HAW 2011 coverage continued...

ASK KAMLOOPS 

HOMELESS COUNT RESULTS A SURPRISE

13 Oct 2011, Kamloops Daily News, Bob Hughes is executive director of ASK Wellness in Kamloops.

It was more than just a shock when Ken Salter, street outreach co-ordinator with ASK, told me the results of this year’s homeless count. 

For the past four years, ASK has managed the City’s homeless count in the fall. The original count was done in 2005 by volunteers and led by TRUE Consulting. Funding for this comprehensive inquiry was provided by Service Canada and the result was 166 people identifying as homeless on some level. This number included those who were in program beds and broadly were atrisk of homelessness. 

In 2008, when we decided to do a count again in keeping with other B.C. communities, we counted 176. However, this included three of the five units at KRCC, the local provincial custody centre. 

By 2009, we were shut down from accessing KRCC and the number of men and women in the community that we reached who indicated they were absolutely homeless was 105. This included contacting the detox centre and the men’s and women’s shelter, and obviously walking the beaches and streets. 

In 2010, we had hoped the numbers would have declined based on the opening of several supportive-housing programs built and operated to tackle those with histories of homelessness or were currently homeless. 

As well, by last year, the private rental market had opened enough and more and more private operators were taking it upon themselves, with the support of non-profit organizations like ASK and others, to take people with social and behavioural issues. 

Sadly, we were wrong and the count remained much the same with 103 indicating they were homeless. What was apparent, however, was the fact that profile had changed over the two years before. Instead of people interviewed saying they were longterm homeless and had lived in Kamloops for many years, 70 per cent indicated they had only been homeless for the past six months and were new to Kamloops. 

So, you can imagine my shock when this year’s count showed only 45 people as absolutely homeless. My first reaction was disbelief and I am sure one of my hairy eyebrows raised. I had hoped we might only find 70-odd people out there but to find fewer than half that, I was certain something must be wrong. 

However, upon reviewing the forms completed and confirming that our methodology was the same, it became apparent that on Oct. 8, 50 volunteers found only 45 people homeless.

We obviously could and likely did miss individuals who were either inside somewhere or were unwilling to disclose their circumstances, but I find it highly unlikely that we missed 50-plus people. 

What we can’t forget is that over the same weekend as the count that was so promising, there were 180 people who attended the New Life Mission Thanksgiving Dinner and well over 100 individuals come to the Pit Stop each week. What this tells me — along with the countless people who come to our office each week and those who reside in our buildings — is that while we have done an admirable job of finding a roof over many people’s heads, we still have not tackled the underlying causes of homelessness. 

The inadequacy of our income assistance rates and the realities of the working poor play out in the kitchens of our community. 

And it is these bigger issues — systemic poverty and the lack of access to suitable and respectful health care — that will be the next challenge that ASK and many others will set their sights on to tackle knowing that our efforts to eradicate homelessness were not in vain.

More Homelessness Action Week News Coverage...

FROM THE HUB 

STILL SLOW IN CARING ABOUT THE HOMELESS

14 Oct 2011, Kamloops Daily News, Tgilchrist@ kamloopsnews.ca

There may be only 45 people identified as homeless in the City’s annual count, but there are many others being crushed by the weight of poverty, addictions and mental-health issues. 

I see them at the Salvation Army meal truck in The Daily News parking lot twice a week, roaming the downtown asking for money and sifting through my apartment building Dumpster for bottles and other items of value. 

The latter was a shock initially — after living in the wilds for so long, I was used to seeing bears, raccoons and ravens pick apart our compost, not people rummaging through my waste. 

A couple of them put me on edge. A tough-looking woman with a foul mouth and her boyfriend also peered in vehicle windows while pushing their shopping cart, which seemed suspicious (we had our truck window smashed and items stolen within a month of being here). Another fellow looked unremarkable but muttered angrily about cowboys and maggots and other indiscernibles before stomping off. They, along with a few other rough-looking characters downtown, were people to steer clear of. 

