More Than A Number | Part 3: The resilient, level-headed rebuilder

At 40, Gauthier, who is originally from Rocky Mountain House, identifies as a father, a son, and a community member.

Most importantly, perhaps, he’s a mentally resilient human being with ambitious goals and the intent to work hard at rebuilding his life.

In other words, he isn’t defined by his circumstances; but his circumstances are real, and he’s trying diligently to navigate them.

“I want my sons to know I never gave up. I want to get home,” he told rdnewsNOW.

But if you ask him, that isn’t as easy as some may assume.

“There could be a lot more financial support for shelters, beds, cleanliness and food. It’s a tough time economically,” he said when asked where he thinks the widest gap in services is for those facing homelessness.

He also cites the price of housing as a major barrier to getting back in somewhere.

UNPREDICTABLE CIRCUMSTANCES

Gauthier is yet another example of someone who didn’t choose the unhoused life.

Three years ago, his marriage fell apart, and that’s all he had to say about that.

(Image Credit: rdnewsNOW/Ashley Lavallee-Koenig)

But it’s the type of scenario that not everyone can just plan for, nor predict how other cards will fall in the aftermath.

Thankfully, he says, “There are a lot of kind people” in the homeless community.

That includes at the shelter, where the environment isn’t always peachy; he also counts church-folk and people at other agencies, plus the brothers and sisters he’s met at the shelter, as those who keep him going and tip the homelessness situation toward the bearable side of the scale.

“There’s also a lot of pressure, being viewed as homeless. But [for the support we do have], I’m grateful.”

A CROSSROADS TO NAVIGATE

Many Red Deerians will have heard of Project Nexus…

Gauthier, who, again, has been without his own roof and four walls for three years, said he had not heard of Project Nexus.

It was explained to him that, in a nutshell, Project Nexus is a planned social care and emergency shelter campus on Red Deer’s north end, within an industrial area and away from the downtown.

It’s been in the works for some time, and its first phase, which is a Hope Mission-operated shelter, is anticipated to open sometime in 2027.

His response: “I’m familiar with the area around the Olymel plant. I think it’s great down there.”

Gauthier is also Indigenous and has full status, meaning he is part of a portion of the homeless community that is over-represented in just about every Canadian community.

At 645 people, Red Deer’s 2025 Point in Time Homeless Count did not enumerate many specific demographics, but the 2024 count did.

In 2024, the count found 747 people, with 32 per cent identified as Indigenous. The 2021 federal census, however, found that just over six per cent of Red Deer’s population is Indigenous.

KEEPING IT REAL

Because he has status, he shared, he has health care, optical and prescriptions paid for, which can’t be said by everyone, and that’s something he’s keenly aware of.

He also doesn’t lament those numbers too much, at least as far as it relates to his own situation.

“Everyone can go through hard times. You can’t predict anything. You can’t change the weather, you can’t change people, and you can’t change the past, but you can change what you do right now,” he remarked.

“Be thankful and grateful every day. I do that by just doing one thing at a time and trying to be a nice person.”

That’s when Gauthier thinks of his mom, who once told him that you shouldn’t judge someone unless you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.

“It’s hard to put yourself in that situation because you know nothing about a person; nothing about their past, their health, their losses, their gains. The world would be a better place if there was more love and compassion.”

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To learn more about how you can contribute to the Hope Mission emergency homeless shelter in Red Deer, visit hopemission.com or call them at 587-819-0015.

Red Deer’s latest count of those experiencing homelessness occurred earlier this month. The final tally in 2025 was 645 people; however, it’s important to keep in mind that these counts represent one-day snapshots and do not represent the precise number of people out there. (READ MORE)

Three Red Deer agencies are uniting to raise funds for causes strongly tied to homelessness. (READ MORE & READ MORE)

by Josh Hall

More Than A Number | Part 3: The resilient, level-headed rebuilder

UNPREDICTABLE CIRCUMSTANCES

A CROSSROADS TO NAVIGATE

KEEPING IT REAL

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