It wasn’t much, but it was a refuge.
Andrew Padvaiskas had built a small log cabin on the east side of a Lower Fraser River pier only to find it flooded this week by rising river water levels.
In the last 48 hours, the flood waters have engulfed his bed, leaving him with no choice but to save what he could and leave.
“It’s just going to be higher. I’m struggling because I have nowhere to go. It’s pretty hard out there,” the Maple Ridge resident told Global News, overlooking the riverbank.
Read more: Heavy rains in parts of BC a concern for flood-prone areas: River Forecast Center
The River Forecast Center has put the Lower Fraser River under a high-flow warning, as continued melting snow and humid weather in the interior of British Columbia add to its main stem and tributaries.
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Flows are expected to increase over the next few days and, with a “significant mountain snow cover” affecting the Fraser River, will remain high for up to two weeks.
Padvaiskas said he knew the risks before building the hut there – someone warned him – but the banks of the Lower Fraser River felt like “home”. It was one of the few places where it could exist peacefully, without being expelled from public space, he explained.
“We always run away from places,” he explained. “I just try to keep myself, keep the place tidy and make sure there are no needles around so the kids can’t pick them up.”
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Tracy Scott, president and co-founder of the Maple Ridge Street Outreach Society, said Padvaiskas is not alone. Many homeless people in the area prefer to live by the river, and believe it is “safer.”
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“There’s a lot of division and a lot of hatred in the city, I guess,” he explained. “No matter where they go in the city, they are stigmatized and often chosen by what we call vigilantes, or sometimes the statutes, sometimes the police, it depends.”
Once they are kicked out of a park or a bench or sidewalk, Scott said, the homeless have few places to go. The outreach company was unable to obtain its own building or reception space.
She estimates that about 50 people live by the river, but with the spring floods, many now “wander at night because there is nowhere to go.”
Read more: Floods persist in BC with unstable weather forecasts, experts say
Water levels have risen to an unusually high level, he added, catching many of the bank’s community members unawares. A few meters from the shore, the ground is still wet and muddy, which means the tents have to move closer to the city than many feel comfortable with.
“They come to my friend’s house, even to my building, trying to get (people) to dry their blankets and dry their clothes. They are wet. They are freezing, “he said.
Scott lived on the street for three years and said he knows how quickly hypothermia can set in. People who do not stay are in real physical danger, including the risk of drowning, and Maple Ridge does not have enough shelter beds to accommodate them all. she added.
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Scott said he hoped to share his story, and Padvaiskas’ story prompted local officials to “show some compassion.”
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