'We're doing the best we can': Family with 1-year-old living in RV at rest area

The Cole Road Rest Area next to Highway 1 in Abbotsford is jammed with dozens of RVs. Sitting outside one of the trailers is a children’s tricycle.

This is where Chris and his girlfriend live with their one-year-old boy.

“I hate it. I’m embarrassed. I don’t like it. But what other option do I have?” said Chris, who didn’t want to share his last name.

He says affordable rentals for his family and their dog are difficult to find. “I was just looking on Craigslist today and a two-bedroom place is $2,800. How am I supposed to afford that?” he asked.

Posted signs clearly indicate that overnight camping isn’t allowed, but campers keep coming to the site.

Dan Testini, 55, moved to the rest stop only a couple months ago. “It’s a hard life,” he said.

Testini said he used to work in construction, but after his wife died, he wasn’t ready to return to work as a heavy equipment operator.

“When you live pay cheque to pay cheque, one small bump in the road can send you into homelessness,” he said.

For Kathy, who didn’t want to provide her last name, living at the rest area was the best option. “I might be houseless, but I’m not homeless,” the 59-year-old said.

She said she’s been living in a trailer at the rest area for two years. She said she moved after she couldn’t find a reasonably priced RV park to live in.

Another camper, Darren Heath, said he is unable to work and has been living at the rest area for almost a year.

“It’s quiet. It’s peaceful and I don’t get bothered,” he said, explaining that he moved into his trailer after his landlord raised the rent.

“I’m on disability…I couldn’t afford it so I said, ‘to heck with it,’” Heath explained.

Camper Danny Holmes just turned 79. He had lived at the Island 22 encampment near Chilliwack for about a year-and-a-half before it shut down last month.

“So far, these people are a bit more peaceful than (Island) 22,” he said.

Holmes said he could get seniors’ housing, but feels it’s too restrictive. “If you play your guitar, they’ll throw you out,” he said.

The Ministry of Housing said it’s aware people are using public highway rest areas for longer-term camping.

“These provincial highway rest areas are for the convenience of travelers and transport operators,” the Ministry said in an email to CTV News.

“We recognize that some people using the rest stops may be at risk of or experiencing homelessness,” the email read.

“The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure continues to work with Ministry of Housing though their outreach program and with local enforcement to keep the current Cole Rd. rest area a safe place to temporarily stop and use the facilities,” the ministry said.

“We know more safe and affordable housing is needed in Abbotsford, which is why we have opened or started construction on more than 540 new affordable homes in the community since 2017,” the email stated.

Abbotsford Mayor, Ross Siemens, said the long-term camping at rest areas is an issue he continually raises with the province.

“These are challenging issues there’s no quick fix to,” he said.

“I think what we’re seeing is just people desperate to find housing,” Siemens said.

“They’re not all Abbotsford residents, but they are people that are often times working, or have lost a spouse or lost rent subsidy of some kind or they can’t find affordable housing because rent has spiked,” the mayor explained.

“We continue to advocate, especially B.C. Housing, for rent subsidies. It breaks your heart when you hear there are young families that are not able to afford (rent),” he said.

Meanwhile, Chris said he and his girlfriend are doing their best to raise their son.

“What’s more important? Our child’s upbringing or a nice house?” he asked.

“We’re doing the best we can,” he said.