September on the Streets

After a cool summer, Winnipeggers finally got to turn up their air conditioning this September. The hot weather may have caused a spike in cooling bills for home-owners, but it is a welcome gift for those living on the streets.

For homeless musician Cody Fawcett it means a few more weeks before he has to find a way home. Fawcett has been homeless since losing his job, girl friend and sobriety this July. “I had nothing going for me at home” he says, “I got an e-mail from a buddy in Kamloops, and I decided to go”.

Originally from Hamilton Ontario, Fawcett spent the summer hitch hiking, and riding freight cars across Western Canada. “The way there was fine, but I stayed too long in Kamloops and I’m scared I’ll be on the streets for winter”.

The balmy weather has allowed him to make enough money to eat and buy the alcohol that he craves. Fawcett makes money by singing and playing guitar near popular bars and restaurants, and without warm temperatures, he knows he cannot stay. “If it’s warm, there are people, if there’s people there’s change.”

Cheech Marrian also knows the hardships that winter brings. Unlike Fawcett he is a lifelong Winnipegger, “the streets are hard when you need to be warm” he says, “I am thankful for the Salvation Army”. Like Fawcett, Marrian suffers from an addiction to alcohol, and relies on donations to keep himself alive.

“I wish this september could have lasted forever” says Fawcett, he doesn’t want to return to his life in Hamilton. “I’ve got nothing, but family will take care of me.”

Both Fawcett and Marrian know that the warm weather won’t last much longer, and neither of them look forward to the return of winter, “September has been good, people are generous when its warm out, they don’t give when the weather is nasty” said Marrian, “People forget what its like to be cold”. “September can’t last forever, but I wish this weather could.”