Campbell River team designs portable shelters, item carriers for homeless

Advocates for the homeless in Campbell River, B.C., are rolling out what they hope will be a major assistance to the city’s vulnerable population: "Angel pods."

"A lot of people struggle to carry all of their things around during the day and so we wanted to create an alternative to the shopping cart that’s lockable so people could have their things with them," says Sharon Karsten, project coordinator for the group Walk With Me.

A portable shelter and item carrier, sometimes dubbed an "angel pod" is shown. (CTV News)

Karsten was part of a team that designed a portable shelter that can carry items during the day, and then be slept in at night, as opposed to being in tents.

"When people are sleeping there were things being thrown at people, snow load, etc., where the tents weren’t cutting it," she says. "Just in conversation we came up with the idea for a Turtle Hut or an Angel Pod, we have many names for this thing now."

Shawn Decaire is the manager of Kwesa Place, a facility that offers warming, shower, and laundry services for the city’s at-risk population during the day. He was also one of the designers of the pods.

"The first prototype that was built actually was built out of marine-grade plywood with fireproof insulation inside," he says. "With that and with the air vents in there so you’re not going to suffocate."

A portable shelter and item carrier, sometimes dubbed an "angel pod" is shown. (CTV News)

The idea is to provide portability for those who are forced to pack up and move their belongings each morning.

"When you have to wake up at seven in the morning you can only imagine having to pack your entire camp up, your tent, your sleeping bag, load it into a shopping cart and go. With this, you sleep out of your sleeping bag, you slide your stuff back in and you go," he says.

Creators of the pod are hoping to construct two more prototypes by mid-May so they can be used to help solicit funds to build 30 units within six months.

"We’re looking at about $150,000, not only for the production of these but we’d like to create a social enterprise where the pods are created as kits and people can assemble them, can create their own designs for them," Karsten says.

Decaire says he is a former homeless person himself, spending several years on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. He is hoping the public will have greater acceptance for those who are struggling on the streets.

"Through truth and reconciliation and through historical family trauma or anything like that, these people need a little understanding and support," he says.

"Don’t be so closed-minded. We get it, economic development is important, but humanity still needs to come first and as troubled as some humanity is, they’re still humans," says Decaire.

Those interested in finding out more information or how to provide financial contributions can contact Sharon Karsten at walkwithme.ca