Two homeless men from Saskatchewan arrive in Vancouver to media frenzy

A pair of young Saskatchewan homeless men given a one way bus ticket to Vancouver by social service workers has arrived in the city.

Greeted by outreach workers from the Union Gospel Mission upon arrival at Pacific Central Station, 23 year old Charles Neil Curly says he’s been homeless for around five months but was denied funding to stay at the North Battleford Lighthouse homeless shelter in Saskatchewan.

Jeremy Hunka, who works at the mission, said the two men were hungry and tired, but in good spirits and shocked by the amount of attention their story had attracted.

“We’ll give them anything they need in terms of food and any medical issues will be taken care of,” Hunka said.

Roy and Curly boarded a Greyhound bus to Vancouver Tuesday night after being given one-way tickets by the Ministry of Social Services.

“I had my own bed and everything. It was good but (Social Services) just wouldn’t let me stay there, I guess. I asked for a ticket and five minutes later, I had it printed off and was leaving that night,” Curly told reporters in Vancouver.

“When they asked if I had a place to go, I just said, ‘Yeah.’ You know, I was going to the next homeless shelter anyway.”

Roy also spoke to media briefly before suddenly pausing and requiring medical attention.

The men’s story has sparked outrage in both Saskatchewan and British Columbia.

Saskatchewan Social Services Minister Donna Harpauer says the case is being reviewed by her department.

She says frontline workers will be reminded clients should have a plan in place before they are given bus tickets to go to other cities.

The Saskatchewan N-D-P is accusing the government of tackling poverty by shipping people out of the province.

Agencies/Canadajournal