Letters: Kamloops Daily News, Decmeber 21st 2012
In response to Panhandlers Big Downtown Problem (The Daily News, Dec. 17), I fear that engaging in a battle “using every legal law and means available to us” will do nothing but exacerbate the problem of panhandlers in the downtown area.
These people have been neglected by society and the government and face daily ridicule, abuse, hunger, and illness — whether mental and physical — and addiction.
It seems abhorrent to me that people would seek to make the lives of the less fortunate even harder instead of trying to help those in need.
I empathize with those who have been turned out from mental institutions because of a lack of government funding or closures.
I empathize with those who are hungry and cold during our winter season regardless of why they are experiencing that hardship.
I empathize with those who feel threatened when asking for a few dollars and are consequently spit on or yelled at or pushed away, and I sympathize with those who feel threatened by aggressive panhandlers.
Homelessness is a serious problem all over North America. We have let the less fortunate slip through the cracks, moved them around geographically and punished them for self-treating their mental illnesses with drugs or alcohol when that’s all they can manage to do.
Maybe it’s time for us to try a different technique. Maybe it’s time for us to show compassion, to petition our local and provincial governments, to help those who cannot help themselves or give them that dollar with the faith that they will use it to feed themselves.
You may feel threatened when panhandlers ask you for change — and it is unacceptable that they are being aggressive — but that anxiety is nothing compared to not knowing whether you are going to freeze to death tonight, or starve to death this week.
Let’s try and solve this problem instead of pushing it out of the way. Let’s seriously try to give the homeless some change that can’t be found in our pockets but in the compassion, attention, and support that all Canadians should expect from each other and our government.
All societies and all nations are judged on the basis of how they treat their weakest members — the last, the least, the littlest, said Cardinal Roger Mahony, in his 1998 letter Creating a Culture of Life.
ADAM MARKIN
Kamloops
Friday, December 21, 2012
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Pilot targets homeless youth
Thursday, November 22nd, Kamloops Daily News
Kingston, Ont., and Kamloops have more than just the letter K in common.
They are the only two Canadian communities that have been chosen for pilot projects involving youth homelessness.
Homelessness Action Plan coordinator Tangie Genshorek said Wednesday that being a pilot community means a wealth of resources will be made available so a better idea of the youth homelessness situation can be determined in Kamloops.
“The youth are fast becoming a concern, especially those aging out of the ministry system,” she said.
“Once they reach 19, they’re on their own.”
Youth are defined as 15 to 24. Despite the annual homeless count being held for several years now, there hasn’t been a breakdown on that age group.
Genshorek said the project will take about a year and involves a national co- ordinator travelling around Canada to the participating communities to help with research and share information from other cities.
“It’s a start and that’s important. For the HAP in Kamloops, it’s really big because we’ll have that national support. I’m really excited we’ll have support and be able to feed into other communities across Canada and find out what they’re doing,” she said.
Having solid information will help to obtain funding or grants down the road, she said.
Kingston, Ont., and Kamloops have more than just the letter K in common.
They are the only two Canadian communities that have been chosen for pilot projects involving youth homelessness.
Homelessness Action Plan coordinator Tangie Genshorek said Wednesday that being a pilot community means a wealth of resources will be made available so a better idea of the youth homelessness situation can be determined in Kamloops.
“The youth are fast becoming a concern, especially those aging out of the ministry system,” she said.
“Once they reach 19, they’re on their own.”
Youth are defined as 15 to 24. Despite the annual homeless count being held for several years now, there hasn’t been a breakdown on that age group.
Genshorek said the project will take about a year and involves a national co- ordinator travelling around Canada to the participating communities to help with research and share information from other cities.
“It’s a start and that’s important. For the HAP in Kamloops, it’s really big because we’ll have that national support. I’m really excited we’ll have support and be able to feed into other communities across Canada and find out what they’re doing,” she said.
Having solid information will help to obtain funding or grants down the road, she said.
Carmin Mazzotta, City project manager for housing and
homelessness, said homeless youth have been identified as a concern in
reports, research and by frontline workers in the community.
“This is a great opportunity for us to do more research and identify the scope of the need so we can tackle the issue,” he said.
