Inuvik homeless man kicked out of shelter has a question: Where should I go?

Richard Bryce Tardiff Jr. has worn out his welcome at shelters in Inuvik, N.W.T. and has found himself with no place to stay in the middle of winter. 

He posted about his predicament on Facebook last week, and asked if it was ethical to be banned from the only shelters available in the winter.

"I'm homeless, what else am I going to do? Do they expect me to freeze outside? I could figure out like a few days or a week but 30 days? I have nowhere to go," he told CBC News. 

Tardiff said he received a letter the first week of January from the homelessness and community planning manager for the NWT Housing Corporation (NWTHC), telling him he's banned from entering and using the two shelters in Inuvik for 30 days, and that if he tried to go inside, RCMP would be called.

Tardiff said he no longer has the letter. 

The homeless shelter on Kingmingya Road is a dry shelter for those who are not using drugs or alcohol. The Inuvik Emergency Warming Shelter, now located on Reliance Street, is a wet shelter that's open to those who are using substances. Tardiff said he was a client of both locations.

"I only got one verbal warning," he said. "There are supposed to be three strikes to be kicked out of the shelters … I was staying sober and everything," he said, adding that when intoxicated he would go to the wet shelter.

In an email to CBC News, the communications advisor for the shelters in Inuvik acknowledged the three warning system — but said there are times when "warnings are not appropriate." 

"Occasionally there may be a situation where there is an immediate threat and the need to remove the risk and danger to staff and/or other clients means actions must be taken quickly."

She said there can be temporary bans from the shelters of up to 30 days. They are made in writing, and the shelter works with NWT Health and Social Services Authority and the RCMP to support individuals who may not have access to the shelters.

Tardiff doesn't shy away from the role he's played in the situation. He said he's been in confrontations with some of the other clients, and police had been called multiple times. At the more independent living shelter, he said he signed a contract to be sober and to work his construction job in town.

"Clients and staff were telling me I don't belong here, I don't know what they mean by that," Tardiff said. "It makes me think, where do I belong?"

Tardiff, who said he's fully vaccinated, has since been warming up in stores and trying to find places to sleep, like in boiler rooms or at the RCMP detachment. 

"I get drunk to stay at the police station and I don't like doing that when I have to go to work the next day," Tardiff said.