Kerry Pakarinen and Preacher take a break in this photo last year
in the Calgary Herald.
While many Cramahe residents were preparing for the excitement of the passing of the Olympic Torch on December 15, a walk of another kind was on its way through Colborne.
Forty-five-year-old Kerry Pakarinen is on the second year of a cross-Canada walk to raise awareness of homelessness. About half an hour before the torch went west through Colborne, he was on his way through heading east. In fact, the two cross-country efforts crossed paths near the eastern boundary of the former village.
The juxtaposition of the two could hardly be more striking.
Mr. Pakarinen is wearing his 17th pair of shoes and is in his second winter. There is no Coke trailer with dancing girls or Royal Bank tamborines being passed out by 20-something blondes - just his dog, Preacher and enough food to last him five days in the rough.
In a phone interview later the same eveng the determined walker talked about his effort to raise awareness, the issues facing the homeless, and some of the things that have been done in British Columbia to help those in need.
He was not sleeping rough on the night we talked. Through the generosity of the people at Presqu'ile Beach Motel ini Brighton, he had a warm room and a good meal. He is prepared to sleep out - he grew up in the bush and has been homeless ofr 12 years. But his faith in the kindness of the people of this country has been repeatedly reinforced.
During a recent bout with a lung infection, he was offered a place by the management at a Comfort Inn for a few days. He is often approached by restaurant owners with food. If he can't eat it at a the time, he saves it for times when his stash is low.
His journey began on July 23, 2008, when he and his bull mastiff left Vancouver, where Pakarinen has lived for the last 12 years.
The cold stopped them in December 2008; they stayed at his mother's farm in Wabigoon, near Dryden, Ont., before beginning again in September, 2009.
He walks during the country's coldest months because it brings to focus the hardships faced by the homeless.
And he is prepared.
Mr. Pakarinen can set up his tent on his groundsheet in a woods within minutes of the onset of bad weather. It doesn't take him long to get a fire started and the coffee on. If he's stuck for a longer period he throws together a shanty.
Wealth is a state on mind - and he is rich spiritually. And he shares his wealth with others in need. Just over 12 years ago he lost his job, got hooked on prescription drugs and headed to Vancouver to lose himself. Instead, he snapped out of it and threw himself into the massive chore of helping others.
He worked to create camps in B.C. which house the homeless. Most of them are on crown land or municipal property. There have been 5,000 through camps like Compassion Park in Abbotsford. He says the success rate at getting them out of the camps and into society is 80%.
In an interview for
Canadianchristianity.com he explained the camps were "to help out people in need of shelter, clothing and companionship."
The camp is helping homeless people "to get them in touch with their spirit, give them a new start. It's a tool for re-education. There's food out there [on the streets], but people need healing. The ones on the street are lost. They're city dwellers who can't survive on their own; they have abuse issues."
It hasn't been entirely easy.
There have been times when those supervising the camps have had to impose "street justice" on unruly camp residents. But the successes have made it worthwhile despite the growing need.
One senses that Mr. Pakarinen finds the task of helping the homeless daunting and often lonely. He feels the politicians have walked away from the problem. That is irritating - this is Canada, he says. "We value human beings." There's a societal understanding that we look after those who can't look after themselves. Yet we close down mental hospitals and put the former residents on the streets. Thirty-day treamtment centres are revolving doors for the mentally ill. From his experience they don't work.
Mr. Pakarinen speaks with passion about how Canada is one of the richest nations and tells others they need to uphold human rights - but it fails to look in its own back yard. We are wealthier than India, but have more homeless per capita.
And he knows the problem can be successfully tackled.
We only have to look at the Netherlands or some of the Scandinavian countries. "There are a lot of good solutions, but the politicians don't want to address the problem."
The people he is working for have been forgotten by most of society. The majority of them have mental health issues and many have addictions to deal with. Some have been ostracized and pushed out of the small towns where they once lived and moved to the city. They have no sense of family or community.
"A lot of homeless people, if you give them half a chance, will surprise you with their intellect, creativity, work ethic and spirit.
These are still human beings. They came from somewhere. They didn't just materialize. They fell through the cracks."
In the
Canadianchristianity.com article, Mr. Pakarinen said he believes in God, but stressed that the church has to do more to help -- and that some Christians need to change the way they view the homeless: "Live up to your faith. We need [your help]. God needs your help."
He said he had "turned away from" the church, because he felt too many Christians are "hypocritical." He added: "A guy went all the way a couple of thousand years ago, and they crucified him. Now his people need to go all the way."
Kerry emphasized that unity is important if the church is to successfully tackle the homeless problem.
"If you connect all the churches, it would be fixed in a blink. Some of us are working for Christian organizations now. We all need to step up to the plate."
Mr. Pakarinen hopes to be in Ottawa on Parliament Hill on Christmas Day. If all goes well he will reach St. John's, Newfoundland by his birthday on February 1.
How will he get home?
"By the grace of God,"he says. "God has sent me good folk along the way."