The project will run through the year in 2013, at the end of which there should be some strategies and plans mapped out to help homeless youth.
One of the reasons Kamloops was chosen was because the groups that deal with the homeless work well together, he said.
“They noticed our community partnerships. One real issue in a lot of communities is you have a lot of agencies working on their own,” said Mazzotta.
There was a survey taken last July that saw 42 youth who were at risk of becoming homeless asked if they had ever been without housing. Seventeen said yes.
Many of those surveyed admitted they had mental health or addiction issues as well.
“They’re an extremely vulnerable population,” he said.
“One of the issues is there’s no particularly youth- dedicated or supported housing.”
“This is a great opportunity for us to do more research and identify the scope of the need so we can tackle the issue,” he said.
The project will run through the year in 2013, at the end of which there should be some strategies and plans mapped out to help homeless youth.
One of the reasons Kamloops was chosen was because the groups that deal with the homeless work well together, he said.
“They noticed our community partnerships. One real issue in a lot of communities is you have a lot of agencies working on their own,” said Mazzotta.
There was a survey taken last July that saw 42 youth who were at risk of becoming homeless asked if they had ever been without housing. Seventeen said yes.
Many of those surveyed admitted they had mental health or addiction issues as well.
“They’re an extremely vulnerable population,” he said.
“One of the issues is there’s no particularly youth- dedicated or supported housing.”
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Coming in from the cold as the mercury drops
By Andrea Klassen - Kamloops This Week
Published: November 08, 2012
With overnight temperatures still in the single digits, organizers at Kamloops' cold weather shelter weren't expecting a busy start when they opened their program on Nov. 4.
But, in its first two nights of operation, the Out of the Cold program at St. Paul's Cathedral is already seeing the kind of guest numbers it typically gets when the mercury plummets to below zero.
"It's kind of shocking because it's not that cold out yet and, typically, our shelter's more for the people that usually sleep outside and then come in when it's really cold," program co-ordinator Sasha Smode said.
Out of the Cold runs Sundays and Wednesdays at St. Paul's Cathedral, 360 Nicola Street, and on any other night when the temperature drops below -10 C.
The shelter runs from 7 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. and provides guests with a hot dinner and breakfast, as well as a place to socialize and sleep.
On the first Sunday of the season, 18 people showed up for the evening meal and 12 stayed at the shelter for the full night. Because the shelter locks its door at 10 p.m., Smode said some guests choose to grab a few hours of sleep and leave for the night.
"It's a lot of new faces," she said. "Typically, I know the majority of our guests by name."
Smode said there seems to be more elderly and young people using the program, which is organized by the St. Vincent de Paul Society, as well as more women.
"Typically, we get way more males than females but, this year, too, there were more females that have been coming in and actually staying," she said.
"It's a change."
For the past several years, numbers at the shelter were on the decline.
In 2009, the average number of people using Out of the Cold was 17, compared to 14 in 2010 and about 13 in 2011.
Smode said she's not sure why demand for the shelter seems to be starting earlier this year, but Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) executive director Doug Sage said the program may be picking up people who can't find a bed at Emerald Centre.
The 35-bed emergency shelter on Victoria Street West — operating in the former Rendezvous Hotel location — is consistently full, Sage said.
"I think the reason they're seeing these people is that there's no room with us, so my hunch is that it's going to be a busy year for everybody."
Sage said the CMHA shelter is also seeing a number of new faces, but it's not clear if they are transients moving through the city on their way to warmer locales or permanent residents.
He also suspects that, as Kamloops' homeless population ages, people who have chosen to sleep outdoors as much as possible in the past are starting to come in.
"The older they are, the more difficult it is to be in colder weather," Sage said.
Environment Canada's forecast for this weekend calls for much colder temperatures, with lows of -4 C to -7 C expected on Saturday, Nov. 10, and Sunday, Nov. 11.
With a potentially busy winter looming, Smode is calling for more volunteers to help out with Out of the Cold, as well as donations of winter boots, gloves, hats and socks.
Donations can be dropped off at St. Paul's Cathedral downtown or at the St. Vincent de Paul Society at 168 Briar Ave.
To volunteer, contact Maybelle at 250-376-4161.
