By Stephanie Gauthier sa国际传媒� Contributor.

Corey smiles easily. He laughs and he curses, and hesa国际传媒檚 hard not to like.

sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檓 a joker,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檒l do something so stupid out of the blue to put a smile on someonesa国际传媒檚 face.sa国际传媒�

This is true for the staff at Ellis Place, a subsidized, supportive housing site in Kelowna where he now lives, just as itsa国际传媒檚 true for the people hesa国际传媒檚 shared emergency shelter spaces with over the years.

Time evaporates when speaking with Corey, especially when the conversation turns to motorcycles. He loves riding them and building them. He scrolls through photos on his phone, stopping on a video of himself riding a custom bike.

Corey uses a hand-operated clutch to shift gears in the video. He does so because he doesnsa国际传媒檛 have legs. They were both amputated above the knee in 2010. He doesnsa国际传媒檛 complain about this misfortune or feel sorry for himself. He jokes about it instead. He says it helps put people at ease.

sa国际传媒淲hat disability?sa国际传媒� He pads the seat of his chair in mock surprise. sa国际传媒淢y legs, oh god, wheresa国际传媒檇 my legs go?sa国际传媒�

Corey has a hereditary blood clotting disorder that led to the amputations. He shrugs about it now, saying he wouldnsa国际传媒檛 take back his legs even if he could.

sa国际传媒淚 do more with no legs than I ever did with them.sa国际传媒�

Corey has a long history with drugs. He used cocaine for ten years and opiates for 25, but hesa国际传媒檚 put all of that behind him.

sa国际传媒淚 still like to get some coolers on the weekend,sa国际传媒� he said. But, hesa国际传媒檚 left the harder substances in the past and hesa国际传媒檚 changed his lifestyle in a lot of other ways. He volunteers with his church now instead of running with motorcycle gangs. These changes tie back to Coreysa国际传媒檚 mother, who died from lung cancer in 2017.

sa国际传媒淚 was at her side when she passed away,sa国际传媒� he says. sa国际传媒淪he always said to me, sa国际传媒榣ifesa国际传媒檚 too short to be miserable, laughtersa国际传媒檚 the best medicine, and pay it forward.sa国际传媒�

Corey has lived at Ellis Place since December 2021. Before that, he was in an emergency shelter.

sa国际传媒淚n the shelter, yousa国际传媒檙e just in open pods so if you go to the washroom people are in your pod stealing. Here you have a locked door and workers that look out for you.sa国际传媒�

Visit the to read the rest of Coreysa国际传媒檚 story.

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