BC Housing still calls the 10,000-person provincial backlog for government housing a waitlist, but JT feels certain after 10 years on that list that nobody’s coming. “It’s pretty tough to see people I know who have been housed three or four times already and I’m still waiting,” he says. “Some lady came to take my name one time when I was staying in Beacon Hill Park, and I told her not to bother, because they’re never going to take me.” For the past 5 years, JT has had excruciating problems with infection in his lower legs. Things improve when he’s in hospital, where he eats well, gets the pain medication he needs, and has a bed to keep his legs elevated. He spent 7 months in hospital last year. But within 24 hours of being discharged back into homelessness, it’s back to the same old misery, with no place he can even lie down, let alone elevate his legs. He’s going to the wound care clinic on Johnson every two days right now. “I first experienced homelessness when I was 13. My mom said I was the bad child,” says JT, who grew up in Alberta. “Life was all right when I could work – I did lawn care, and was good at talking to people. But that’s not an option anymore.”