It’s been over a week since my friend Beetlejuice moved into his studio apartment in the Reiderman Residence—a.k.a the new temporary modular housing (TMH) complex in Marpole—and he says that he loves it!

Juice (as he says he prefers to be called) is one of several long-time homeless people I know who have moved into the three-storey, 78-unit, two-building TMH at 7430 and 7460 Heather Street.

The name “Reiderman Residence”, by the way, is in memory of Jennie Reiderman, a long-time staff member of the TMH’s operator, Community Builders Group.

She lost her battle with cancer in late 2017, months before the housing project she had worked so hard on was finally completed and occupied.

Some peace and quiet for change—and for the better

I saw Juice this morning (March 24) far from his Marpole housing. He showed up the same time as I did at the Go Green recycling depot in Mount Pleasant—and for the same reason—to cash in returnable beverage containers, same as he does every day.

He was with his friend Rick, another formerly homeless guy who is also now happily housed in the Reiderman Residence.

Both Juice and Rick told me how much they liked how quiet their new supportive housing digs were.

“You can hear a pin drop,” Rick declared, with a smile.

And there are no drugs they told me, adding that the Reiderman has not yet received a single visit from the police.

Among their neigbours is Chris, aka “Chuckles” (right across the hall from Juice), and Jerry, a.k.a “Suitcases”, and Bob, a.k.a. “Pushcart” Bob—all of them long-time homeless people who know each other.

So Juice and Rick are among friends in the Marpole TMH.

Juice told me that this was exactly how they had told housing workers that they wanted it.