By Stephanie Mancini
Published December 2023
Standing witness to the harshness of our world is painful and draws a deep lament – across the world, on the earth that sustains life, and in our own community. The lament is important, standing with eyes wide open as witness, and feeling the pain. If we don’t lament, this despair can turn into anger, into fear, or indifference.
Recently a group of outreach workers stood on the steps of St. Mary’s Catholic Church wearing t-shirts that said – “November comes at the same time every year”. An expression of the despair that, in spite of all our efforts and all our wealth as a community, we still see 150-200 people living without shelter for the winter, facing the diminished life this creates, the mental health challenges, the harshness of needing to find the daily high when the need for fentanyl takes over a person’s life.
In 2019, when the number of unhoused were lower, some of these outreach workers were part of the pop-up shelter created at St. Mary’s Church where 200 people stayed for 3 weeks, inspired by a large snow storm on November 11. We laugh to ourselves – it’s been a long day since November 11, 2019. The numbers continue to grow, the needs are many, we have participated together in creating new strategies, and we walk into every day feeling less than adequate but continuing to stand together in solidarity to carry a determined love for each person.
The lament allows us to continue in that determined love and hospitality witnessed every day; actions that include:
- St. John’s Kitchen slid naturally back into St. John’s Church as we create housing in our Victoria St. building. We are grateful for the welcome from the church, and some quick renovations helped us to share the space. There is a nostalgic feeling in the space as 400 people a day come for meals, hampers, washrooms, access to healthcare and housing supports, and warm drop-in spaces – along with hats, mitts, snacks and water.
- The six people living at our Hospitality House on Victoria Street moved over to Water Street House so they were not living in a construction site. This helped us to expand the number of health/safe beds at Water Street House, while the place on Victoria Street, located right across the street from the 100 Victoria St. N encampment, was transformed to provide washrooms, showers, laundry, and other supports.
- Daily visits to the 100 Victoria encampment, with 60-80 people, many of whom come and go; to connect, to bring supports, and help problem-solve with each person.
- The slow thoughtful support it takes to help someone move to independent housing after spending years in communal settings, as they enjoy the security of place but lose the companionship.
- Day after day helping people to sort belongings, keeping congregate spaces, or rooms, or cabins clean, fire safe, and dignified.
- Standing in this work with non-judgement, creating spaces of deep harm reduction that welcome people who are not welcome in other places.
- 230 people live with us in shelters/interim housing – where we quip “shelter, hospitality, food, and cleaning toilets” – so much of the work is the continuous cleaning and tending of these spaces that become a temporary home during this housing crisis.
- Visiting an encampment to make sure that people are well, they have the supplies they need, knowing that the outreach workers might be the only other people seen in a week.
- Advocating a person-at-a-time, advocating for more housing, sharing with many interested groups, classes, churches the realities and needs.
- Welcoming over 40 new people a day to our Job Search Resource Centre as we see refugees from Ukraine, Eritrea, Mexico, Syria and many Canadians and New Canadians who are seeking the work needed to afford their housing.
- Holding the importance of each person, listening, caring, and walking alongside people determinedly exploring step-by-step responses to the challenges before them.
Lament and determined action. When even our system responses are overwhelmed, we can’t lose our capacity to act in the place we stand. Every day, in small and big ways, creating the kind of world we want to live in.
