Vince Sam is the most recognizable homeless person in Osoyoos. (Richard McGuire file photo)
The women who run the Osoyoos Gift Cupboard have turned their attention to helping local homeless man Vince Sam find a safe place this winter.
Brenda Dorosz said she and local women Gaye Horn and Jen Shiels have talked to Sam about his wishes. Dorosz said Sam doesn’t want to have a home – he just wants a safe spot to stay outside.
The three women celebrated the first anniversary on the weekend of the Osoyoos Gift Cupboard, a project that allows people who need an item to take something that has been donated from a cupboard next to town hall.
Sam, now in his mid-50s, is originally from Mount Currie near Pemberton. He came to Osoyoos as a young foster child.
Dorosz says she remembers Sam when she was in elementary school and he was in high school.
“He’s our town icon,” said Dorosz. “Everybody takes care of him. He’s very peaceful.”
She says he’s very polite and, when lucid, is very intelligent.
“I think even kids are drawn to him,” she said, recalling how her own son saved up his allowance money to buy Sam a winter jacket one Christmas.
Sam told the Osoyoos Times that he prefers to sleep outside, spending the night in different places – sometimes at Gyro Park and sometimes up the hill.
Dorosz said Sam has complained to her that town staff “steal” his things.
“They’re not stealing,” she said. “They’re cleaning up after him. You can see both sides of the story.”
Dorosz said she, Horn and Shiels plan to take the matter to town council on Nov. 6 to see if a solution can be found.
“Vince is very loveable,” said Dorosz. “I think we all need to be patient. We’re trying to find a solution that’s going to work for everyone. We don’t want the town council or visitors to be angry.”
The concern arose from the realization that Sam is aging and has health problems, including arthritis in the knees, which impairs his mobility.
“Because of the lifestyle he’s had, he’s going to start having (health) issues,” said one local resident who has known Sam over the years.
Medical personnel recently advised Sam that he needs to keep his knees warm – prompting Dorosz to offer him a sleeping bag that was donated to the Gift Cupboard.
When she offered him a meal recently, Sam declined, saying that Smitty’s Family Restaurant had already provided him one.
“People every day find him and give him things,” said Dorosz.
Many people donate empty bottles for him to cash in, leaving them by his bike or wherever he’s staying, Dorosz said. She’s exploring whether there’s an alternative that would allow people to take bottles to the depot for Sam, rather than leaving them lying around.
Barb Stephens, the former owner of Yore Movie Store, which closed two years ago, said Sam used to stop by her store almost daily and sometimes the two shed tears together over sad animal films.
She’s stayed in touch, though the contact has been less frequent.
She worries about him in the cold winter, and is also concerned about him in traffic in the summer.
“The community I think looks after him,” Stephens said, adding that there’s a mixture of reactions to him. “I think there’s people who really do have a big heart for him because he’s a very likeable character… He’s just part of our community. He’s our most visible homeless person.”
Stephens adds that he’s been given expensive leather jackets and warm sweaters.
“He wants for nothing,” she said.
When Dorosz was interviewed on Friday by Chris Walker of CBC Radio’s Daybreak South, he asked her if this attention to Sam might set a precedent leading other homeless people to want the same.
Dorosz replied that last winter, the Gift Cupboard handed out about a dozen sleeping bags to homeless people.
“Maybe it’s time to start a conversation (about homelessness),” she said.
Dorosz said it’s hard to know how many homeless people there are in Osoyoos, because some are just passing through, but she thinks there are currently around three.
Helping homeless people can be challenging because often substance abuse or mental health issues complicate their situations.
Last winter Dorosz and Horn went out looking for homeless people, taking them items like sleeping bags to keep them warm. They even found one couple sleeping under the bridge in the dead of winter.
“We’ve just taken it on as a project that expands the Gift Cupboard,” she said.
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
Vince Sam cleaned up after the horses in the July Cherry Fiesta Parade. When he stopped to wave to spectators, the popular homeless man was met with loud cheers. (Richard McGuire file photo)
