THURSDAY
S I N C E
AUGUST 21, 2014
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Vol. 119, Issue 130
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PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALMO
COINS FOR CHANGE
Fundraiser seeks more people Trail adding more Wi-Fi hotspots
Sleep under bridge to raise money to end homelessness BY SHERI REGNIER Times Staff
The community outpouring in support of a fundraiser to end homelessness in Greater Trail has been encouraging. But local organizers are hoping more people will commit to sleeping one night under the Trail bridge to raise funds that will sustain the non-profit service into next year. Coins for Change is an awareness and fundraising campaign slated for Sept. 12 that asks local officials, service groups, first responders and anyone else to experience homelessness firsthand by spending the night under the Victoria Street Bridge. “By staying under the bridge for one night doesn’t mean we know what it’s like to be homeless,” said Sheila Adcock from the Career Development Services (CDS). “But it’s a perfect venue to raise awareness and something we would like to do year after year.” The challenge builds on a joint venture between the Skills Centre and CDS called Getting to Home, which is an initiative that launched two years ago with a goal to end homelessness in Greater Trail. With summer vacations almost over,
Gyro, Butler and Haley parks among new sites in city BY SHERI REGNIER Times Staff
SHERI REGNIER PHOTO
Trail Coun. Eleanor Gattafoni Robinson (left) is pounding the pavement this week collecting pledges for the Sept. 12 Coins for Change fundraiser. Sheila Adcock (right) from Career Development Services is organizing the event. CDS’ event planners are out-and-about in an effort to have more groups join the cause. Information packages have been hand
Program provides life-changing help For one new member of the Trail community, the Coins for Change fundraiser literally hits close to home. The Getting to Home program helped Shawn Geist through a troubled time in his life when he had no hope and no where to go. Geist was just out of his teens, addicted to drugs, in trouble with law enforcement and sleeping on the streets of Nelson. He needed to get away from that city to get his life back on track, so he moved to Trail but didn’t have a plan in place. Once he walked through the doors of CDS and asked for help, he’s never looked back. “I didn’t have a place to live and I needed help,” said Geist from his first phone that was hooked up in his home Thursday afternoon. “They moved me into a house,
TRUSTED Ι CONNECTED Ι TARGETED
helped me maintain it and made sure I wasn’t back on the streets.” Geist has a CDS outreach worker dedicated to helping him learn how to make ends meet on a day-to-day basis and to provide assistance with moving forward into a bright future. Now sober with a secure roof over his head and working part time, he is determined to earn his high school diploma and is already thinking about post secondary education. “When I was homeless and on a lot of drugs I didn’t care about myself or who I hung out with,” recalled Geist. “Now I’m happy and proud of where I am. I have food in my house, a great girlfriend and a great life. “The resources are here in Trail,” he added. “The best thing you can do is ask for help.” – Regnier
delivered to various Teck social clubs, clinics, the hospital and businesses, said Adcock. “I think a lot of people are away on holidays and hard to reach right now,” said Adcock. “But I’m hoping they’ll take a look at what we are doing and give some confirmation that they will be here that night.” If pitching a tent or building a makeshift shelter out of boxes isn’t in the cards, Adcock said donations can be brought to the site that evening or dropped off at the service’s downtown office. She said there’s been many positive comments and pledges from the community to CDS staff members who are canvassing their neighbourhoods. “We are hoping to have businesses and individuals challenge others, such as ball and hockey teams,” noted Adcock. “But there’s not much of a commitment to that yet.” Even though reaching certain sectors of the community has been difficult, Adcock remains hopeful that she will soon hear that local police, fire department and ambulance services are committed to joining in to spend a night under the Trail bridge. See YOUNG, Page 3
City council agreed to rollout a new plan that will bring free Wi-Fi to a host of parks throughout Trail this fall. The Shaw Go Wi-Fi no charge service is open to all users, not just Shaw customers, and besides providing free access at Gyro, Haley, Andy Bilesky and Butler parks, will also enhance smartphone wireless access in the current hot spots at city hall, the Trail Memorial Centre, and the Trail Aquatic and Leisure Centre. Members of council authorized a fiveyear facility attachment license agreement during the governance and operations committee meeting Monday afternoon, after confirming the city’s cost to average about $308 per year per site, and that any park user can access free Wi-Fi, regardless of their own service provider. Until now, there hasn’t been free wireless service in the outdoor parks, explained David Perehudoff, Trail’s chief administrative officer. The installation at the Trail facilities will enhance coverage and complement the city’s current offering, he said, noting that users will be able to search for networks available and pick the one that provides the best signal strength within each facility. “Although we do not expect that all areas of each park will be covered,” said Perehudoff. “And there may be some spots where people will not be able to see the Shaw network.” Duane Birnie, the city’s information systems coordinator, noted that many municipalities in the province have been approached by Shaw with the offer, and have since established a working group to study the issues surrounding the service. The communication company’s hardware cannot be attached to the city’s decorative street lighting systems or cross walk poles, said Birnie, and when possible, Shaw will use its own infrastructure and not provide its own guest access network at those locations. The access point, called a hotspot, has a range of about 20 metres indoors and a greater range outdoors.
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