Shelley Wold remembers Nov. 28, 2021, very well, as she looks over the Similkameen River, nearby a Princeton residential neighbourhood.

It was the day she left her rental unit on Allison Flats and moved to a small beach, sheltered by trees but devastated by the flood just two weeks earlier.

91裸聊视频淚 didn91裸聊视频檛 have anywhere to go, so I came here,91裸聊视频� she told the Spotlight.

Wold makes no pretenses. She wasn91裸聊视频檛 displaced by the natural disaster. She and a friend had exhausted their last housing option.

91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檙e not all perfect, I91裸聊视频檒l tell you that.91裸聊视频�

For the entire winter Wold, 53, lived alone among the trees, and survived with 91裸聊视频渁 fire, a lot of blankets, and a lot of clothes.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淭he (Princeton) Baptist Church was wonderful. They got me a tent, and helped with wood and food.91裸聊视频�

As the weather warmed others joined her camp, some staying just for awhile, and others putting down at least some kind of roots.

There are currently four adults living beside the river.

91裸聊视频淲e are a family and everybody shares. We have rules and everybody has a job. We try to stay happy91裸聊视频�Yesterday (redacted) caught a fish and we all had fish for dinner,91裸聊视频� Wold said.

Mayor Spencer Coyne says while homelessness has been a growing problem in Princeton over the past few years, this is the first time a tent city has been established.

In past, he said, homelessness was mostly the invisible kind, with people couch surfing, for example. Transients were also part of the homeless equation.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 not the same. These people who are here in this situation, these are residents and in some cases longtime Princeton residents,91裸聊视频� he said.

Last month, Coyne organized a meeting of community partner groups that have all been in contact, in some way, with the camp.

Representatives from Princeton Family Services, Princeton and District Community Services Society, Princeton General Hospital, Interior Health and United Way attended and 91裸聊视频渃ame up with a loose game plan,91裸聊视频� he said.

91裸聊视频淲e are going to try to find housing options. I know that sounds like the obvious thing, but it91裸聊视频檚 a little more difficult than that.91裸聊视频�

He expects some funding will be available for a non-profit group to conduct a homeless count, which will support the community91裸聊视频檚 efforts with BC Housing.

A second meeting is planned for the near future.

The mayor took a personal interest in situation this summer, visiting the location and trying to assess needs.

91裸聊视频淭hese are our people,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檝e been criticized for enabling because we took water, and some other people have been taking water, and checking in and trying to help were we can help.91裸聊视频�

He fears 91裸聊视频渆ventually somebody is going to die either from the elements or substance use.91裸聊视频�

Coyne has received many complaints from neighbours to the camp.

91裸聊视频淚 understand their point of view and I91裸聊视频檓 sympathetic to it,91裸聊视频� responded Coyne.

91裸聊视频淏ut at the same time, we as a community are only going to be as strong as our most vulnerable.

91裸聊视频淪o if we can91裸聊视频檛 show some compassion and mercy towards the people who are possibly in the worst place that they can be in right now, then I think we have to take a second to think about what kind of community we want to be.91裸聊视频�

Wold agrees the tents and their presence on provincial land has angered those around them, while noting the camp is not visible from the street or any area houses.

91裸聊视频淪ome people are really cool, but some people are so mean. They yell at us. They tell us to get out and that they think we are stupid. We are just monkeys in a cage to those people,91裸聊视频� Wold said.

She candidly acknowledges the existence of substance use at the site, but insists the group does not cause problems for others, or create crime in the area, or hurt anyone. 91裸聊视频淲e don91裸聊视频檛 steal,91裸聊视频� she said.

When asked if she is afraid of her environment or vulnerable situation, Wold shakes her head.

91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 just afraid I91裸聊视频檓 never going to have a place to live again.91裸聊视频�

Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email:andrea.demeer@similkameenspotlight.com