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More Metro Vancouver residents turning to vans
Small RV parked near Home Depot off Terminal ave in Vancouver, BC. November 12, 2015. November 12, 2015.
The vehicles can be spotted in almost every municipality in clusters on industrial lots, on residential side streets or in alhambra necklace imitation parking lots of big box stores. For some, the truly homeless, vehicles are the only option in this overheated housing market, which has resulted in record low vacancy rates and high rents. For others, they are a choice, a way to buck conventional society, save money and avoid paying for someone else's investment.
"It has its pluses and minuses," said Iaremko, a 26 year old roofer who has been living in a cargo van for more than a month. "There are some conveniences. You don't have to go home after work and it forces you out more. You're not staying in your apartment."
Iaremko's van is a tidy, cosy home, with a raised bed under which he has tucked his belongings, tools and food. An electric piano is strapped to the side panel behind the driver's seat, while sheets of plywood are tucked in beside the bed, waiting to cover the insulation he's installing to make his home warmer for the winter. He doesn't have the luxury of his own shower, toilet, or even a sink, but Iaremko has creative ways to make up for such shortfalls by being creative.
A raw foodie who occasionally eats cooked foods, Iaremko uses a gas powered camp stove to make coffee and the odd fried egg, while he always parks near all night coffee shops for those late night pit stops or to wash out his mug.
A pass to Vancouver swimming pools provides him with swims and showers, while big box stores have high van cleef clover necklace sale replica speed and super fast Internet, especially at night when no one is using it.
"I'm flexible with this life," he said, but noted it's not for everyone. "You're stepping outside your comfort zone and that's how you grow."
City officials say they have no idea how many people are living in their vehicles, either by necessity or choice. In the annual homeless count in Vancouver, such people are lumped in with the so called "hidden homeless" people who do not have a rented place of their own, but stay in "other" places, such as jail, hostels, hotels, or a friend's place, rather than shelters.
Ethel Whitty, a director at the Carnegie Centre who oversees Vancouver's homeless services, said there's no way to pinpoint how many people are truly homeless, as many don't want to be found. But the city will reach out to them, she said, in an attempt to get them housing and income assistance. Those who live in vehicles do not qualify for welfare.
"There are just van cleef gold clover necklace replica more people struggling with poverty and homelessness," she said. "There are probably places you can park where you won't be noticed and can stay for quite awhile."
But Judy Graves, a longtime advocate for the homeless in Vancouver, said people have been living in vehicles across the city for decades for many reasons. Some are "homeless in the classic sense," she acknowledged, but noted many others are like Iaremko young people who are apprenticing in the trades and travel around the region every day or are older retired, or semi retired, men who don't want to pay rent in their golden years. The movement, she said, harks back to the 1960s when people were shedding societal norms.
"There are some guys who don't like to pay rent," Graves said. "With the cost of housing, it's probably increasing a little bit gradually over time but I don't think we've seen an explosion of people living in their cars."
Living in a van is a slightly watered down dream for Iaremko, a budding musician who had grand schemes last year of driving an RV across Canada and busking along the way.
When the RV kept breaking down, he scoured Craigslist, jumping at the chance to buy his current home, a cargo van, for $1,680.
His annual expenses include insurance, which is about $1,200, along with gas and his pass for Vancouver recreation centres.
Before moving to a vehicle, Iaremko was paying about $600 a month in rent. These days, he will often park his van for the night in Surrey or Squamish, or wherever his roofing job happens to be that week to save on gas. "I can go anywhere," he said. "My house moves."
There are trade offs, though, to living in a vehicle. Iaremko said he was hurt when his boss suggested he was living off the backs of his friends, whom he sometimes joins for dinner or get togethers. And with no shower or bathroom, he has to plan his parking stops.
And if someone steals his van, they're taking his entire home.
But Iaremko isn't daunted. He intends to stick it out in his van, if only to prove to his boss he can be self sufficient, until he can get himself a tiny house or an RV that is roadworthy enough to get him across Canada. Since adopting his new lifestyle, he's made a lot of new friends, he said, who offer tips for easier and cheaper living, such as converting vehicles to run on vegetable oil and how to wash dishes with vinegar and water spray.
