Man shares his story of life in a Winnipeg homeless encampment

Shawn Bunskoek is living on the streets of Winnipeg and fighting to get a space to call his own. CTV’s Daniel Halmarson shares his story.

For the past two months, a Winnipeg man has been staying in a tent near the shore of the Red River.

His encampment includes pallet flooring, a propane-fuelled heater, and even a couple décor items, but his living situation is anything but glamorous.

“It has its ups and downs,” Shawn Bunskoek told CTV News Thursday. “I love camping, but it gets lonely. It gets cold at night.”

The 51-year-old said he’s not homeless because of drugs, addiction, or crime. Rather, he was evicted twice and that’s prevented him from locking down a place to live.

“It makes you feel degraded. People judge you quick because you’re homeless or automatically you have bedbugs. You’re a loser, get a job, you bum — that kind of thing.” Bunskoek said. “It’s hard on you mentally. I don’t wish this upon anybody.”

He relies on Employment and Income Assistance and said he spends his money on food and supplies. When he’s not at his camp, Bunskoek gets around on foot and pops into fast food restaurants to charge his phone to keep in touch with friends and family. He said he’d rather spend his days working, but there are barriers to that too for people living unsheltered.

“It’s almost impossible because you don’t have an address,” he said. “I can use Siloam [Mission] as an address, but you got to have some dignity and some pride in yourself.”

Bunskoek said interactions with the city have been positive since he set up camp. He’s contacted 311 to clean up abandoned encampments nearby and reported an incident with another unsheltered person to police last week.

He’s also had visits from outreach organizations and said Siloam Mission staff just helped him find a home.

“I move in on December 1st. I can get my stuff out of storage,” he said. “I can get out of here and start getting back on track and living life as I should.”

Bunskoek said he wanted to share his story to show anyone can end up on the street and wants to be an advocate for other unsheltered people. He added there’s no shame in asking for help — no matter how hard it gets.

“I will not quit,” Bunskoek said. “My dad always told me the squeaky one is the one that gets the grease. I’m squeaking.”