Published: November 08, 2012
With overnight temperatures still in the single digits, organizers at Kamloops' cold weather shelter weren't expecting a busy start when they opened their program on Nov. 4.
But, in its first two nights of operation, the Out of the Cold program at St. Paul's Cathedral is already seeing the kind of guest numbers it typically gets when the mercury plummets to below zero.
"It's kind of shocking because it's not that cold out yet and, typically, our shelter's more for the people that usually sleep outside and then come in when it's really cold," program co-ordinator Sasha Smode said.
Out of the Cold runs Sundays and Wednesdays at St. Paul's Cathedral, 360 Nicola Street, and on any other night when the temperature drops below -10 C.
The shelter runs from 7 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. and provides guests with a hot dinner and breakfast, as well as a place to socialize and sleep.
On the first Sunday of the season, 18 people showed up for the evening meal and 12 stayed at the shelter for the full night. Because the shelter locks its door at 10 p.m., Smode said some guests choose to grab a few hours of sleep and leave for the night.
"It's a lot of new faces," she said. "Typically, I know the majority of our guests by name."
Smode said there seems to be more elderly and young people using the program, which is organized by the St. Vincent de Paul Society, as well as more women.
"Typically, we get way more males than females but, this year, too, there were more females that have been coming in and actually staying," she said.
"It's a change."
For the past several years, numbers at the shelter were on the decline.
In 2009, the average number of people using Out of the Cold was 17, compared to 14 in 2010 and about 13 in 2011.
Smode said she's not sure why demand for the shelter seems to be starting earlier this year, but Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) executive director Doug Sage said the program may be picking up people who can't find a bed at Emerald Centre.
The 35-bed emergency shelter on Victoria Street West — operating in the former Rendezvous Hotel location — is consistently full, Sage said.
"I think the reason they're seeing these people is that there's no room with us, so my hunch is that it's going to be a busy year for everybody."
Sage said the CMHA shelter is also seeing a number of new faces, but it's not clear if they are transients moving through the city on their way to warmer locales or permanent residents.
He also suspects that, as Kamloops' homeless population ages, people who have chosen to sleep outdoors as much as possible in the past are starting to come in.
"The older they are, the more difficult it is to be in colder weather," Sage said.
Environment Canada's forecast for this weekend calls for much colder temperatures, with lows of -4 C to -7 C expected on Saturday, Nov. 10, and Sunday, Nov. 11.
With a potentially busy winter looming, Smode is calling for more volunteers to help out with Out of the Cold, as well as donations of winter boots, gloves, hats and socks.
Donations can be dropped off at St. Paul's Cathedral downtown or at the St. Vincent de Paul Society at 168 Briar Ave.
To volunteer, contact Maybelle at 250-376-4161.
BASS: Rather than count homeless, we should confront apathy
By Dale Bass - Kamloops This Week
Published: November 08, 2012 8:00
Virtually any code of ethics of any journalistic organization will include something that says reporters do not comment on the subjects they cover.
For example, the ethics guidelines of the Canadian Association of Journalists, for which I am chair, includes this: “We lose our credibility as fair observers if we write opinion pieces about subjects we also cover as reporters.”
That means, for example, court reporters don’t write columns on the legal system and city hall reporters don’t file columns on municipal government.
I point this out because this column is on a news article I wrote this week due to the absence of our news reporter and the need for the story to be covered.
It’s the scourge of a newsroom with a small staff; sometimes it just happens.
Ordinarily, I do not cover homelessness.
I did that once, a decade ago, in a series of articles for KTW, but have left it to other reporters since then.
Writing the story on the recent homeless count in Kamloops was frustrating.
As I told Homeless Action Plan (HAP) co-ordinator Tangie Genshorek at the start of the interview, the annual count is now irrelevant.
She knew that — we’ve had this conversation many times — but, as a reporter, it was appropriate to remind her of my bias.
Hence this column.
It is time to end the annual street- and shelter-wandering event.
As Genshorek said, when it was first done, it was as much to start a conversation on homelessness as it was to find out how many people live in that state in our city.
That was seven years ago and, since then, every year except 2011 has shown there are about 100 homeless people the volunteers can find.
It’s never a true number, but a best-guess snapshot only.
Research, experience and other criteria esablished by agencies dictate that, to find the hidden homeless, you essentially triple the number of those counted.
