An Elder in Samson Cree Nation in Alberta says he needs a warm place to stay until Samson Housing fixes his furnace.
Elvis Wahkeenew says the furnace in his brand new modular home stopped working on Oct. 20 – and ever since then he’s been using his oven and a small heater to keep from freezing.
“Sometimes I go sit in my vehicle and warm up,” he told APTN News, “especially in the night.”
Wahkeenew, 65, is a widower and lives by himself. In 2022 he lost his son. He says with winter rolling in, he needs to find a place to live until repairs can be done. The floorboards in the house are cold to the touch. He stopped using the oven due to the high electricity cost.
Samson Cree Nation has 6,576 members living on reserve. It’s located about 100 kilometres south of Edmonton.
He says Samson housing has sent people to repair the furnace but it needs a part. According to Wahkeenew, there is no timeline on when that part will arrive. In the meantime, winter comes closer.
“This morning a guy came and he undid something there and it’s all dismantled and everything,” he said. “They told me to try to get a place but where am I going to get funds to go to a motel?
“I can’t afford it.”
He says he has talked to leadership on his furnace issue and finding a warm place to stay.
“They don’t listen. I’ve talked to them, and they’ll say ‘yeah yeah.tomorrow, tomorrow,’” he says. “But tomorrow never comes. I really don’t go there anymore.”
Samson communications told APTN there are people looking into the matter but that leadership is not available for comment.
“If only I could at least get a room at least to be warm. Until they can fix the problem here. But where’s the help?” says Wahkeenew.
Over night temperatures are now consistently in the minus range.
