Thinking inside the box for shelter

By Chris Jones/The Oshawa Express

A local man is going out of his way to provide portable cardboard shelters for Oshawa’s homeless population.

Taylor Bailey has made his name known as something of a philanthropist around the City of Oshawa, having previously worked to raise awareness surrounding homelessness with his Big Sleep Out event, where he invited residents to sleep outside in tents during the winter.

Now, Bailey is giving back in a more practical way by providing cardboard shelters to those in need.

“A lot of people [say] ‘Yeah, that’s great, but what’s it really doing?’ It just helps people know about it or think about it a little more. But it’s not a real solution,” says Bailey. “So, I’m like, ‘What’s next is [the cardboard shelters],’ and then we have a program to go homeless to a home.”

He explains he will drop them off at night when it’s colder out, and then pick them up in the morning by 9 a.m.

He says he and his team are trying to work with the city and get a meeting with Mayor Dan Carter, but notes it can be difficult to get a hold of him as he is the mayor, and with COVID-19 it is now even more difficult.

Ultimately, Bailey says he was inspired to make the shelters because he knows how cold it can get after sleeping in a tent in his front yard for a couple of weeks in December.

“This is a huge step up from a tent because the wind can’t penetrate it – it’s a one-inch thick industrial cardboard designed to hold over 1,000 lbs. and can be stacked on each other,” he says.

He adds it’s easy to dispatch, and points out it only takes a few seconds to set up, and another few seconds to tear it down. It can also be thrown in the back of a car and moved quickly.

“It’s easier with two people, but if necessary one person can dispatch it,” he says.

Thus far, in partnership with Durham Shred and Recycle, there are 10 shelters, according to Bailey.

He says while the current shelters are made of cardboard, it’s just the first step. As soon he and his team meet with the mayor and they find a location to set them up semi-permanently, the shelters will have paint outside, and even vinyl siding.

Bailey says the final product will be much more protective than a regular piece of cardboard.

“In the state that they are right now, they are just [cardboard], but they will evolve into something better, and inspire other people to come together with new innovative, creative ideas,” he says.

He notes after his experience of sleeping in a tent, he feels it isn’t safe physically, mentally, or emotionally.

“It really messed me up, and I was only in there for like three weeks on and off, because it really kicked my butt,” he says. “I got sick, I had to come inside, get better, then go out again and try again. My whole sleeping pattern was off, I was even a little bit scared just right in my own front yard.”

Bailey explains little noises would cause paranoia, and he would have a difficult time getting to sleep due to fear he would get hurt.

“If these people weren’t mentally ill before they became homeless, I could definitely see them becoming mentally ill very quickly with lack of sleep, nutrients, and the fear,” he says.

When COVID-19 first hit Oshawa and shelter choices began to wane, Bailey says he initially noticed an increase in the city’s homeless population. But then Camp Samac was opened to the homeless.

“A lot of people have been going there and I’ve been trying to encourage that as well, but some people don’t want to be there,” he says.

Bailey adds a number of homeless people don’t have the option of Camp Samac or a shelter anymore because they’re full, so there needs to be another solution.

The response from those using the shelters has been great, according to Bailey. He says there have been a few occasions where the users loved the shelters so much they even tried to take it.

“Some people have cut them up and tried to take them that way, but ultimately they’re difficult to travel with, so that wasn’t possible,” he says, adding he doesn’t want them taken and discarded across the city.

For Bailey, the main point of this is to give back to those who may have feel they are forgotten.

“I feel they’re human beings, and, regardless of their lifestyle habits or choices, I feel they deserve a safe place to be,” he says. “My main goal is to make basic shelter a human right, period.”