Excuse me Waterloo Region, your homelessness is showing
In the past two years there has been a sharp increase in both the number of people using emergency shelters and the number of shelter bed nights, which means more people are using shelters and they are staying longer. When I look at this homelessness statistics presented by WRCPC’s Snapshot on Crime, I experience a range of reactions.
I am angry because having people homeless in Canada is just poor social policy. Studies have quantified that the costs of having people homeless are more than the cost of having people housed with adequate supports. The Real Costs of Homelessness illustrates this point exactly.
The costs of hospitalization or incarceration far surpass the amount of money needed to house people in the community. People who are homeless are admitted to hospitals five times more often than their housed counterparts and stay longer than other low income patients. When adequately housed, an individual’s use of these services decreases.
Each level of government is contributing dollars and policy toward ending homelessness. In the new Federal Budget, 5 year funding was announced for two programs- one that provides supports for people experiencing homelessness and another that provides capital funding for new affordable housing. While these announcements are gratefully received, there is not enough funding attached to get serious about ending homelessness. There is still no Federal Housing strategy. Canada is the only G8 country without such a policy.
The Ontario government now requires each municipality to have a homelessness and housing plan. They have recently amalgamated a number of funding programs which allows municipalities to create responses to local needs. This is all good. However, there was also a decrease in funding and again while all money helps, it is not enough to really solve the problem.
Locally, the Region of Waterloo has provided funding that exceeds the provincial average for supports to those who are experiencing housing issues. However, as their funding base is the smallest, realistically there are limits to their ability to pay for an end to homelessness.
I am angry because we know about the problem and we know how to fix it. What we lack is political will on the part of government and a prioritization of this issue by the general public. As a result, people in our community continue to live in substandard, unaffordable and inadequate housing.
Like many things, my personal viewpoint has been impacted over years of having conversations with people who are living the experience. For me it is no longer a theoretical issue. It is about real people in Waterloo Region who are struggling to have a place to live. As I think about all of the people I have met over the years, the increasing number of shelter users leaves me feeling sad. Canadian comedian Rick Mercer has a rant on homelessness where he talks about how no one aspires to have “homeless” be their career. When I look at some of the people with the most challenging difficulties, I think about how, at one stage, this person was someone’s child. Hopefully, someone held that child and had hopes and dreams for them. Never would the goal have been homelessness. I have seen how poverty and homelessness wears people down. Mental health and addictions start or become exacerbated. Hope and determination are often victims of this reality as well.
Dr. Samantha Nutt, founder of War Child Canada describes her experiences in international development work as going from the inexperienced naïve belief that she could really make a difference, to feeling defeated in the face of such overwhelming obstacles and situations and then beginning a journey to discover what it was she could actually do. This is not unlike my journey through working with people who are experiencing homelessness and the systems that respond to this issue. I don’t have either the financial means to pay for affordable housing or the skills to build it. However, I can talk and write about the issues. I can start conversations. I can read the research, stay up to date and keep learning. I can take the time to talk with people who are experiencing homelessness to learn more about their journey, what they want and need and to help develop a way to meet those needs.
This is not a battle that I am waging on my own. Every day dedicated, bright, compassion people work in a range of services from street outreach, shelters, housing help, specialized housing programs, legal services, support services, subsidized and supportive housing, all with the aim creating a more just and inclusive society where everyone matters. They are joined by a mountain of community volunteers who show up and share their gifts and talents.
When I look at the shelter usage stats I also feel determined. I feel part of a sector where I join in solidarity with people experiencing homelessness and many community members who together stand up to say – people who are homeless matter. We collectively are committed to ending homelessness in Waterloo Region. This is a lofty goal, which will take much persistence and hard work, but with the determination and skills of this community, I believe it is possible.
Author: Lynn Macaulay is the staff person with the Homelessness and Housing Umbrella Group (HHUG), a network of people concerned about homelessness and affordable housing in Waterloo Region. She lives in Waterloo with her two cats, Simon and Isabella and enjoys reading mystery novels.
Find more community responses from Lynn’s colleagues in Waterloo Region, who also work to reduce homelessness:
- Knowing other people care: The importance of community to women who have experienced homelessness by Elizabeth Clarke, Chief Executive Officer, YWCA Kitchener Waterloo.
- Housing is crime & victimization prevention by Lindsay Klassen, Program Manager, Supportive Housing of Waterloo.
- Fighting the battle against crime by reducing homelessness by Sheri Cartwright