Colton Migwi is up and ready to move all that he owns during the morning of Monday, Aug. 12.
He started his day having no idea where that would be, he said.
Migwi explained was living in a small tent near Sir John Franklin High School, on the corner lot by Crestview Manor. Adrian Bell, who owns that lot, said he's concerned about people living there since he'd be liable if they get hurt. It also makes the property harder to sell.
"Neighbouring residents are stressed out and are bringing me their concerns. ISA国际影视传媒檝e been told they had an open fire going yesterday morning (during a fire ban), theySA国际影视传媒檝e been harassing passersby, using drugs and defecating near neighbouring properties. The complaints are starting to accelerate," Bell wrote in an email.
By 4 p.m., Migwi and the rest of his companions in the homeless community vacated the area. They've now migrated to a parking lot near Fraser Tower, only a few hundred metres from their previous location.
It appears that Migwi will have one space in the parking lot sectioned off and numbered for himself. Everyone in that community seems to now have individual squares to have as their own living space. There's also one spot dedicated as a shop that houses a range of tools and appliances.
Craig Strachan, a member of the homeless community, organized those spaces and explained how those arrangements would work.
"I was in the military for a number of years and I never thought I'd be on this side of the fence," Strachan said, talking about why this is such an important issue for him. "I was ignorant to what was going on here."
How long he and the rest of his group will stay in that area near Fraser Tower is anyone's guess. What matters, at least for Strachan, is that it's not out of the public eye.
In fact, there's a sign out front of Strachan's encampment that pretty well reflects this motto. If anyone were to ask him what he thinks of it, he'd give it high praise, calling it "deadly," with a grin on his face. It reads: "Round one?"
This isn't the first time Strachan nor his community have had to move. During the first week of August, Strachan stood behind the Break Away Fitness alongside close to a dozen others in his community. He explained he'd been camping out behind the fitness centre for a little more than three weeks. In that time, things escalated more than he anticipated.
"One or two bad apples ruined it for all of us," he said, noting there were some fights and vandalism.
So, he and the rest of his group started packing up. Strachan said he promised the building owner they'd clean up whatever mess they made before leaving.
That area served as a downtown hub from where they could still access certain needs, such as shelters.
"It's somewhat a reasonable distance for the Elders we have and people that aren't as mobile," Strachan explained.
His biggest lesson about being homeless: unless someone's experienced it, nobody knows what it's like. What he's looking for now is change, he said.
"It's terrible. We have a voice and we're people too. And we should be heard."
Yellowknifer reached out to Breakaway Fitness but they declined to comment.
Adetoyeke Adedipe, a senior communications officer for the GNWT, said the territorial government recognizes that there has been an increase in unsheltered homeless individuals in Yellowknife and that the GNWT is working across departments and with the city and community partners to reduce pressure on emergency shelters.
"The overarching goal is to create more housing-based solutions and avoid creating more emergency shelter spaces SA国际影视传媒� while emergency shelter spaces are an important part of the housing supports continuum, they are not a solution to the chronic homelessness we see in the community," Adedipe wrote in an email to Yellowknifer.
She added that the territorial government is working to reduce barriers to accessing services for individuals with complex needs who either experience homelessness or are at risk of being homeless.
