTC met Murray and have become one of his friends now. They are thrilled for all his accomplishments, most recently for getting his own apartment. Murray will always be welcome at HOOTC for a good hot meal and great conversation always. Thanks for all you do to help others Murray.
Leah Denbok Introduction
When we saw Leah den Bok featured on the CBS Sunday Morning Show, CHCH News and then saw her work on her Instagram page @Humanizing_the_Homeless, we were in awe of her amazing work. If you visit her page it’s clear why. She is able to see this community of people, a group who would often describe themselves as invisible or unseen.
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We have had some amazing conversations with Leah and see alignment in what we’re both doing. Ultimately, we would both like to see a world where there is no longer a need to keep doing what we’re doing because every person is treated with dignity and respect, has adequate and safe housing, is looked after with compassion, and is provided every opportunity to succeed. Thank you for sharing your work and stories with us Leah.
Leah is a 20-year-old photography student at Sheridan College in her third year. For the past five years she has been traveling to cities across the world such as Toronto, New York, Washington D.C., and Brisbane, photographing the homeless and recording their stories.
At the end of 2019 she released her third book called Nowhere to Call Home-Photographs and Stories of the Homeless, Volume Three.
Leah has won several awards, including the IDRF Youth Impact Award 2018, Murray Clerkson Award 2019, SNAP Photo Competition 2020, and Ascend Rising Star of the Year Award 2020.
Nathan
When we met Nathan he was sitting in front of a store on Yonge Street, a mere 30 metres across the road from the massive Eaton Centre, North America’s busiest mall with almost 50 million visitors a year—more than Disneyland and Walt Disney World combined.
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In stark contrast, Nathan appeared a lonely and forlorn figure. As I stood and watched him, crowds of people filed past him, seemingly oblivious to his existence. Nathan has lived in Toronto all of his life—all 68 years of it. His mother, who is 85, also lives in Toronto, though his father died a long time ago. He has a sister who also lives in Toronto, though he has no contact with her. Nathan told us that he keeps to himself and doesn’t have a lot of friends—though whether this is by choice or not I do not know. When asked if the people he meets on the street are friendly to him, he replied with a simple, “No.”
Douglas
Douglas, who is eighty-three years old, told my dad that he has lived in Toronto for three years, ever since his wife of twenty years, Patricia, died of cancer.
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No sooner did he mention his wife’s name than his eyes began to well up with tears. “You must miss your wife a lot,” my dad said. “Oh, a lot! Terrible!” he replied as he broke down into tears. Through a veil of tears, he told us what happened to her, “She died of lung cancer. We came back from Palm Springs. She went for her yearly physical, and the doctor said, ‘Your lungs are full of cancer. Terrible! She lasted thirteen nights…. My best friend! I didn’t remarry. She was the woman of my life.” Now Douglas, who is wheelchair bound, lives by himself on the streets in Toronto. “I hate it!” he told us dejectedly.
MELISSA
“Ah, I moved to Toronto in January,” Melissa told my dad and I. “I moved here, um, from, ah … what’s it called? Norval. It’s between Brampton and Mississauga…. I’m originally from, um, Orangeville.
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So, um, I moved to Brampton, and the landlord ended up, ah, screwing over all the tenants, and, ah, he ended up getting a written notice but didn’t tell us tenants, and, ah, we all ended up on the streets on, ah, Christmas. So … I’ve been here since January.”
When I asked Melissa if the pandemic has made her life more difficult, she replied, “Yes, because, um, when I moved here, um, ah, I had moved here with the hopes of finding a place … um, I couldn’t find a place because, like, nobody wanted to rent out a place to anybody because of COVID-19.”
When we met Melissa, she was camping out at the corner of Queen St. and Victoria St. with her dog Tinkerbell. As it was minus ten degrees Celsius with the wind chill, my dad asked her if it was hard sleeping outside in the wintertime. She looked at him as if puzzled by his question, then replied, “Ah, well, I’m sitting on a heat grate right now.” She, then, lifted up a corner of the pile of blankets and sleeping bags that her and Tinkerbell were on, and said, “
Despite owning virtually nothing, Melissa told us that she is often the victim of theft. “I get robbed a lot,” she said dejectedly. “I swear I’m robbed once a month at least for everything I own. And it’s a little ridiculous sometimes…. And the homeless is not supposed to rob from the homeless. That’s the rule, you know? But a lot of them have a drug addiction, and that’s what makes them do it, right?” Then, looking down at the sleeping Tinkerbell, she exclaimed, “She’s the only thing that keeps me sane and alive. She’s my best friend! She is.”