Mayor Peter Milobar has suggested, as has Genshorek, that to truly obtain a provincial view of the numbers of largely transient folks, homeless counts throughout B.C. should be done on the same day.
They both said they plan to lobby for that change.
They both said they also think the counts perhaps don’t need to be done annually.
We know there are homeless people in Kamloops — lots of them.
That baseline has been established.
Rather then spending money and manpower reinventing the wheel, as my mother would say, let’s acknowledge there is a baseline, an understanding of the size of the issue.
And, let’s also accept that, despite everything that’s been done in the past years — more transitional housing, more shelter space, new programs, more affordable housing — it hasn’t been enough.
Let’s skip the annual report to the community HAP must do.
If you ever go to one, you’ll know it’s just telling the people who already know and care what they already know and care about.
The series of articles in 2002 generated an overwhelming outpouring of donations, to the point the back area of our building was starting to look like a warehouse of clothes, sleeping bags and blankets.
A recent poll in KTW asked if Kamloopsians have or plan to do anything to help the homeless.
More than three-quarters who responded said no.
That is stunning — and appalling.
It is shameful.
And, that fact is what HAP and the other social agencies should be addressing, rather than doing counts.
The solution?
I wish I knew.
But it’s not spending hours and who knows how much money planning to do a count that really doesn’t ever change much and isn’t remotely accurate.
Dale Bass is a reporter with Kamloops This Week.
Published: November 08, 2012 8:00
Virtually any code of ethics of any journalistic organization will include something that says reporters do not comment on the subjects they cover.
For example, the ethics guidelines of the Canadian Association of Journalists, for which I am chair, includes this: “We lose our credibility as fair observers if we write opinion pieces about subjects we also cover as reporters.”
That means, for example, court reporters don’t write columns on the legal system and city hall reporters don’t file columns on municipal government.
I point this out because this column is on a news article I wrote this week due to the absence of our news reporter and the need for the story to be covered.
It’s the scourge of a newsroom with a small staff; sometimes it just happens.
Ordinarily, I do not cover homelessness.
I did that once, a decade ago, in a series of articles for KTW, but have left it to other reporters since then.
Writing the story on the recent homeless count in Kamloops was frustrating.
As I told Homeless Action Plan (HAP) co-ordinator Tangie Genshorek at the start of the interview, the annual count is now irrelevant.
She knew that — we’ve had this conversation many times — but, as a reporter, it was appropriate to remind her of my bias.
Hence this column.
It is time to end the annual street- and shelter-wandering event.
As Genshorek said, when it was first done, it was as much to start a conversation on homelessness as it was to find out how many people live in that state in our city.
That was seven years ago and, since then, every year except 2011 has shown there are about 100 homeless people the volunteers can find.
It’s never a true number, but a best-guess snapshot only.
Research, experience and other criteria esablished by agencies dictate that, to find the hidden homeless, you essentially triple the number of those counted.
Mayor Peter Milobar has suggested, as has Genshorek, that to truly obtain a provincial view of the numbers of largely transient folks, homeless counts throughout B.C. should be done on the same day.
They both said they plan to lobby for that change.
They both said they also think the counts perhaps don’t need to be done annually.
We know there are homeless people in Kamloops — lots of them.
That baseline has been established.
Rather then spending money and manpower reinventing the wheel, as my mother would say, let’s acknowledge there is a baseline, an understanding of the size of the issue.
And, let’s also accept that, despite everything that’s been done in the past years — more transitional housing, more shelter space, new programs, more affordable housing — it hasn’t been enough.
Let’s skip the annual report to the community HAP must do.
If you ever go to one, you’ll know it’s just telling the people who already know and care what they already know and care about.
The series of articles in 2002 generated an overwhelming outpouring of donations, to the point the back area of our building was starting to look like a warehouse of clothes, sleeping bags and blankets.
A recent poll in KTW asked if Kamloopsians have or plan to do anything to help the homeless.
More than three-quarters who responded said no.
That is stunning — and appalling.
It is shameful.
And, that fact is what HAP and the other social agencies should be addressing, rather than doing counts.
The solution?
I wish I knew.
But it’s not spending hours and who knows how much money planning to do a count that really doesn’t ever change much and isn’t remotely accurate.
