Enjoying a meal by the lake is helping raise cash for Living Space, and raising awareness for addiction services.
It's to celebrate and honour the life of Josh Cole, who died of a drug overdose three years ago at the age of 27.
Thursday, June 27 from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Bubble's Fries in the Gillies Lake parking lot is holding a fundraiser.
Owner Linda Walton said Fortier Beverages is supplying the food for the day, and the money from everything sold that day is for Living Space, a hub dedicated to ending chronic homelessness locally.
Walton's son Josh is the inspiration for the name of the business.
“He had a very distinctive laugh and he wore glasses that were like Bubbles from the Trailer Park Boys, so everyone called him Bubbles,” she said.
Walton and her husband Murray bought the chip stand, which was previously Lanny's Chili Hut, earlier this year and named it after Josh.
The fundraiser is the first time she's talking publicly about him dying of a drug overdose.
“Everybody knew, but this is when I said ‘OK, you know what, people just need to know that this is happening’,” she said.
The fundraiser is taking place on the third anniversary of his passing.
“It's so people don’t forget him, and don’t forget all those people out there that need that help. We need to get together as a community….it’s an epidemic, we need to stop the epidemic. How? I don’t know. If we all get together and put our heads together we can come up with something, ,” she said.
The ultimate goal of raising money is to set up Bubble's Ride, said Walton.
She explained that when people are serious about getting help, with the ride they would have a way of getting there.
“Most people are afraid, they’re already addicted and they’re already afraid to begin with — they’re full of anxiety everyday. So if that person can get a ride and somebody to go with them, maybe they can get help,” she said.
While the ride is being setting up, Walton said if Living Space needs the money for something else it can be used there.
"They can go ahead, but we’re definitely going to get this going. I don’t know exactly how, but this is how we’re starting,” she said.
