Frances:

I know you’ve got a ton on your plate, but at some point I’d love for you to do an article on how this mayor rates as far as dealing with homelessness. This was one of the primary “pillars” of his election campaign, and while there is a lot of “talk”, I haven’t seen a lot of action.

The view by some is that this mayor is simply riding the coattails of the previous mayor, by doing photo ops around money that had been acquired by the previous administration.

I’d love a non-nonsense article that looks at the facts vs. the fiction of what has or hasn’t been done by this mayor.

Don’t these shelters count as action, Jason? Those people in the shelters are still homeless, but at least they are getting more help than they used to.

If there are any prospective council candidates lurking around these parts, I’d love to hear a commitment from them to maintain this shelter program should they be elected.

Westender1: you know as well as I do that the shelter program – while funded by the province – is an initiative of the City, and that without pressure from the City it would be history.

I don’t know the complete history of the shelters, so perhaps you know more about this than do I. But it would be somewhat foolish for a government body to make a commitment to the long range operation of a program that is funded by a different level of government.

It really doesn’t surprise me that I ask for an unbiased view, and suddenly the Vision backers all jump up and say “oh it’s not the mayors responsibiliy! He can’t do anything!”

If the mayor doesn’t work with, put pressure on, focus on, the homeless issue, it does not become a funding priority for the provincial government.

There was an $80 million dollar investment from the provincial government when Sullivan was mayor (you know, the money that Gregor takes credit for but he had no part in), and aside from TEMPORARY shelters, and photo ops, I haven’t seen any action from this mayor.

Yes, I hate this mayor, and yes I have a biased view. That is why I asked Frances for an UNBIASED article. If our mayor has actually made some progress, terrific, and I’d like to be made aware of it…if he hasn’t, I think that deserves attention as well.

I have my biases, but at least I’m willing to take a step back and try and get unbiased feedback.

I’d be interested in an article as well but I am just commenting that I think what we’ll likely find is that the city has been pitching the provincial government ideas and requesting funding and the provincial government has likely responded with a whole lot of complaining and a meagre portion of funds.

It would be interesting to know what programs the city operates entirely out of their own pocket, whether those have been expanded and/or what new ones have been created.

Diane
agreed, but I think we can agree it goes hand in hand… and yes this week aside 😉

“City’s only biker Chris Keam”

Now now. I rode to work today, and saw at least ten others on the way. My commute mostly doesn’t follow the designated bicycle routes, though I do go along 10th between Quebec and Brunswick. Maybe 4 of the other cyclists were in those two-three blocks, and the rest were on “side streets.” I was actually rather surprised there were so many, because it’s more than I’ve seen in the past when it was snowing. Take it for what you will, but to me it suggests a growth in cycling. I’ve also noticed more people out on rainy days than in past years.

As for the shelter situation, cheers and plaudits to everyone involved! Rah rah rah! (Oh, and also those Buddhists who provided 300 sleeping bags the other day, and everyone else pitching in.)

@ higgins: “Millions in salaries for a useless City Manager, a phantom Deputy, Directors and …then the colorful useless politicians. Think of the savings we could have by removing these leeches.”

So eloquent.

Here’s a thought, H: run for office yourself and if elected, abolish city hall and the bureaucracy. Turn city hall and all other city assets over to the homeless and accomplish what no other could do to date.

Just one request: leave your phone number behind, will you?

When I first started volunteering with the Building Community Society in the DTES, my first proposition was that we should build more shelters as a short term solution. I was attacked by a number of community organizers for proposing this, noting that shelters are nothing more than stop-gap. But the realty is that they are an effective way to get people off the streets. I think the current administration should be complimented for getting some new shelters in operation. But they can be surprisingly expensive to operate, so other solutions are required.

Two years ago this administration also supported proposals from Gregory Henriquez and myself to create additional housing stock using prefabricated modular housing, located on ‘temporary sites’. It could then be relocated to other future development sites. I was encouraged by the city’s interest; however, other than a subsequent announcement by Kerry Jang that he would like to explore the idea further, nothing has happened. I have offered to meet with Kerry Jang and Dennis Carr in the housing department to discuss this approach further. Both indicated an interest in getting together, and I expect to meet with them in the coming weeks.

However, the real purpose for this note is to suggest some other things that the Mayor and city could be doing, in concert with the Province, the private sector, and the non-profit sector to further address homelessness. I have written about some of these ideas before, but here they are again, since they may warrant further consideration.

