By Stephanie Mancini
Published in September 2020
We admit to being overwhelmed! This is the first statement to make as we respond to unprecedented numbers of homeless people in our community, at a time when common spaces are locked-down in a COVID-world.
Some 500+ people are homeless in our community. Hard stop on that statement. How did this number of people without housing get so high?
Can you imagine what it is to be homeless at this time? Nothing is open; even such a basic need as available bathrooms is unaccessible. Food is hard to find; and what you do find are the leftovers of our consumer lifestyle. Life is a bit wilder and people must focus on basic survival. Especially now as the temperatures start to drop – it was one thing to live rough during the summer, but a whole new world is emerging. The world is getting rougher – we see it in the number of break-ins, deaths, assaults, and mental health challenges that show up in the news feeds.
Add to this the complexities of people who live actively with dependence on an unsafe/toxic drug supply, people who have often ended up homeless because of unbearable stories of trauma, where each day people navigate survival for now. Shelter, food, clothing, safety, and now warmth. These are the critical issues of daily life for far too many people in our community.
How can we continue to embrace our ethic of a caring community, while so many are living outside as the winter approaches? We are hearing the voices of people who are afraid to invite people into our own neighbourhoods – will we be safe, will our children be safe? These are real sentiments, but if we do not soon shift the wider conversation of exclusion by helping people to build stable housing opportunities, we are reinforcing the isolation and disenfranchisement of a core group of people.
This time challenges the core of our ethics; of our understanding of what it means to be community. The Harper Magazine article on Sanctuary, an experiment designed to invite people into a non-policed and non-structured attempt to share housing, suggests that this project failed because it was too naïve. This may be true, but we need to learn from these new experiments. We know that the hunger created by deep addiction to toxic drugs steals people’s ability to be their best self, and is often unbearable to watch. One school of thought creates these really interesting alternative approaches, while others move to more rigid policing (note the small p, not a capital P) options that try to build safe space through more structure. The best answer is probably somewhere in the middle, but must consider both the reclaiming of personal autonomy plus the common good of safety for everyone.
We have some years for to make-up for. As a society we have valued money, pleasure, and privilege for too long. There is a price for this world; paid by people who already experience trauma and dislocation. In our work, we see the price of this more than most people – see page 4 of this newspaper to read just a few examples of the realities people are living with. The need for healing has never been greater.
A recent Globe & Mail Opinion column by Dr. Stephen Hwang stated, “Our goal must be more than moving people off the street. It must be to help people live full lives and be connected, healthy and well. […]To make a successful transition, many people – particularly those with serious mental health and substance use issues – need intensive supports […] Research shows that investment in these services is not only critical to achieving a lasting reduction in chronic homelessness, but also that much of the costs are offset by reductions in the use of other services.”
We need deeper services and supports to counteract the trauma, but we also need more autonomous and respectful housing options where people can build meaningful engagement and feel more in control of their lives. How do we support people in ways that give space to build community together? How do we make up for the dislocation that has resulted from the loss of affordable housing in our community? The spirit of active love, of unconditional personal regard, of holding onto each person, is the constant and daily work that continues in beautiful and deep ways.
We have come through some complex times, as a community, as an organization, and we have learned so much and feel such gratitude for the people who do the work, for the people who make this work possible with their generosity. Most importantly, we continue to build towards creative responses that welcome those who are most disenfranchised, those who are most left out of our society.
The work of creating affordable housing has just begun. Even after the latest housing/shelter strategies move forwards, we estimate there will be close to a hundred people still without shelter; in spite of the fact that we have all worked together to give our best efforts!
The Working Centre has some strategies to add new housing as do a number of other community partners. Will we welcome these new housing developments into our neighbourhoods? How will we support and coordinate these exciting efforts to allow creative ideas to move forwards quickly? The social and personal costs of the lack of affordable housing is high. The time to act is now.
