A homeless advocate and someone who is experiencing homelessness himself is back in Smithers and says he鈥檚 ready to make some noise for the unhoused.

Zolican (who doesn鈥檛 want to use his legal name) was living in Smithers from 2011-2015 before moving down to Abbotsford to find work. He has recently come back up north and has been camping at Tyhee Lake Provincial Park. He said he鈥檚 happy to be back.

鈥淒elighted,鈥� he said. 鈥淥h, yeah. Just like dying and going back to heaven.鈥�

He collects disability insurance which he said isn鈥檛 enough to live on. He gets $375 a month, not enough to pay rent. In Abbotsford, he was living with a friend and they were able to combine their disability payments and rent a room together for $750 but things between the two didn鈥檛 work out.

He used to be in construction until stress-induced blackouts caused him to quit. Now he also has a bad back but he鈥檚 happy living a non-conventional lifestyle.

鈥淗appy is not a strong enough word to describe it,鈥� he explained. 鈥淥kay, I am better than happy I am free. All the stresses of everyday life.鈥� I don鈥檛 have to worry about bills. I don鈥檛 have to worry about anybody taking away anything that I鈥檝e got. I鈥檓 up here and I am going to make a better life for myself. Plus, I鈥檓 going to do everything I can to help as many people as I can.鈥�

He wants to stand up for those who live in poverty and said governments need to step up and help those who can鈥檛 afford or find proper housing.

鈥淎nother big problem is so many people out there who are addicted, hooked on alcohol and drugs. And a lot of people don鈥檛 want those kind of people in their buildings. That鈥檚 another big issue. So the government has got to put more effort into building places that those kinds of people can live in, get them off the streets,鈥� he said.

鈥淓very time there鈥檚 an election, government promises to create affordable housing. But what they don鈥檛 tell you is who can afford those houses, right? Rich people in government pay no taxes. It鈥檚 not right.鈥�

At the campground, he has set up a semi-permanent shelter. He has built a plywood floor with lumber holding up some tarps. He has salvaged most of what he has from the transfer station. He can take apart the shelter and move it to another location but he doesn鈥檛 want to. He鈥檚 comfortable at the park and he likes to talk to other campers who walk by and are interested in his cause.

However, provincial park rules state that he can鈥檛 stay more than 14 days so he knows his time is coming up. As of our press deadline, Zolican said he was told to leave but plans to stand his ground.

鈥淚 was told to move out of here today (Monday) but I really can鈥檛 afford to that right now,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t looks like I have a fight on my hands here.鈥�

Meanwhile, he has applied for a permit to cut wood so he can sell firewood and if he has to, he鈥檒l camp out where he gets his permit.

He plans on selling his firewood for fair prices, under market value.

鈥淭he world has gotten so greedy,鈥� he said. 鈥淓verybody is out to get as much as they can for themselves. Don鈥檛 worry, think about the next guy. That鈥檚 why I鈥檓 coming in. I鈥檓 going to show people this is the way it should be, care about you as a person. If you see somebody that鈥檚 down, don鈥檛 give them a handout, give them a hand up.鈥�

editor@interior-news.com
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