Winter is coming; Garry Camozzi's home needs a new home
By Sara Golling
At the January 20, 2020, meeting of Rossland City Council, a generous and caring Rossland resident asked the City for permission to keep a 24-foot-long by 10-foot-wide trailer that was parked on his property (and partly on the city boulevard) in place for the remainder of the winter season, to give otherwise homeless Rosslander Garry Camozzi a home – for the time being. Council unanimously consented, and one councillor commented that he had “never seen Garry looking so happy.”
Now, that winter season has passed, and another approaches. The generous resident, Ryan Kelly, is trying to find another “home” for Garry Camozzi’s home; the City wants it moved to a more suitable location by October.
A more suitable location would enable water and sewer hook-ups for the trailer; the latter was not possible at the Kelly residence.
Ryan Kelly not only hosted the trailer on this property for most of the year, but also started the “GoFundMe” campaign to raise money to purchase the trailer for Garry. For the article describing that effort and some stories from Garry Camozzi history, click here. Of his temporary tenant, Kelly said, “He’s been a great guest, no problems.”
Garry Camozzi’s “home” for many years consisted of a minimal tarp shelter that he moved from place to place in the woods, and a small campfire, but his health is no longer robust enough for living that wild and free – or rough. At one point, he suffered frostbitten feet and had to get himself to the hospital. As he said to Jennifer Ellis, who wrote for the Rossland Telegraph about a fundraiser for the Getting to Home program in September 2014, “I snowshoed to town and got myself to the hospital. I didn’t want to, but I knew I had to. These people showed up. I didn’t realize they existed. They came in and said you should have a place where you can be looked after.”
Now, the fiercely independent man has a home, and he wants to look after himself, but needs a place to put that home.
Can anyone accommodate that trailer and its resident? Besides a water and sewer hook-up, he needs power. The trailer uses electric baseboard heating, and that probably costs about $250 per month in the winter. Garry Camozzi has income and can pay for the electricity and water he uses, and a modest rental fee as well, so a host for his trailer would not suffer financially.
Kelly posted a message on the Facebook page “Rossland Talks” but has not yet found a new home for Garry’s trailer.
Anyone who can provide (or rent out) space for the trailer, with the possibility of sewer connections and access to water and power, please send Ryan Kelly a message on Messenger, or send an e-mail with details to editor@rosslandtelegraph.com
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