Gaz the Clown lives in a Conestoga Hut and needs a new place to park
A London, Ont. man who has been living in a Conestoga Hut for one year believes it is the perfect way to transition from homelessness.
While he hopes to build a small community of these small, temporary sleeping shelters, he first needs to find a new place to park his own hut.
“It’s based off the old pioneer wagon designs, and it comes apart into five pieces,” explained Gary Turner. “There’s no running water. I do have a battery powered shower. I do have a composting toilet, and I have a solar panel. So I do have everything I need to be completely off grid and self-sustaining.”
Turner, who is sometimes known as ‘Gaz the Clown’ when he acts as a mascot at various events, said the hut cost $5,500, which he raised through online crowd funding. For the past year, he has been living in the parking lot at the back of the Ark Aid Mission on Dundas Street in London in a trial arrangement. Now the year is up, and he’s looking for a new place to park.
“I just don’t have anywhere to go yet. It’s kind of crunch time for me so I’m incredibly desperate,” he said.
He’s not just thinking about his own accommodations this time. Turner said he wants to build a small community of Conestoga Huts. He’s hoping to find financial support through private donations to acquire three or four more of the units. He also needs someone to donate property to locate the huts.
“We would have three or four huts that we could use, and with our community partners we would set up people to come in, and learn different things to help them get back on track,” said Turner.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'