“I think these guys saved me from a lot of depression … they’re very protective,” says Glenn Edgeworth about the two feline companions in his life, while one of them, Jack, moves in for an affectionate head bump.
The two cats are a constant support for Edgeworth, who has been living with stage four prostate cancer for six years. Forced out of work because of his illness and the side effects of ongoing treatment, the 61-year-old juggles his finances daily to ensure he, Jack and Ollie have all they need to survive.
And if life wasn't complicated enough, he needs to move his home every three days, or run the risk of losing it.
In spring last year, Edgeworth parked his trailer on the side of Goldstream Avenue, joining the handful of people living in recreational vehicles using the stretch of road between Vantilburg Crescent and the Colwood border as a place to pull up and stay.
The community is a mixture of young and old, with some using the parking spot as a more permanent base, including one man in his 70s who still works for a local municipality. While for others it's a temporary stop-gap, before moving on to other opportunities, such as one construction worker preparing to travel to Kelowna for work.
As Langford’s traffic bylaw does not allow vehicles to park continuously on any street for a period over 72 hours, Edgeworth and his neighbours have to frequently move their vehicles, or face the city’s bylaw enforcement team, who can dish out fines or in extreme circumstances, impound vehicles.
Edgeworth says he has his weekly routine "down to a science," but despite the upheaval, describes his life parked up on Goldstream Avenue as secure.
“It's simple, it’s consistent, it’s stable,” he says. “I couldn't describe how grateful I am just for that little bit of stability.”
The collection of recreational vehicles ‘permanently’ parked has attracted complaints from local residents on the other side of the avenue, who have accused the transient community of abusing the area, using it as a campsite since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“They're sponging off of us,” said one local man. “For the bleeding hearts … you feel sorry for them? Invite them to come to your street and park for a year out in front of your house, see how you feel.”
As a deterrent, some locals want the city to ban overnight RV or commercial parking on the avenue, towing away offenders “at their own expense.”
“This is the first or last impression people get of Langford,” said the resident. “The city used to be known as the ‘dog patch’ … unfortunately that’s the only place in Langford that still looks like that.”
Ernest Martens who came to Vancouver Island to escape the Albertan winter, has empathy for the disgruntled residents, but says he has little choice because of the rising cost of campgrounds and trailer parks.
“Prices are going through the roof,” said the 66-year-old retiree. “Some campgrounds are pretty horrific per month, and once spring or summer session comes in, it gets pretty costly if you want that plug-in and stuff.”
And Martens says he knows he is not welcome on the avenue, with drivers honking their horns “like crazy” late at night as they pass the convoy of homes on wheels.
“Or they got their music loud, just to bug us, I think,” he says. “And that's fine, if that's the way you handle things, to people that don't have a place to go or can't go somewhere else, so be it.”
After travelling around the Island in his RV, Martens settled upon Goldstream Avenue in December last year, when he noticed the “stream of campers” while on a supply run.
He describes the location as convenient, with essential amenities – such as showers at the Juan de Fuca Recreation Centre – all within easy reach. It's a convenience that encourages people to stay longer at the roadside spot, says Martens.
“I think that's what we all do eventually … I got stuck here, meaning do I want to break the routine and go back?”
But despite the convenience, Martens says his stay on the avenue will be a temporary one, as he plans to return to Alberta in the spring, to be closer to his 17-year-old son who lives with his ex-partner.
“It's quite expensive here,” he says about life on Vancouver Island. “Even just living like this … it just keeps mounting: gas, propane, everything else that comes with it.”
Back in Alberta, Martens says he will continue living in his RV, which he moved into in August 2024 because of crippling rent increases.
“It just kept increasing and there's no [rental increase] cap in Alberta,” he explains.
It’s a similar story for Victoria-born and bred Edgeworth, who says he was ‘renovicted’ from his View Royal basement suite of 18 years in 2020, a year after his cancer diagnosis.
“I had only been paying $1,200 … the rent went up to 2,400 bucks,” he said.
Unable to live with his mother in View Royal or his 25-year-old daughter in Aldergrove, because of lack of space, Edgeworth was forced to choose life on wheels instead.
Before ‘settling down’ on Goldstream Avenue in 2024, through the years Edgeworth has attempted to establish himself in other Greater Victoria spots. He once had a more permanent home for his trailer in North Saanich, where he paid $400 a month for a secluded area on private land.
But when the rent was “jacked up” to $1,200, Edgeworth was on the move again, trying his luck at Hamsterly Beach in Elk/Beaver Lake Regional Park, before finding his current spot in Langford.
In the past, Edgeworth has also tried to park his trailer outside the homes of friends and family, including his mother’s View Royal house, but municipal bylaws forced him to move on.
“I really wish the government would get rid of some of these stupid bylaws,” he said. “If somebody owns property and they want to let a homeless person [stay], like even if it's granny with a little backyard and she wants to let her grandson pitch a tent in the backyard, that should be allowed.”
About the Goldstream Avenue residents living across the street, Edgeworth says he has never interacted with them, apart from the odd “weird look” thrown his way.
“On this side of the street, we don't spend time outside,” says the self-described loner. “For one, it is embarrassing … I’m not proud to be in my situation.”
His solution would be providing people like him a space to park their RVs and trailers, an area not run for profit, instead offering reasonable rental rates to cover any electricity used.
“They have to stop making everything about profit when it comes to housing,” he says. “There's a big huge empty parking lot on Jacklin Road – put up some little power posts, that's all you need is electricity,” says Edgeworth.
“We just want to have a place to be. That’s all anyone wants.”
Despite living with a cancer diagnosis, unemployment and the weekly threat of having his home towed away, Edgeworth keeps himself feeling upbeat, with a quick, dry sense of humour. If it had not been for his cancer diagnosis, he had plans to continue working as a painter until the age of 75, with ambitions to “relax and chill” until his 100th birthday.
“Those plans got screwed. But I’m super healthy … aside from the rheumatoid arthritis, the emphysema and the cancer, I'm still healthier than most people,” Edgeworth says with a laugh.
“But I'm still gonna get as close to 100 as I can.”