Yet I had no issue about chatting with an older gent who greeted me with a wave and enthused about his treasures (“Would you believe I found two tins full of coins once — it made $167!”). 

Likely, they all have their stories to tell, but it’s easier to view the homeless or poor as people to disregard, fear or look down upon. Part of The Daily News undertaking stories this Homelessness Awareness Week was to try to bring a human face to the struggles of the poor.

While many came from difficult circumstances (extreme dysfunction, abuse, addiction and other issues), others had “normal” lives but took a wrong turn. 

But few of us should be smug enough to think we might never wear their shoes. There’s no way of knowing when an accident might occur, the company downsizes, your marriage ends or mental disease strikes. 

A Canadian Payroll Association study released last month found 57 per cent of Canadian workers live from paycheque to paycheque, which means if something unforeseen happened, there would be no cushion to keep the bank or landlord from knocking at the door. 

We were in high spirits as we left the Moody Blues concert last week but while walking to our car, observed police and paramedics attending to a wailing woman on the ground outside McDonald’s. 

The situation was sad, but even more so were the actions of a well-dressed man who turned and snickered, giving us a knowing smirk. Just another loser, apparently, in his mind. I regret not asking what he found amusing in the situation. 

The social stigma that surrounds the poor appears deeply rooted — and I am as guilty as the next person. Why is it we give no thought to helping a physically disabled person across the street yet, depending on our mood, we avert our eyes from someone sitting on the ground with outstretched hand? 

While it’s positive that there were fewer homeless found in Kamloops this year, there is still a huge hill to climb in how we relate to people in need and how much we’re willing to help.

Homelessness Action Week 2011, continued

Stereotypes, stigma and shame confront people in need

Haunted by homelessness

October 14, 2011

By Mike Youds
Daily News Staff Reporter

She's been homeless many times but never lived on the street.

Living among the "hidden homeless" is not an experience Tammy Caza likes to recall, but as a part-time support worker, she uses that knowledge to help others.

She speaks as one who knows, willing to be a voice for those unable to express their needs, but the past always lingers just outside her door.

"At this time last year, I was among the hidden homeless," said the mother of two grown children. "I had a relationship break up and that dual income was gone."

For two months she stayed with a friend, then moved into subsidized housing, but that didn't work out. With signs of violence close at hand, she was too close to the dark past and felt unsafe.

"I knew when I moved in there it was not the right place. It was like I was surrounded by insanity."

The term "hidden homelessness" is used to describe people who cannot afford to obtain safe or appropriate housing. They are hidden because they are not as visible as people living in the street, but there are other reasons why they subsist below the social radar: stereotypes, stigma and a profound sense of shame.

"All these negative voices, they come back to haunt you," Caza said.

In her case, those voices originated in childhood when she was given up for adoption in Ontario. She moved from home to home, one of them an alcoholic household, and was abducted by her biological father at one point. Then she turned 18.

"All of a sudden, I was an adult — from a child in the system to a child on welfare."

Caza was married at 21 but the relationship soon broke apart. That's when she moved to B.C. to make a fresh start. Instead, she started using marijuana regularly and injected cocaine for a couple of years.

"I was always dependent on something but I didn't think I was an addict."

She went clean seven years ago, worked in the hospitality industry, volunteered on the side and obtained her human services diploma from TRU. When the break-up happened, the dread of darkness returned, even as she worked for the Elizabeth Fry Society.

"I was struggling with poverty, struggling with homelessness, but I still have to go to work. Here I'm working with women who are homeless, but I'm still homeless."

Pride and dignity — seen as assets that can help people lift themselves out of the depths — can also be impediments.

"Truth is, I can't go to the food bank. I'm not going to go back there, yet I'm there … So much of it resembles the past and that's what the struggle is with the mental and emotional effects."

She is far from unique. In her work, she encountered many people in similar straights who don't use support services because of the stigma and fear of being stereotyped. Anxieties, chronic depression, disorders and mental illness compound the problem. It can be more difficult for women, she feels.

When her daughter turned 18, some of those supports were gone.