Small RV parked near Home Depot off Terminal ave in Vancouver, BC. November 12, 2015. November 12, 2015.
The vehicles can be spotted in almost every municipality in clusters on industrial lots, on residential side streets or in alhambra necklace imitation parking lots of big box stores. For some, the truly homeless, vehicles are the only option in this overheated housing market, which has resulted in record low vacancy rates and high rents. For others, they are a choice, a way to buck conventional society, save money and avoid paying for someone else's investment.
"It has its pluses and minuses," said Iaremko, a 26 year old roofer who has been living in a cargo van for more than a month. "There are some conveniences. You don't have to go home after work and it forces you out more. You're not staying in your apartment."
Iaremko's van is a tidy, cosy home, with a raised bed under which he has tucked his belongings, tools and food. An electric piano is strapped to the side panel behind the driver's seat, while sheets of plywood are tucked in beside the bed, waiting to cover the insulation he's installing to make his home warmer for the winter. He doesn't have the luxury of his own shower, toilet, or even a sink, but Iaremko has creative ways to make up for such shortfalls by being creative.
A raw foodie who occasionally eats cooked foods, Iaremko uses a gas powered camp stove to make coffee and the odd fried egg, while he always parks near all night coffee shops for those late night pit stops or to wash out his mug.
A pass to Vancouver swimming pools provides him with swims and showers, while big box stores have high van cleef clover necklace sale replica speed and super fast Internet, especially at night when no one is using it.
"I'm flexible with this life," he said, but noted it's not for everyone. "You're stepping outside your comfort zone and that's how you grow."
City officials say they have no idea how many people are living in their vehicles, either by necessity or choice. In the annual homeless count in Vancouver, such people are lumped in with the so called "hidden homeless" people who do not have a rented place of their own, but stay in "other" places, such as jail, hostels, hotels, or a friend's place, rather than shelters.
Ethel Whitty, a director at the Carnegie Centre who oversees Vancouver's homeless services, said there's no way to pinpoint how many people are truly homeless, as many don't want to be found. But the city will reach out to them, she said, in an attempt to get them housing and income assistance. Those who live in vehicles do not qualify for welfare.
"There are just van cleef gold clover necklace replica more people struggling with poverty and homelessness," she said. "There are probably places you can park where you won't be noticed and can stay for quite awhile."
But Judy Graves, a longtime advocate for the homeless in Vancouver, said people have been living in vehicles across the city for decades for many reasons. Some are "homeless in the classic sense," she acknowledged, but noted many others are like Iaremko young people who are apprenticing in the trades and travel around the region every day or are older retired, or semi retired, men who don't want to pay rent in their golden years. The movement, she said, harks back to the 1960s when people were shedding societal norms.
"There are some guys who don't like to pay rent," Graves said. "With the cost of housing, it's probably increasing a little bit gradually over time but I don't think we've seen an explosion of people living in their cars."
Living in a van is a slightly watered down dream for Iaremko, a budding musician who had grand schemes last year of driving an RV across Canada and busking along the way.
When the RV kept breaking down, he scoured Craigslist, jumping at the chance to buy his current home, a cargo van, for $1,680.
His annual expenses include insurance, which is about $1,200, along with gas and his pass for Vancouver recreation centres.
Before moving to a vehicle, Iaremko was paying about $600 a month in rent. These days, he will often park his van for the night in Surrey or Squamish, or wherever his roofing job happens to be that week to save on gas. "I can go anywhere," he said. "My house moves."
There are trade offs, though, to living in a vehicle. Iaremko said he was hurt when his boss suggested he was living off the backs of his friends, whom he sometimes joins for dinner or get togethers. And with no shower or bathroom, he has to plan his parking stops.
And if someone steals his van, they're taking his entire home.
But Iaremko isn't daunted. He intends to stick it out in his van, if only to prove to his boss he can be self sufficient, until he can get himself a tiny house or an RV that is roadworthy enough to get him across Canada. Since adopting his new lifestyle, he's made a lot of new friends, he said, who offer tips for easier and cheaper living, such as converting vehicles to run on vegetable oil and how to wash dishes with vinegar and water spray.
The Wall