More than 100 people gathered at St. Giles Church Saturday night for the start of the third annual Coldest Night of the Year event. The option was to do a two, five or 10 kilometre walk to catch a glimpse of what it's like to be homeless and on the streets of Prince George in the middle of winter.
Just before the end of registration those 111 people had raised more than $17,000 and counting and all proceeds go to the Association Advocating for Women and Community (AWAC) a non-profit organization that has many housing programs to support individuals who are looking to secure and maintain housing.
Flashed up on the big screen during the safety meeting just before the crowd would take to the streets came the question "why are you walking on the coldest night of the year?"
There's only one true answer and here it is.
Nicole Dennis.
She's 31 years old and without AWAC she said she wouldn't be here today.
She was born in Prince George and spent a dozen years here before her step dad got into so much trouble with drugs the family moved to Vernon for a fresh start. Dennis was 13 years old when she experienced her first drug addiction. She couldn't seem to stay clean. She came back from Vernon when she was 18 and took to the streets because of her drug habit.
After moving to Mackenzie and bouncing back and forth to Prince George Dennis had her first baby in 2010 and moved back to Prince George for good in 2013. She lost her first born to the foster care system because she wasn't able to care for him and she lived on the streets.
She was in and out of AWAC for years but she couldn't stay off heroin long enough to make a difference.
"I've always been connected to AWAC," Dennis said. "It's my safe place."
She finally decided about four or five years ago that living under the back stairs of AWAC was where she could settle, but of course that couldn't work for long. She tried to live within AWAC walls but it was a challenge for her.
"I loved being there but there was no place you could go that you were by yourself," Dennis said. "So I set up camp underneath the stairs and tarped it all the way around. I had one of those cheap air mattresses that you use to float on in a pool and put my sleeping bag on it. I had a tiny TV and a heater and that's where I stayed for a while until they found me and told me that it wasn't safe to stay there."
She set up camp all over town after that.
"A lot of people used to joke that if the world was ending they wanted to stick with me," Dennis said. "It was definitely always interesting and I always wanted to find somewhere comfortable for myself."
Throughout that time Dennis always went to AWAC for a meal, a shower, a chat and finally decided she was ready to make a change.
She entered into the transition part of the housing program and eventually graduated to the residential side but failed to stay clean, which is against the rules for staying at AWAC.
"Drug addicts always find a way around the rules," Dennis said. "You'd use outside and come back upstairs and then you'd get to the point where you wouldn't care and use in the room. Drug addicts are crafty, very manipulative, so I was able to hide it."
She was so out of control at one point just over three years ago she just knew she was done and she was given an ultimatum, either go to treatment or she'd be kicked out.
"I told them I needed help and two weeks later my ass was on a bus," Dennis smiled.
And where did that bus take you?
"To freedom," Dennis said and she cried. "To freedom."
It was a 12-step program that took two-and-a-half months.
"And it was a powerful process," Dennis said. "I had to face stuff I had buried for years. It was a very powerful process."
Immediately after treatment Dennis returned to AWAC in Prince George.
She's been clean for three years now.
"And do I look back?" Dennis asked and answered. "Not for the life of me do I ever look back."
She got a permanent residence two years ago, has a two-year-old son she is able to raise herself and she's upgrading so she can go to college and get educated.
She's chatty and outgoing and is thinking about being a receptionist because she knows those are where her strengths will shine.
"I'll always be connected to AWAC," Dennis said. She stops by to visit with staff every now and then.
"That place has saved my life so many times," Dennis said. "Whatever happened AWAC was always there to help me through it. The staff there made me feel safe and cared for when I couldn't care for myself."
Dennis stayed at the Coldest Night of the Year to volunteer. After participants took their walk downtown, they returned to the church for soup and treats and to talk about their experiences.
Organizer Alanna Le Cerf said she just wanted those who joined the walk to take it all in, think about those who are living outside on this very cold night and hope everyone gets a greater sense of community from the experience.
It's not too late to donate to the cause. For more information visit https://cnoy.org/location/princegeorge.