"What does a mom do, still on welfare and her child turns 18? The child doesn't move out but the assistance goes."

The generational cycle is a spectre in itself.

"That worries me, too. As much as I've improved my life, here's my 18-year-old child facing the same challenges."

Caza considers herself fortunate to have had personal resources – her church and her friends — for support. Her current landlord has been compassionate when she couldn't make the rent. She's looking for more work.

"Right now, I'm actually struggling. If it wasn't for the landlord, there's a very good chance I would have wound up homeless."

She feels it is important to speak out so that others know they are not alone.

"They have dignity and pride. They aren't gone, they're just stripped away."

Homelessness Action Week 2011

Many thanks to the Kamloops Daily News for helping us raise awareness with the following 3 stories:

Drop in homeless numbers doesn't mean job is done

Kamloops Daily News, October 12^th 2011

The numbers are surprising everyone. On Saturday, volunteers with ASK Wellness Centre combed the city in search of homeless people to document for the 2011 Homeless Count in Kamloops.

They found 45 — less than half the number counted a year ago.

"I was just talking to some B.C. Housing reps about it," said Bob Hughes, ASK's executive director, "and they were like, 'Wow! Really?' "

This is the fourth year Kamloops has counted its homeless population.

Apart from the first year, which included inmates at Kamloops Regional Correctional Central, the count has been done the same way each October.

In 2008, 176 homeless were recorded.  In 2009, without the KRCC numbers, the count dropped to 105.  Last year, it was 103.  Now it's down to its lowest level, at 45 absolute homeless.

"I know as an organization, we're feeling really positive about it, but I think it's much bigger than that," said Hughes, who acknowledges that significantly more community resources have been devoted to homelessness in the last five years.

"I think this is where the community can really take some comfort in the fact that its efforts have resulted in a really positive outcome — everything from the Homelessness Action Plan to the collaboration between non-profit organizations working in the homelessness field," he said.

Tangie Genshorek agrees. She's the head of the Kamloops Homelessness Action Plan and she said she believes the drop in numbers is "partially attributable to the work that has been going on for years by many support agencies and faith organizations, and partially a result of the work of the Homelessness Action Plans in most Canadian cities," she said.

"We can't just solve homelessness in one place, it has to be on the agenda of every municipality, and I believe it is now. More housing is being built all over Canada, and not just any housing but truly supported housing and transitional housing that really meets the needs of some of the hardest to house demographics."

The work is far from over, though.

The 45 people recorded last weekend are the "absolute homeless" — those who live on the streets or riverbanks around Kamloops.

There are countless "hidden homeless" who go unnoticed every year because they exist out of public view. They are the 'couch surfers' who rotate among temporary housing with friends, family or strangers.

There are also untold numbers of people who are at risk of homelessness because their current shelter is not safe, secure or affordable. Seniors on fixed incomes and the working-poor can fall easily into this category.

Why are people homeless?

Everyone who is homeless has his or her own story, but often the underlying cause of homelessness is linked to lack of income, affordable housing, and access to health care, social or addictions support services.

Where do homeless people get money to eat?

People without a fixed address can still receive $235 in social assistance each month (the $375 shelter portion is withheld).

Those who don't turn to prostitution or other illegal activities for additional income, often turn to "binning," searching dumpsters, alleys and other sites for empty bottles and cans for refunds.

Some panhandle for extra change.

In all cases, it is unlikely the welfare recipient reports the extra money, as it would be deducted from the $235.

Finding right partners key, says homelessness advocate

Kamloops Daily News October 12, 2011

 

The next crucial step in continuing the march toward ending homelessness in Kamloops is to partner up with the right service providers for four sites identified for affordable housing, says an advocate for a similar program in Vancouver.

Dick Vollet, president and CEO of Streetohome, told about 30 community leaders Tuesday that Kamloops is ahead of many cities on the homelessness issue and “the next step is to find the right partners for those four sites.”

City council approved the sites earlier this year to develop affordable housing options.

The Kamloops Homelessness Action Plan hosted Tuesday’s luncheon to kick off Homelessness Action Week.