Dale Bass is a reporter with Kamloops This Week.
Monday, November 5, 2012
Mayor seeks same-day homeless counts
By Dale Bass - Kamloops This Week
Published: November 05, 2012 4:00 PM
Updated: November 05, 2012 4:29 PM
Mayor Peter Milobar was surprised to learn homeless counts aren’t done on the same day in the province.
It just makes sense, he said, to do that when trying to create a census of a transient population.
It’s a view Tangie Genshorek, co-ordinator of the city’s Homelessness Action Plan, agrees would make sense.
She plans to lobby for the change and also encourage a move away from an annual count.
“When we started this,” Genshorek said, “it was as much about starting the conversation as it was getting an idea of the numbers.”
With several years of data collected and the issue getting increased attention, she’s not sure taking the annual snapshot is worth the time or money involved.
This year’s count found 99 homeless people in Kamloops, with 54 sleeping in shelters and the rest outdoors somewhere.
Seventy-three per cent said if they could find and afford housing, they would be in it.
In fact, said Genshorek, only one person counted during the census said he chose to live on the street — “and I don’t believe him,” she said.
Last year, the annual count tallied up 45 people, half the number counted in 2010.
In 2009, volunteers counted 103 homeless people in the city.
Genshorek said she prefers to compare this year’s number with the one in 2005, the last time the same criteria used in October was used for the count. That year, True Consulting, using provincially accepted protocols and methods, found 104 people.
Broadening the view, a statistic developed by the Social Planning and Research Council through a variety of means — including random phone calls and focus groups — determined 1,167 hidden homeless in the city and another 183 living in transitional housing, bringing the actual total to 1,449.
Breaking down the snapshot statistics, gathered during the two-day count last month, shows there are:
• 59 men, 24 women and nine children homeless, with another seven people for whom no gender was recorded;
• 52 per cent of the men between the ages of 40 and 59;
• 46 per cent of the women between the ages of 30 and 39;
• 35 per cent who have been homeless for up to six months;
• 55 per cent who have lived in Kamloops for more than a year;
• 33 per cent who report having a mental illness or other medical condition.
Milobar said the city has tried to work to assist with construction of affordable housing and to provide support to the many social agencies in the city involved with the homeless segment.
And, while he said he’s not sure how valid the actual statistic generated from the count is, “at its core, it is still very important to show there is a need. It provides us with a reference point.”
Published: November 05, 2012 4:00 PM
Updated: November 05, 2012 4:29 PM
Mayor Peter Milobar was surprised to learn homeless counts aren’t done on the same day in the province.
It just makes sense, he said, to do that when trying to create a census of a transient population.
It’s a view Tangie Genshorek, co-ordinator of the city’s Homelessness Action Plan, agrees would make sense.
She plans to lobby for the change and also encourage a move away from an annual count.
“When we started this,” Genshorek said, “it was as much about starting the conversation as it was getting an idea of the numbers.”
With several years of data collected and the issue getting increased attention, she’s not sure taking the annual snapshot is worth the time or money involved.
This year’s count found 99 homeless people in Kamloops, with 54 sleeping in shelters and the rest outdoors somewhere.
Seventy-three per cent said if they could find and afford housing, they would be in it.
In fact, said Genshorek, only one person counted during the census said he chose to live on the street — “and I don’t believe him,” she said.
Last year, the annual count tallied up 45 people, half the number counted in 2010.
In 2009, volunteers counted 103 homeless people in the city.
Genshorek said she prefers to compare this year’s number with the one in 2005, the last time the same criteria used in October was used for the count. That year, True Consulting, using provincially accepted protocols and methods, found 104 people.
Broadening the view, a statistic developed by the Social Planning and Research Council through a variety of means — including random phone calls and focus groups — determined 1,167 hidden homeless in the city and another 183 living in transitional housing, bringing the actual total to 1,449.
Breaking down the snapshot statistics, gathered during the two-day count last month, shows there are:
• 59 men, 24 women and nine children homeless, with another seven people for whom no gender was recorded;
• 52 per cent of the men between the ages of 40 and 59;
• 46 per cent of the women between the ages of 30 and 39;
• 35 per cent who have been homeless for up to six months;
• 55 per cent who have lived in Kamloops for more than a year;
• 33 per cent who report having a mental illness or other medical condition.
