Reflections on the state of things
No one wakes up one morning and decides to be homeless. Little kids don't say "when I grow up I'm going to be a homeless person". People try many, many options before they wind up on the street. In Winnipeg, there are likely somewhere between 2000-3000 homeless, however they are not all what we call the "visible" homeless. It is very hard to measure the number of people couch surfing, living out of cars, or living in houses with no electricity or running water. Though these people are not living "on the street" they are still considered to be homeless. Some advocates believe we should count everyone living in inadequate or dangerous housing as homeless, in which case, the number would be staggering.
The people you see on the street can also be broken down into categories; the chronically homeless, and the temporarily homeless. The chronically homeless are the people you see when you drive down main street. The lowest of the lowest or the low in our society. Most of them have serious addictions, brains partly destroyed from the use of solvents and/or serious mental health issues. Even those who did not have a mental health concern when they first encountered the street may have developed conditions like major depression, post traumatic stress disorder and anxiety disorders. The streets are a dangerous and scary place to live; especially for women. Many of these people have no ID, no connections to family, and almost no hope of getting of the street. They stay in the shelter at Main Street Project, if they stay anywhere at all - and many of them don't, finding it too hard to be "trapped" within the walls of the building for a long period of time. And the shelter, wow, I would never wish that place on anyone. It's kind of dark, and dingy, and there's some gym mats in a big empty room. That's it. Oh, and there's usually donuts.
The temporarily homeless are a different sort. While they may or may not have addictions or mental health issues, they're generally better off. They're down on their luck and need a place to stay while they try and get back on their feet (which is much easier said than done). They often work temp jobs from the agencies on main street never knowing if they'll have work the next day. Some of them are traveling across the country in search of jobs and a better life staying in each city only long enough to earn money for the bus ticket to the next. Some have been evicted for falling short on rent or for other reasons and are "between places". Many of them are extremely intelligent. I've met business people, former military and others, all out in the street. No one asks to be homeless.
So what's the answer? Well, it's a very difficult one. Some people fall into a category we call "unhousable". Basically, they lack the mental capacity to maintain a place to live without extreme help, even if they were willing to live there. There is hope for them though, as at least one Canadian project has shown. With lots of support and few rules even these people can be off the streets...but it costs money. Likely these individuals will never be able to hold down any sort of job, it's just not going to happen, maybe if someone had paid attention 20 years ago when they were teenagers, but not now (oh, and did I mention that those "elderly" people you see crossing the street are usually only about 40?) We do need to provide healthy food, warm places to stay (even if they don't stay the whole night), and access to medical care and other supports.
As for the temporarily homeless, clean shelters, laundry facilities, assistance with job searching, damage deposits, housing references (try getting an apartment without references or a phone number), counseling, healthy food and much more. They need support so that they can get back on their feet and move on to better things.
And of course, my favourite answer to questions about any social issues, prevention. It's the biggest and most important thing. Programs that work with children and families, programs that target runaways and street kids, programs that break the cycles of abuse and addiction. Children are our future and there is so much potential. And education. Education for everyone about the realities of homelessness and the stereotypes that go along with it.
The people you see on the street can also be broken down into categories; the chronically homeless, and the temporarily homeless. The chronically homeless are the people you see when you drive down main street. The lowest of the lowest or the low in our society. Most of them have serious addictions, brains partly destroyed from the use of solvents and/or serious mental health issues. Even those who did not have a mental health concern when they first encountered the street may have developed conditions like major depression, post traumatic stress disorder and anxiety disorders. The streets are a dangerous and scary place to live; especially for women. Many of these people have no ID, no connections to family, and almost no hope of getting of the street. They stay in the shelter at Main Street Project, if they stay anywhere at all - and many of them don't, finding it too hard to be "trapped" within the walls of the building for a long period of time. And the shelter, wow, I would never wish that place on anyone. It's kind of dark, and dingy, and there's some gym mats in a big empty room. That's it. Oh, and there's usually donuts.
The temporarily homeless are a different sort. While they may or may not have addictions or mental health issues, they're generally better off. They're down on their luck and need a place to stay while they try and get back on their feet (which is much easier said than done). They often work temp jobs from the agencies on main street never knowing if they'll have work the next day. Some of them are traveling across the country in search of jobs and a better life staying in each city only long enough to earn money for the bus ticket to the next. Some have been evicted for falling short on rent or for other reasons and are "between places". Many of them are extremely intelligent. I've met business people, former military and others, all out in the street. No one asks to be homeless.
So what's the answer? Well, it's a very difficult one. Some people fall into a category we call "unhousable". Basically, they lack the mental capacity to maintain a place to live without extreme help, even if they were willing to live there. There is hope for them though, as at least one Canadian project has shown. With lots of support and few rules even these people can be off the streets...but it costs money. Likely these individuals will never be able to hold down any sort of job, it's just not going to happen, maybe if someone had paid attention 20 years ago when they were teenagers, but not now (oh, and did I mention that those "elderly" people you see crossing the street are usually only about 40?) We do need to provide healthy food, warm places to stay (even if they don't stay the whole night), and access to medical care and other supports.
As for the temporarily homeless, clean shelters, laundry facilities, assistance with job searching, damage deposits, housing references (try getting an apartment without references or a phone number), counseling, healthy food and much more. They need support so that they can get back on their feet and move on to better things.
And of course, my favourite answer to questions about any social issues, prevention. It's the biggest and most important thing. Programs that work with children and families, programs that target runaways and street kids, programs that break the cycles of abuse and addiction. Children are our future and there is so much potential. And education. Education for everyone about the realities of homelessness and the stereotypes that go along with it.