Contributed by Stephanie Gauthier.

How do you wind up experiencing homelessness?

The answer is rarely straightforward. For Soren, it all started when he lost his car.

乌鸦传媒淢y car got impounded,乌鸦传媒� he says. 乌鸦传媒淚 lost a brand-new Honda GSR, a little racecar thing that I bought with my dad乌鸦传媒檚 inheritance. The only thing I ever got from my father, and I ended up losing it over $900.乌鸦传媒�

The payment would乌鸦传媒檝e released the car from impound. Soren and his partner worked at an orchard at the time where their housing was provided. The season ended shortly before the car was impounded so they had also just lost their stable housing.

乌鸦传媒淥nce the car was gone, so were 90 per cent of our belongings,乌鸦传媒� Soren says. 乌鸦传媒淲e were basically left with nothing.乌鸦传媒�

They didn乌鸦传媒檛 have a home or a means of transportation that could help them find new jobs. This led Soren to experience homelessness for the first time in his life. It was two years after he came to Kelowna from Powell River after a friend encouraged him to move.

乌鸦传媒淗e led me to believe Kelowna was all that and a bag of chips.乌鸦传媒�

Soren now counts the move as a misstep and a contributing factor leading him to homelessness. He didn乌鸦传媒檛 have a local support structure that could have changed his direction.

乌鸦传媒淵ou get in that rut and if you don乌鸦传媒檛 have friends or family who can help you out of it, there乌鸦传媒檚 not a whole lot you can do,乌鸦传媒� he says.

Soren reveals more factors that led to homelessness. Things predating his arrival in Kelowna, while working in the logging industry.

乌鸦传媒淚 got crushed by a log when I was 19,乌鸦传媒� he says. 乌鸦传媒淚t drove me into the ground like a nail. Broke my back, broke my neck, shattered my pelvis, and broke my spleen. I spent thirteen months in the hospital. I should be dead.乌鸦传媒�

Soren recovered and continued working in logging. He even started his own business, making millions of dollars in the process. However, he was living with constant pain and a dependence on prescription opiates, which eventually led him to use heroin. He blames doctors for many of his battles with addiction. A twist in Soren乌鸦传媒檚 path came when softwood lumber prices tanked and took his business interests with them.

乌鸦传媒淚 lost everything,乌鸦传媒� he says. 乌鸦传媒淚 lost every asset I had.乌鸦传媒�

Visit to read the rest of Soren乌鸦传媒檚 story.

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