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RELATED: A WAY HOME: How to take action RELATED: ‘Bit frightening’: Study finds most Canadian cities fail on climate change plans For example, Wegenast says his daughter’s tricycle was salvaged from a dumpster and cleaned and serviced by someone who was homeless at the time. “There are a couple rust spots and whatever else, but it’s a fantastic toy.” Harvey Clause takes his bike and trolley everywhere he goes. It’s hard to estimate how far he goes each day, but the 58-year-old says it can be several kilometres. “We’re the best at the recycling business,” adds Clause, who formerly got most of his income from binning – going through garbage bins for recycling or items to use or sell. “One man’s junk is another man’s present. When somebody else says, ‘Why do you have that broken lighter and that and that?’ Because I can fix it, and if I’m in a dire need of a situation, where I might need a campfire going, I can get this working. And if I don’t have a working lighter, I can make it work. Those are survival skills.” Gary Hull says he finds his money by similar means, but rather than cans and items in the bins, he has a spot where he knows recyclables and items end up, which is farther out of the community. “I’m always looking for the money, looking for what I can exchange for money, maybe. But I’m always counting on that $10 to $20 – I want the $20 every day,” Hull says. Through this kind of work, Clause says he’s found just about everything he has. “Sometimes you find neat things, like my speakers and all the things I have. All that’s been found; that was not bought. Barely anything I have has been bought. All found. My backpack was found, the jackets I’m wearing, the hoodies. My leather jacket, I found brand new, literally. I find brand new things that are in boxes still in bins.”
Report an error or send us your tips, photos and video.Dustin Godfrey | Reporter
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The Giver: A community builder in Abbotsford’s homeless community