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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The visit was one of the last things SideDoor Youth Centre executive director Garry Hubert expected.

Charlie Delorme enjoys a snack at the SideDoor Youth Centre on Tuesday. Charlie recently surprised the centre with a $2,000 donation. - Laura Busch/NNSL photo

The visitor was Charles Delorme, known by most Yellowknifers simply as Charlie. Although this was Delorme's first time dropping in at the centre, Hubert knew him well from seeing him around the city, picking up bottles to bring to the recycling depot and hanging around downtown.

"He basically walked in here and said, 'I used to look after kids when I was young and I hear you're doing a good job here, so I want to give you something,' and he handed me a folded piece of paper," said Hubert.

The piece of paper, it turned out, was a certified cheque for $2,000.

Delorme told Yellowknifer he doesn't care how the centre uses the money, he just wanted to give something back to the kids who are often kinder to him than older citizens.

"I love the little children, you know?" he said. "If they see me on the trail they'll always say, 'Hiya Charlie' and shake my hand."

While sharing bits and pieces of his story, Delorme said his memory doesn't work so well anymore. He is around 65 years old and has lived as a street person in Yellowknife for 45 years.

He was born in Fort Smith, where he started school. He also lived in Fort Resolution for a time before moving to Yellowknife after his parents split up when he was 16.

Delorme didn't want to get into how he ended up on the street, saying "it's a really long story" but, one way or another, he found himself needing to rely on the kindness of others to survive.

He used to stay with Rev. Gordon Bailey and his wife Ruth from time to time. The couple, who lived in Yellowknife from 1963 to 1991 and ran the old Pentecostal Church on 49 Street, always had a bed and a warm meal to share with anyone who needed it.

Delorme would take odd labour jobs, helping with construction or shovelling sidewalks downtown in the winter. This has been getting too hard on him lately, he said, because of a pain in his leg that makes it difficult to walk around.

Over the years, he's seen the city change from a small town, where everybody seemed to know everyone else, to a city where most people don't know your name and rarely stop to say hello.

"I call it home but everything has changed," he said, adding he has a lot of good friends here. There is a tight community of people who, while they may fight when "they get into drinking," watch out for each other.

When asked if there is anything he'd like others to keep in mind when passing people loitering on Franklin Avenue, Delorme said, "Just think about them. Think about how they act and maybe why - and pray for them."

This year, Delorme has a warm house to stay in for the winter, but he is worried about others who might not be so lucky.

The money for the youth, he said, came from his residential school settlement - a phrase that sounded like it left a bitter taste in his mouth as he said it.

"I hope they'll grow up to be good people," he said, while watching children play at the centre on Thursday.

As for himself, Delorme isn't looking for anything in return. He said he hasn't been feeling so well lately, and would like it if people would pray for him.

"You can tell the Lord you're tired, you're sick, hungry, thirsty - but I always tell him I don't wanna go to hell," he said with a wry smile.

Delorme's donation will be used for the SideDoor's after-school program, said Hubert. Also, the centre is looking to buy equipment for the kids to use that will be dedicated to Delorme.

"When I saw the amount (on the cheque) it brought tears of joy to my eyes," said Hubert, adding Delorme's generosity has made him re-focus on what he can give back to the community.

"If a fella of Charlie's stature can give that amount, what can we be giving?" he asked.

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