Before finding an apartment last week, Tremaine “Trey” Clark and his dog Buddy were staying at Pippy Park Campground in St. John’s, N.D. (Mark Cumbie/CBC)
It took hundreds of messages to landlords, an outpouring of support from a community of dog lovers and stays at the Gathering Place, a hotel and multiple campsites.
But after searching since last December, Tremaine “Trey” Clark and his faithful dog Buddy have finally found a new apartment.
“Oh my god, I’ve got my keys,” Clark said. “Now I have some stability.”
Clark said he was ecstatic when he learned the news this week.
“I was jumping up and down — I felt like John Travolta, dancing all over the place,” Clark said. “I’ve waited so long for this.”
Clark had been living in a tent at Pippi Park Campground in St. John’s since May. And he’s not the only person experiencing housing insecurity who has taken up residence in the park. CBC News knows of three other individuals who are staying at the campground while they look for a rental or while they wait for a rental to become available.
Clark said many landlords in the St. John metro area are turning away tenants with dogs. But for Clark, his dog Buddy is non-negotiable. “He’s my medicine,” Clark said. (Mark Cumbie/CBC)
But since camping at Pippy Park costs roughly the same as renting an apartment, the campground is an unlikely site for a future tent city. Clark said his semi-serviced plot, which includes access to a shower and electricity, costs $995 a month.
And the main reason Clark was able to pay those fees, take care of Buddy’s needs, and eventually find an apartment?
The collective kindness of the 7,000 or so dog lovers in the Snow Dogs of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada Facebook group — especially the kindness of that group’s founder and moderator, Heather Gordon.
A 7-month search begins
“I always check on him because I keep calling Trey my adopted nephew,” Gordon said.
Clark in turn calls Gordon his guardian angel.
The two met last fall when the Snowdogs group began helping Clark cover vet bills and medication for Buddy. Clark said he was recently injured in a car accident and began looking for apartments while at the Gathering Place shelter.
WATCH | Tremaine “Trey” Clark describes what it’s like to live in a tent and then move into an apartment:
He lived in a park. Some public support got him into an apartment
Tremaine “Trey” Clark describes how he went from a tent at Pippi Park in St. John’s to an apartment to call his own.
But Clark found life at the Gathering Place challenging, especially because of the alleged drug use of the shelter’s clients.
“With the highs and lows of everyone there, it was pretty tough,” Clark said.
Paul Davis, executive director of the Gathering Place, said in an interview that the shelter provides a low-barrier service, meaning people who actively use substances are welcome at the center.
“We’re asking people not to use in the space, and when this is discovered or found, they’re asked to stop,” Davis said. “We ask them to leave, we advise them that they can’t stay here and so on, but sometimes it happens and we recognize it.”
After an altercation at the center, Clark said he and his former partner were restricted from returning to the Gathering Place for two and a half weeks. But by this point they had had enough. In April, while the search for housing continued, Clarke and his ex-partner decided to pitch a tent in Quidi Vidi.
“It [was] the safer. It’s better for our mental health and whatnot,” Clark said.
That month, Gordon was shocked when she checked in with Clark. She had thought he was still in the Gathering Place. But the video Clark sent Gordon tells a different story.
“I’ve been looking [at the video] and I noticed that there was a thin blanket under Trey and a sleeping bag on top of him. And he had his coat next to him and Buddy was wrapped in the coat and he was shaking and Buddy was shaking,” Gordon recalled.
At the time, Gordon said, she couldn’t understand the situation.
“It was snowing. And I was like, ‘There’s no way anybody should have to live like that,'” Gordon said. “So I put it on [Snowdogs] group. And I’d say after a day and a half we had enough money to pay for a week at the Fairfield Inn on Kenmount Road.”
Shifting destiny
That first week at the hotel quickly turned into two when a second Facebook group of dog lovers — this time based in Nova Scotia — offered to foot a second week’s worth of bills. And throughout Clark’s stay at the hotel, Gordon said Snowdogs members continued to stop by with dog food, home-cooked meals and other essentials.
But behind the scenes, Gordon worried about what to do next.
Heather Gordon, the founder of the Facebook group Snow Dogs of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, met Clark and Buddy near their new apartment. (Submitted by Heather Gordon)
“It obviously cost a lot of money to keep him in the hotel,” she said. “And I was trying to think, where could we put this guy so that he’s safe and he’s OK?”
Then it dawned on her: Pippi Park. Again, the Snowdogs raised funds to cover Clark’s fees and left essentials for Clark – a tarp, a Coleman stove, a cooling pad for Buddy. Gordon updates the Snowdogs on how Clark and Buddy are doing. Meanwhile, Gordon and Clark continued to send hundreds of messages to landlords.
Like many people looking for housing in St. John’s these days, Gordon and Clark felt they were getting nowhere.
“I’ve got about 500, 600 people that I’ve messaged since December,” Clark said. “And that [was] just “hired, hired, hired.” no Dogs are not allowed. … It [was] just crazy.”
But eventually there was a ray of residential hope – again, rising from the supportive space of the Snowdogs band. A woman who had been part of the group for years told Gordon she had an apartment and offered to arrange a viewing for Clark.
Now Clark’s fortunes have finally changed. And, of course, Clark is thrilled too.
“As I said, [Gordon’s] like an angel. The people in the band are also phenomenal. I don’t know what I can do to ever repay her and the people,” Clark said.
“If it wasn’t for her, I don’t know where we’d be.”
“There are so many Treys out there”
Doug Pawson, executive director of End Homelessness St. John’s, said it’s not unusual for residents of this province who rely on shelters to move outside during the summer.
“We’re not dealing with encampments like you see in other cities like Halifax, Toronto or Edmonton,” he said.
But Pawson said the recent shortage of rental housing in the metro area, combined with significant increases in rental prices, is having an additional impact on people who have a history of housing insecurity.
“We’re still seeing people moving in who are experiencing homelessness and chronic homelessness,” he said. “But it puts a lot of pressure on the system when housing supply is so tight.”
Moving forward, Pawson said he would like to see more targeted investment in affordable housing, along with a housing-focused shelter system. That kind of system, he said, would focus on helping people find housing right away, “so people don’t have to spend months in a shelter.”
For his part, Clark is full of gratitude to everyone who helped him and Buddy find a fresh start. And Gordon, who has never helped anyone experiencing homelessness before, said the past few months have been very rewarding.
But after sending messages to hundreds of landlords herself — and dealing with the current rental market — Gordon is concerned about where this is all leading.
“What people are realizing now is that there are so many Treys out there … there are so many people out there who need help, you know?” Gordon said.
“Open your eyes for sure.”
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