Vollet, whose group is working on eight affordable-housing projects in Vancouver, said, “One group you really need to involve in the decisions is the service providers, the people who are going to operate the facilities day in and day out.”

He said an essential ingredient in such housing is inclusion of meal service in each facility to avoid an increase in theft or panhandling in the immediate neighbourhood.

“Nutrition is key.”

Vollett also stressed the importance of research in order to illustrate the issue for the community, and to avoid “data denial” and exclude politics from the discussion.

Otherwise, he said, the process becomes dominated by “all those naysayers who say, ‘We’ll never solve homelessness, it’ll always be with us.’”

In Vancouver, 2,600 people have been identified as homeless, and 80 per cent of them have a mental illness. Youth are the hardest demographic to count, he said.

“The biggest thing is just identifying the problem,” Vollett said.

 

Dolly's Story: 40 years of addiction led woman to lowest point

Kamloops Daily News October 12^th 2011

 

By Catherine Litt
Daily News Staff Reporter

She wonders if they think of her.

It's been four years since she plunged a heroin needle into her veins, four years since she pulled the toxic smoke of crack cocaine deep into her lungs, and she wonders — dreams — about a day when her children will forgive her.

"All I can do for them now," said Dolly, "is, every day, my gift to them is to be clean and sober."

This past weekend, volunteers with ASK Wellness Centre combed the streets of Kamloops, counting the city's homeless.

They found 45 absolute homeless people — men and women who are living on the streets.

That was Dolly four years ago.

At her lowest point, she was sleeping under a tree, not far from where she works today at New Life Mission, prostituting to make enough money to buy drugs, doing everything her university-educated mind knew was wrong but was powerless to stop.

"I just lived a life of addiction," said the 57-year-old former Alberta resident. "And it's just, you know, you have one thing and one thing only, the drugs. I lost my children, I lost my husband, lost everything."

How does someone become homeless? For Dolly, it was the drugs that gradually pulled her off course. For others, it's mental illness, job loss or a tragedy so insurmountable it derails an otherwise normal life.

Dolly knew she had hit rock bottom after she moved to Kamloops to get clean, but couldn't, and ended up truly homeless for nine months, sickly thin and selling herself for sex.

"When you're 52 years old and cracked out at 85 pounds . . ." she said, "I mean, I looked . . . I was . . . I was a piece of nothing. I couldn't look at people anymore."

Ken Salter coordinates the annual Homelessness Count in Kamloops. He was among 40 volunteers who searched known areas of town on Saturday recording the number of people living outside just as Dolly used to.

Many homeless stay in makeshift camps along the river below Schubert Drive. Fifteen people were found living there on Saturday.

"It's one of the popular spots," said Salter, an outreach worker with ASK Wellness Centre. "Anywhere on the riverbank will do."

The riverbank is popular because it provides seclusion for camping and for hiding belongings, and the river itself provides an unlimited water source for cooking and bathing.

"Mainly what I see out there," said Salter, of the causes of homelessness, "is a combination of mental illness and addictions. And a lot of that, I think, has to do with the lack of access to doctors. When they have a mental illness that's not being managed by a doctor, they tend to manage it themselves; they mask the symptoms by using illicit substances."

Dolly is now clean and sober, thanks to her determination and the help she received from New Life Mission.

She's no longer homeless — she has her own bachelor apartment — but she is surrounded daily by reminders of her time on the streets. Each day, on her way to work at the mission, she walks past the tree she used to sleep under. When she arrives at work, she sees the faces of men and women who are still living that life.

As National Homelessness Action Week reaches the midweek mark, Dolly is counting her blessings and praying for those who haven't been so lucky.

She's off the streets and reclaiming her life one day at a time, finding purpose in her job at New Life Mission's outreach centre, where she cleans tables for the daily lunches and helps distribute free clothing and bread to those in need.

"This place is just magic for me," she said. "It's God's magic. The hand of God is all over this place. It's given me everything."

She is certain one day she will be reunited with her children.