1. house the homeless in existing apartments, rather than wait for purpose built housing to be completed. This is the approach followed by Toronto’s Streets to Homes program, with considerable success. In addition to getting instant housing, Toronto also arranged for a variety of support services. This program took more than 2000 people off Toronto’s streets in a cost effective way. I don’t understand why we haven’t tried it. To those who say it’s because we don’t have available rental stock, I say, nonesense. We have hundreds of units coming available every month…many would be suitable.

2. help create more employment. I have supported Shirley Chan’s BOB and EMBERS in the DTES. I am convinced that with a concerted effort by City Hall, these organizations and others could do much more. We need to talk about this, and do something about it. While I appreciate many of the homeless are not able to work a full time job, or even a part time job, many could benefit from some employment programs. Christmas is a time when many of us feel a bit more charitable…perhaps we can help get a few more people working.

3. one reason the homeless have a hard time getting a job is that they don’t have an address, and they don’t have suitable clothes and they often need support with hygiene. Since the shelters do not offer an ‘address’, I would like to think that we could come up with a creative way to give people an address, if only for the purposes of job applications. Why not Post Office boxes for the homeless who want them? the city doesn’t have to provide them…just promote the idea.

Similarly, the city could be helping people get cleaned up…..why aren’t there free barber shops for anyone who wants to get a haircut and shave in order to get out and find work? Again, the city doesn’t need to hire barbers and hairdressers…just be a catalyst…talk about the idea, promote it and it may well happen. there are lots of retired barbers and hairdressers who I suspect would be happy to help out…

Similarly, the city could help find clothing for those who need clothes… Many of us have clothes we would happily donate to those looking to keep warm or clean themselves up to get work. Often, we just need a nudge and info on where to take things to follow up. I think the city could work with other social agencies to help in this effort.

Many people can’t find work because they need dental work and other similar assistance. Again, I know there are some volunteer programs operating in the DTES, but we need more. I’d like to think the city could make this sort of thing happen. Perhaps what is needed is a public call to get dentists to help out, in the DTES, or in their own offices. I’m convinced that some real help could be offered in a short period of time.

4. family/friend reunification..I know that many are on the streets to escape unhappy family lives. But many more have cousins and uncles or grandparents or just friends with whom they might like to be reunited, if only they had some encouragement and assistance. There are lots of us who love surfing the internet who could volunteer some time to help people reconnect. I am told the Salvation Army has such a program…But so much more could be done. Just as libraries have a day when people can bring back their overdue books without fines, we should establish a day when people are encouraged to reestablish overdue relationships.

I’m sure some of you are probably thinking that I have lost my mind by suggesting that the Mayor should be doing some of these things…

I know that many people have mental illnesses and addictions that need to be addressed. These are major challenges. But I know there have been successes in other communities with the kind of programs I am suggesting.

I would like to think that this Mayor, with all of the publicity and attention his office can muster, could and should play a role in promoting a broad range of intiatives to help improve the lives of the homeless and destitute. And why not do so at this particular time of year.

Last year Pete McMartin, one of my favourite columnists, wrote about school kids who helped create Holiday Greeting Cards for the homeless and others in the DTES to send to family and friends…they got stamps and helped find addresses …. it was a lovely story and I’m convinced that so much more could be done along these lines.

So to conclude, yes it is important to build new, suitable designed permanent housing. And yes, additional shelters are helpful, especially if they have lockers (and too many do not). And yes we need more facilities for those with mental illnesses and addictions…..

But there are many more small, complimentary things that could be done. They take leadership and caring, and I’d like to see some of these ideas discussed, and if valid, implemented this holiday season.

“Similarly, the city could help find clothing for those who need clothes… Many of us have clothes we would happily donate to those looking to keep warm or clean themselves up to get work. Often, we just need a nudge and info on where to take things to follow up. ”

Beauty Night Society has been around for ten years. It’s a great program and I’m sure they’ll be happy for any help or assistance one would care to provide. Please check them out to find out a bit more about what they do.

As for clothing, I know that there’s at least two organizations available to take office/work clothing donations or cash. But I was curious how hard it would be to find them. One ‘office wear donations vancouver’ Google Search later, on the first page of results, sure enough, up pops Dress for Success and Working Gear Society.

In fairness to the City, I think the information is easily available for anyone who wishes to help. I’m not sure devoting city resources to a publicity program is necessary when those programs are easy to find for anyone with even a passing interest in helping out.

I definitely think prefabricated temporary modular housing is an excellent idea .

