Only the steel structure of a burned-out bus shelter remains in Berwick, N.S. where a homeless man was killed last month.
The bus shelter no longer serves as a memorial to 62-year-old Harley Lawrence and some say the cleanup effort is taking too long.
“I mean, what happened is a terrible thing, but it’s time to get it cleaned up and looked after the right way,” says area resident Donny Burns.
The town plans to move ahead with a proper memorial for Lawrence in the form of a garden bench with a plaque.
“We have had some discussions with the local funeral home offering their corner in the centre of town as a place where this bench could be placed,” says Berwick Mayor Don Clark.
The bus shelter will also be rebuilt on Commercial Street.
“We have people who use that bus shelter daily and they’re finding it’s sorely missed with the weather turning more cold and bad,” says Clark
Lawrence was sleeping inside the bus shelter when the structure caught fire on Oct. 23.
He died in the blaze and police say both the fire and Lawrence’s death are considered suspicious, although no arrests have been made.
Area residents say Lawrence had become a familiar face on the streets of Berwick but he refused most of the help he was offered.
“I have some clients who told me they bought him coffee and hot chocolate,” says local cab driver Wayne Davis. “I never heard him ask anyone to do it.”
Kings County is the first Nova Scotia municipality to adopt an action plan for ending racism, discrimination and homelessness.
“And that we’re able to help people long before they get to a point of living on our streets,” says Julie Glaser, the community director in Berwick.
Community members hope the efforts to help those at risk can be coordinated and made more effective to prevent a similar tragedy from happening again.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Ron Shaw
