Brian Kitchen reflects on his experience with homelessness as he sits in his self-made shelter on a property off Samuelson Street in Galt.
His unit is equipped with a tv, antenna, couches and a bedroom.
As more people have moved onto the land, the community has grown so large it can be seen from the Dundas Street bridge overhead.
It wasn't long ago Kitchen and his five children were living in Alberta in a house he said was appraised for over $400,000.
In 2019, he believes he was called by God to travel to the east coast, landing in Amherst, NS in a one bedroom apartment. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit a year later, he eventually decided to pile his kids and belongings into a U-Haul and head back to his hometown.
He's lived the encampment life since then, bouncing around while the city chased away tent cities, including one in Soper Park last summer.
"You have to give people a reason to live," Kitchen said.
"What I'm doing here is living the Bible, literally. We live exactly what we preach."
Kitchen said the City of Cambridge was wrong in evicting the residents of Soper Park.
He points to the Victoria Street encampment in Kitchener and subsequent 2023 verdict by Judge Michael J. Valente, which determined the region's position to remove residents from 100 Victoria St. N. was in direct violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, as an example of how the city overstepped.
He said proper accommodations weren't provided upon eviction when he was told to go to The Bridges and his kids were placed in Kitchener
"It's hell. It's a nightmare," he said of his time at the shelter.
"People beat each other up and steal drugs. There's no control over any of this stuff."
In an attempt to help solve the issue, he appeared as a delegate at regional council to discuss homelessness late last year.
"The only people that accepted me were the people who were kicked out of 150 Main in Cambridge," Kitchen said at the meeting.
"These people are more of a community than I've ever seen. These people are living like animals because you guys are chasing us around and sending us to different places."
Kitchen said the land on Samuelson Street is of no use to anyone and if it were up to him, he would've put a fence around the property and created rules for safety.
Those rules would be to love God and love your neighbour as yourself.
Neighbouring residents have been known to drop off material and food to help the people living there.
As for future ramifications from the city, region or property owner, Kitchen isn't concerned.
"There's nothing they have on me," he said.
"I don't have any money, I don't have any credit, I don't have any debts or possessions. There's nothing they can do to me. They're the reason I've had to suffer through all these horrors. They should've put me in a house."
"I've never been happier. I work for God."
Kitchen may not be at the Samuelson Street location for long, however, as he plans to head to Jamaica before what he's saying will be the end times according to his beliefs.
He even has a countdown in front of the property with a detailed description of how society went wrong, which he believes was mainly caused by the pursuit of money and material goods.
It's down to 83 days and counting.
Not everyone is fully aligned, but the living arrangement seems to work for the people there.
Craig Singleton moved onto the property three weeks ago after wandering around from place to place.
"I respect everyone's own opinions," Singleton said.
"The only people he's helping are the ones that follow him."
Singleton, who deals with both physical and mental health issues, was living with friends prior to building his own shack but didn't want to feel like a burden any longer.
Initially, he felt embarrassed living in the encampment but is trying to make the best of his situation.
"I chose to live here," he said.
"This is home for me right now. I don't know how long I'll be here but I'm trying to make a positive impact."
.png;w=120;h=80;mode=crop)
