ADDICTS TAKE OVER NANAIMO MAN'S HOME

NANAIMO -- When Tim Lander left for Europe there were only two tenants
staying with him in his south Nanaimo home. When he got back after
three weeks, more than 30 heroin addicts had moved in and staked their
claim on his house, dealing drugs and wreaking havoc on the
neighbourhood.

The 69-year-old retiree is now in a battle to save his home from being
deemed a nuisance property, but he says he will keep letting the
city's poor live with him.

"I've got a house available," he said, sipping tea in his
turn-of-the-century home. "There are a lot of people who are cold and
need a place to stay."

He's been opening his home to the homeless for several years, offering
a place for them to sleep, have a shower or grab a quick meal from the
pot of stew he keeps on his hot plate. Some have even set up tents in
his front and back yards.

When Lander left for Europe this spring to visit his brother and
sister, he had no qualms about leaving his home open to two tenants
who had been staying with him for a short time.

"When I got back, there were 30 people in here," he said. "All heroin
users."

Since May 1, the RCMP have responded to 11 calls about his home,
including alleged drug use, trafficking, disturbances and theft.

On Monday, council members gave him one month to get the disturbances
in check or his home will be added to the city's inventory of nuisance
properties.