Milobar said the city has tried to work to assist with construction of affordable housing and to provide support to the many social agencies in the city involved with the homeless segment.
And, while he said he’s not sure how valid the actual statistic generated from the count is, “at its core, it is still very important to show there is a need. It provides us with a reference point.”
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Homelessness count finds more kids, women
Demographics changing, says action plan co- ordinator
The 99 people found in this year’s Kamloops homelessness count is just the tip of an iceberg that is probably closer to 1,149.Tangie Genshorek, Homelessness Action Plan co- ordinator, said Friday she wasn’t surprised at this year’s results, which showed 59 men, 24 women and nine children without homes. Seven others were counted but their gender wasn’t recorded.
What she did find disturbing was the children living in shelters.
“The number of nine children, I can’t get over that. It just makes me want to cry,” she said.
“That’s absolutely unacceptable. And the idea there are 24 women, most have just become homeless. Most of them have always lived in Kamloops.”
Seven years ago, the count was at 104. But the slight decline didn’t give Genshorek reason to celebrate. The number of women and children is rising.
“The demographics are changing. We’re finding more and more women, more and more children, more and more people who haven’t been homeless before. People on the edge are slipping.”
There are different types of homeless people; the annual count includes those in shelters and those who can be found in makeshift camps and on the streets. It doesn’t include those in temporary housing in town — Kamloops has 183 units — nor are those who don’t want to be found counted.
That’s where the 1,149 estimate comes from. Genshorek said it’s down slightly from 2010, when it was at 1,167. “I’m confident in that number,” she said. So what puts them on the streets? “The economy and more than two decades of lack of creation of affordable housing,” she said.
“We need standard market housing with an affordable threshold of payment. Our rents in Kamloops are about the same in Vancouver, almost.”
The $ 850 being charged for a one- bedroom apartment in Kamloops is impossible for someone on welfare to pay. A single person gets $ 375 for housing allowance out of a monthly $ 610.
Rental housing is too expensive for private developers to get into, so no one has built any new units for years, she noted.
That’s why Genshorek was in Ottawa last week, asking the federal finance committee to create a tax incentive for developers to build a range of affordable housing.
“It was a positive response,” she said, adding Kamloops MP Cathy McLeod has been championing the cause. “It’s been proposed for the budget for next year.”
A similar tax incentive exists in the U. S. that has prompted the creation of rental units at a variety of prices. They are capped at an affordability level for a long period of time, such as 30 years, she said.
Genshorek said she’ll be releasing another study late this month that looks at the need and demand for affordable housing in Kamloops. Those numbers will help guide KamPlan, which the City is beginning to update.
myoung@ kamloopsnews. ca
@ MicheleYoungKDN
Sunday, October 21, 2012
SOUL SEARCHING
20 Oct 2012, Kamloops Daily News, By MICHELE YOUNG Daily News Staff Reporter
Jacob Stepanow says it’s getting chillier every night as he sleeps outdoors. He said he has been homeless for more than a month. He and a friend, in background, were given backpacks with gloves, scarves, hygiene supplies and other items by volunteers helping with Friday’s homeless count.
The numbers won’t be tallied and released for a few weeks yet, but Ken Salter figured he had a pretty good idea of what this year’s homeless count will show. The street outreach worker with ASK Wellness knows these people, he works with these people and he helps these people.
He also helped co- ordinate Friday’s count, which he expected to be slightly higher than last year’s 58, but definitely less than the 105 range of previous years.
“Probably as many as last year, maybe a few more than last year, but not into the 100s,” he said late in the afternoon as most volunteers were wrapping up their searches.
This year’s count was uneventful, other than one pair of volunteers who came across a homeless being of a different kind.
“One team ran into a bear, but he was just as afraid of them as they were of him,” said Salter.
No, the bear isn’t being included in the count.
Volunteers spanned out to scan the riverbanks from Lafarge to Mission Flats to Tranquille Creek, up through Westsyde as far as The Dunes golf course.
“The riverbanks and parks, and alleys. Those are the most popular places,” said Salter.
