Large homeless encampment in Chilliwack entrenched for years

On the edge of a waterway, next to a regional park, is an encampment known as “Island 22”. It’s a long-standing makeshift trailer park in Chilliwack that’s home to about 70 people, including 78-year-old Danny Holmes.

“All I get is old age pension and I can save a big chunk of that by being here,” said the career-musician, who has been without permanent housing for about five years and said living on Vancouver’s east end burned him out.

He’s been at the camp since last summer and says it feels “safe as any place."

“As you can see, it’s pretty peaceful,” he said, adding that he believes downtown Chilliwack to be “way more violent.”

“It’s a western. The good, the bad and the ugly every day,” said another camper, Watching Eagle, when asked to describe the encampment.

“There’s lying and there’s fights and all the standard stuff,” he said, but believes that “This has got to be better than living on the street on Hastings.”

Rory Lavalley, 63, said people do have knives in the camp, as well as baseball bats and golf clubs, but he’s not aware of anyone carrying a gun.

He said if you mind your own business, it’s a relatively peaceful place.

Campers said there are rats at the site. There’s no running water. The City of Chilliwack provides a large dumpster and pays for pick-up when it’s full.

But homeless people living at “Island 22”, said one of the problems they face is people from outside the camp dumping garbage there as well as old RV’s.

“People…drop their crap off,” said Ben Siemens, 60, who moved to the camp in February.

“Can’t find a place to rent in town,” he explained.

“I looked for a long time, looked for four years trying to find a place, so I have no choice,” Siemens said.

He said he is a former trucker who later worked in a bike shop until it shut down.

“Nobody wants to hire you because you’re getting too old, right?” he said.

Siemens said he’s been unable to get into an RV park for a number of reasons.

“You get a trailer, you can’t park it no where. Nobody wants to let you park a trailer unless it’s ten years or newer,” he said.

“I’m perfectly fine here,” he added.

Among the squatters are people who can’t work, like Lavalley, who said he’s on a disability income.

But there are others who told CTV News that they are looking for employment.

Linda Cobetto, 51, is one of the few women in the camp. She said she worked until just recently when the commute became too much.

“I was working as a flagger and I did that for about six months and I can’t handle it anymore,” she said.

“Some days I wish I was back in a house so I can get up and shower and do laundry, but to me, it’s like my Saturday thing. I get up and do laundry at a laundry mat…” she said, adding that she has friends who let her come over to shower.

A Chilliwack spokesperson said the encampment is on Crown land and property owned by Shxwhá:y Village. CTV News reached out to both the province and the village but did not hear back.

The encampment has been there for years, but campers said they have not been asked to leave.

And some said they aren’t keen to leave, even if offered housing.

“It’s tough, this kind of lifestyle for a lot of people and myself, but no, I don’t think I would (leave),” said Lavalley.

As for Holmes, he said he’s been offered low rent, senior housing in the past and turned it down.

“Good price but impossible to survive,” he said. “They’ll shut you down if you’re playing acoustic guitar. All you’re allowed to do is listen to TV very quietly,” he said.

How long does he see himself living here?

“I have no idea. I gave up trying to speculate any of that kind of stuff a long time ago,” he said.