It’s too bad the project linked below never made much headway. It would be great to see it expanded beyond an academic exercise. Please forgive the self-link.

http://www.chriskeam.com/2008/11/making-most-of-micro-homes.html

“I think the current administration should be complimented for getting some new shelters in operation. But they can be surprisingly expensive to operate, so other solutions are required.”

Michael Geller

What makes the shelters expensive to run, Michael? Is it the costs of staffing?

When “housing” the street-involved population, putting a roof over the head of someone that may be in poverty, mentally ill, and possibly addicted is only one part of the equation. But it is not the whole effort required.

Let’s look at your good ideas in more detail:

1. House the homeless in existing units.

I think this is an excellent idea that will work for a segment of the homeless population, and is being pursued by some non-profits in our city already.

I worry that for many cases, however, it will prove the opposite end of the spectrum from the social housing tower. One option spreads the people needing supports too thinly, the other piles them up too high.

2. Help create more employment.

Thin ice. A bit of “let them eat cake”, but very much in line with my own gut feeling. I approach the problem from the side of revitalizing the public realm and intensifying the residential populations in our longest suffering quartiers.

We have zoned misery in our midst. Jobs would help. But the kinds of jobs I foresee we really need only come from rebuilding decimated places in their entirety, and reversing decades-long trends of disinvestment.

3. Personal appearance, hygiene, address…

I can’t comment here, for lack of information.

Where I see divergence is in the tenor of “the city… promote[s] the idea”; “the city could be helping people”; the city could help find clothing”.

The city is doing a lot already. I would prefer to see the efforts of the municipal authority taking on the challenge of building a better city in those places it, other levels of government, national and global finance, etc., have for so long turned a back to.

Let’s revitalize Hastings Street from Hastings to Stanley Parks; put BRT on it; plant trees; and hatch a new urban code to turn the table on the fortunes of the other beaten down neighbourhood streets. New neighbours, coffee shops and vegetable stands could do a great deal to lift the spirits of the local population and the feel of the place while providing new jobs right where they are needed. Grow the local economy to have a better chance to lift all boats.

4. family/friend reunification…

My impression about addiction issues is that the addict has made a choice of sorts—wittingly or not—putting “the pie whole” ahead of friends, before family, even before themselves. The kind of destruction wreaked by substance abuse in precisely the closest relationships cuts scars that may not be so easily repaired.

We need the full array of options if we really want to get on top and stay on top of this problem in our society. Many of these interventions will happen at the micro and one-to-one scale.

However, Michael, we should be prepared to bring our ideas and our talents to bear on the larger issues behind problem.

“Help create more employment.

Thin ice. A bit of “let them eat cake”, but very much in line with my own gut feeling. I approach the problem from the side of revitalizing the public realm and intensifying the residential populations in our longest suffering quartiers.

We have zoned misery in our midst. Jobs would help. But the kinds of jobs I foresee we really need only come from rebuilding decimated places in their entirety, and reversing decades-long trends of disinvestment.”

Lewis, precisely. There are many opportunities for residents of the DTES seeking work, and those seeking homes and work, to help rebuild their neighbourhood.

Just take a walk around the area and you will see places that need power washing, general clean-up, painting, along with new murals, banners, etc.

Yes, this will take some money and organization. But I think it would be worth the effort. I’m not suggesting that people should come in from outside the neighbourhood to organize this…there are many capable leaders already inside the neighbourhood. Anne Livingstone once offered to help organize such programs, but she couldn’t follow through for other reasons.

I realize that this may sound very insensitive, but I am greatly troubled whenever I see lines of men and women just standing around, doing nothing. I know that many of these people can make a contribution, and so does BOB and EMBERS. How do we help those who want to work get employment?

During the last election campaign, I decided to do something about this myself. In addition to having volunteers help me construct and put up election signs I paid people looking for work to do this as well. I paid out thousands of dollars. The point is, I don’t think anyone else even thought of this.

So all I am saying is let’s improve the physical environment of the area, and let’s employ people to help do it. I am convinced there is both public and private sector money available. But someone needs to take the lead. And there needs to be some creativity in making this all happen….that’s where I’m coming from.

Similarly, all of the other ideas can be made to work….not in all cases, of course not. But there are some people who could be moved into apartments with support services, and there are some people who would like new clothes and to get cleaned up and look for work, and there are some people who would like to be reunited with families. I know because I have met them and spoken with them.

I would like to see the Mayor and other caring people at the city help make this happen. Surely it’s worth a try….