“They’re definitely finding people. I haven’t calculated any numbers yet. That information will come out in the full report in November.”
Of the people who are counted, Salter estimated 20 to 25 are not interested in having a roof over their heads. No matter what.
Jacob Stepanow says it’s getting chillier every night as he sleeps outdoors. He said he has been homeless for more than a month. He and a friend, in background, were given backpacks with gloves, scarves, hygiene supplies and other items by volunteers helping with Friday’s homeless count.
The numbers won’t be tallied and released for a few weeks yet, but Ken Salter figured he had a pretty good idea of what this year’s homeless count will show. The street outreach worker with ASK Wellness knows these people, he works with these people and he helps these people.
He also helped co- ordinate Friday’s count, which he expected to be slightly higher than last year’s 58, but definitely less than the 105 range of previous years.
“Probably as many as last year, maybe a few more than last year, but not into the 100s,” he said late in the afternoon as most volunteers were wrapping up their searches.
This year’s count was uneventful, other than one pair of volunteers who came across a homeless being of a different kind.
“One team ran into a bear, but he was just as afraid of them as they were of him,” said Salter.
No, the bear isn’t being included in the count.
Volunteers spanned out to scan the riverbanks from Lafarge to Mission Flats to Tranquille Creek, up through Westsyde as far as The Dunes golf course.
“The riverbanks and parks, and alleys. Those are the most popular places,” said Salter.
“They’re definitely finding people. I haven’t calculated any numbers yet. That information will come out in the full report in November.”
Of the people who are counted, Salter estimated 20 to 25 are not interested in having a roof over their heads. No matter what.
“They tell me it’s addictive. You get up in the morning, there’s
no bills in the mailbox, your landlord’s not yelling at you and you have
no responsibilities to anybody but yourself,” he said.
And Kamloops has lots of free food available through several different agencies.
Last winter, when the temperature dropped to – 25 C, Salter came upon two men who were out in the snow. He offered them a car ride to a warm place for the night — all free — and they responded with “‘ No thanks, we’re fine,’ ” he recalled.
There are also homeless people dealing with severe addiction and/ or mental health issues. Even if provided information, often they don’t follow through, or their affliction gets in the way, he said.
About 80 volunteers hit the streets and riverbanks for this year’s count, which is down from other years.
But Salter said he had people from all walks of life, including families, which he found heartening. Some took on extra routes to make sure all areas were covered.
“And every one of them has said, ‘ I’ll see you next year,’” he said, pointing out the count raises awareness as much as it gathers data.
The volunteers probably never realized there are people sleeping on the beaches, in the alleys; and the count helps the homeless realize there are people working on the issues, he said.
The information gleaned in the count is used by agencies like ASK Wellness when seeking government funding for programs.
Salter said regardless of the number of people on the street, he gets a boost when he hears from those he’s helped. Often he can’t even remember their names, he’s met so many, like one woman he got to a street nurse two years ago who now works for ASK.
“I don’t get discouraged. I know even though I don’t see the positive results like I would in some other kind of business, I know we’re making things better for people.”
And Kamloops has lots of free food available through several different agencies.
Last winter, when the temperature dropped to – 25 C, Salter came upon two men who were out in the snow. He offered them a car ride to a warm place for the night — all free — and they responded with “‘ No thanks, we’re fine,’ ” he recalled.
There are also homeless people dealing with severe addiction and/ or mental health issues. Even if provided information, often they don’t follow through, or their affliction gets in the way, he said.
About 80 volunteers hit the streets and riverbanks for this year’s count, which is down from other years.
But Salter said he had people from all walks of life, including families, which he found heartening. Some took on extra routes to make sure all areas were covered.
“And every one of them has said, ‘ I’ll see you next year,’” he said, pointing out the count raises awareness as much as it gathers data.
The volunteers probably never realized there are people sleeping on the beaches, in the alleys; and the count helps the homeless realize there are people working on the issues, he said.
The information gleaned in the count is used by agencies like ASK Wellness when seeking government funding for programs.
Salter said regardless of the number of people on the street, he gets a boost when he hears from those he’s helped. Often he can’t even remember their names, he’s met so many, like one woman he got to a street nurse two years ago who now works for ASK.
