Two homeless Saskatchewan men given one-way bus tickets this week arrived safely in B.C. on Wednesday and were received by outreach workers who will assist them as they settle in Vancouver.

Charles Neil-Curly, 23, and Jeremy Roy, 21, arrived on a Greyhound bus just after 4:30 p.m. at Vancouver’s Pacific Central Station near the Downtown Eastside.

The two young First Nations men said they were denied provincial funding to stay overnight at the Lighthouse homeless shelter in North Battleford, Sask., where the pair met and became friends, and were left with few options.

“I had my own bed and everything. It was good, but welfare just wouldn’t let me stay there, I guess,” Neil-Curly told reporters in Vancouver. “I asked for a ticket and five minutes later, I had it printed off and was leaving that night.”

According to the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, the Saskatchewan social services ministry paid about $500 for the two one-way bus tickets from Saskatchewan to B.C.

“When they asked if I had a place to go, I just said, ‘Yeah,’” said Neil-Curly, who has been homeless for about five months. “You know, I was going to the next homeless shelter anyway.”

Neil-Curly said B.C. seemed to be a better choice, when compared to the option of sleeping “in a snowbank.”

Roy also spoke to media briefly before suddenly pausing and requiring medical attention.

Staff from Vancouver’s Union Gospel Mission were on hand to greet the two men after reaching out to Saskatchewan officials and being put in touch with the two men as they were travelling to B.C.

“We were surprised and we were concerned when we heard that they were being put on a bus and we needed to step up. Coming to Vancouver without a plan, without a place to stay ... is a bad situation for Vancouver and especially for them. It’s dangerous,” said Union Gospel Mission spokesman Jeremy Hunka.

Hunka said the pair will be assigned a case worker who will ensure they are taken care of and provided medical care if needed.

Beds have also been made available for Neil-Curly and Roy at the mission’s shelter.

“It’s shocking,” said Calum Scott, director of youth services for Family Services of Greater Vancouver, adding that he believes many are misinformed about Vancouver and its climate. “We still have a cold, damp winter. Just because we don’t have minus-40 degree weather, that doesn’t mean people don’t die. They do.”

Scott said he feels sad for the young men because they are going from being in a vulnerable situation in Saskatchewan to being thrown into an “even more vulnerable situation” in Vancouver, where they have no ties to the community or family, there are long waiting lists to get into mental health programs, and shelters are full.

“With homeless youth, you can’t just dump them in a (single room occupancy) hotel and hope it works out. Many of these youth do not have life skills. Instead of housing, they need supportive housing.”

City Coun. Kerry Jang was also on hand to welcome the men to Vancouver, and continued to chastise the decision to purchase one-way bus tickets for them.