There are a number of programs and organizations that aim to help those in need, but how do you help someone who is content where they are?
That is a challenge faced by many organizations, including Nova Scotia’s Mobile Outreach Street Health Unit - MOSH for short.
MOSH’s team leader, Patti Melanson, says it’s important to respect a client’s decisions, no matter how baffling they may be to others.
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned in this job about humans, is that people are entitled to choice, and we need to honour and respect choice, no matter what those choices are,” she says.
Leslie MacPherson prefers the simple life, spending his days in the Windmill Road area of Dartmouth.
He moved to the Maritimes from Calgary in search of a better life in 1999, but at first glance, it’s evident the last 16 years have been tough on MacPherson.
He could use some fresh clothes, but he refuses to panhandle, instead collecting bottles and cans, making $30 on a good day.
“I should be on Old Age Pension but I haven’t started yet … haven’t got around to it yet,” he says.
MacPherson is a regular at a Tim Hortons on Windmill Road, spending hours a day at the coffee shop.
Fiercely protective, staff regularly feed him and occasionally clean up after him. Customers buy his meals and coffee almost daily and he’s frequently handed gift cards.
“He really needs the people. We need to look after him,” says manager Cheryl Meade. “And if we can do this to help him, we do it to help him.”
MacPherson says he rents a room above a convenience store, which was confirmed by the owner. But he says MacPherson isn’t there often, and goes missing for days at a time.
“I have a dugout where I live …yeah, I’m happy there,” he says.
With the days growing shorter and the nights growing colder, he says he plans to move indoors on Oct. 15.
Meanwhile, he will continue biding his time in the Windmill Road area, collecting recyclables and hanging out at his favourite coffee shop.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Bruce Frisko