“I don’t get discouraged. I know even though I don’t see the positive results like I would in some other kind of business, I know we’re making things better for people.”
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
City’s first rent bank still seeks donations
Kamloops Daily News - October 16th
A rent bank to help people with no other resources get through an emergency situation is proceeding.
So far, almost $ 15,000 has been donated by three supporters: the United Way, Interior Savings Credit Union and Kelson Group.
The bank is being driven by the Kamloops Homelessness Action Plan and is aimed at keeping people in stable housing when a problem arises that threatens their ability to stay there.
HAP co- ordinator Tangie Genshorek said she’s trying to get $ 75,000 for this, the first year.
“We estimate that’ll serve 40 families in the first year,” she said.
Those who qualify will get a loan that covers either one month’s rent or backed- up utility bills, she said.
So far, almost $ 15,000 has been donated by three supporters: the United Way, Interior Savings Credit Union and Kelson Group.
The bank is being driven by the Kamloops Homelessness Action Plan and is aimed at keeping people in stable housing when a problem arises that threatens their ability to stay there.
HAP co- ordinator Tangie Genshorek said she’s trying to get $ 75,000 for this, the first year.
“We estimate that’ll serve 40 families in the first year,” she said.
Those who qualify will get a loan that covers either one month’s rent or backed- up utility bills, she said.
“The idea is to catch people before they slip into a deeper slide of homelessness,” said Genshorek.
It’s the working poor who are expected to most use the rent bank, she said.
“They do have to pay it back. The interest accrued over the years is returned to them as a savings plan,” she said.
Borrowers also take financial management training or are given other services, based on their needs.
“There’s a lot of need, for sure. It’s a growing demographic, the working poor,” she said.
Genshorek said she’s hoping to build up the bank so it can provide for all those who get caught short, financially.
“The more we have, the more we can help.”
It’s the working poor who are expected to most use the rent bank, she said.
“They do have to pay it back. The interest accrued over the years is returned to them as a savings plan,” she said.
Borrowers also take financial management training or are given other services, based on their needs.
“There’s a lot of need, for sure. It’s a growing demographic, the working poor,” she said.
Genshorek said she’s hoping to build up the bank so it can provide for all those who get caught short, financially.
“The more we have, the more we can help.”
Friday, October 5, 2012
Up? Down? Expectations differ
Volunteers and donations sought for homeless count
3 Oct 2012 - Kamloops Daily News - By JASON HEWLETT Daily News Staff Reporter
Social advocates have differing views on what the outcome of this year’s homeless count will be, with one expecting numbers echoing last year’s low count while another is preparing for an increase. Ken Salter, an outreach worker for ASK Wellness, said there are fewer homeless camps set up around Kamloops, so he predicts a low count when the numbers are tallied this month.
But Tangie Genshorek, coordinator of the Kamloops Homeless Action Plan, said last year’s results were unusual, and she’s prepared to be surprised again. There were 45 homeless people counted in 2011, about half the number recorded in 2010.
That sizable drop was enough to leave Salter and his volunteers wondering if they missed something or made a mistake, he said.
Genshorek suspects the numbers will climb again, if only for the fact that there was no justifiable reason for the low count in 2011.
“Last year, I was surprised. This year, I won’t be surprised if I’m surprised again,” she said.
Salter and Genshorek will know for sure when the two- day count takes place Oct. 18 and 19. Shelters and transition houses will be the focus of the first day. A street count will be done the next.
Volunteers are integral to carrying out a fast, efficient count.
Salter hopes to have at least 80, and anyone who is interested in
participating is asked to attend orientation sessions Oct. 12 and 15
from 5 to 6 p. m. at ASK’s offices at 433 Tranquille Rd.
He said the sessions will cover everything from issues like safety to the backpacks that will be given to every homeless person the volunteers encounter.
“We talk about how to be safe out there and respectful toward the people we’re dealing with,” said Salter.
The backpacks contain all kinds of cold weather clothing from socks to mittens and hygiene products like toothpaste and shampoo.
“We’re still looking for donations. Whatever we can come up with, we will be filling the backpacks with,” said Salter, adding he’d like to have 150 backpacks.
The count will also take place in Merritt, hence the need for additional packs. Merritt is included because homeless people tend to travel back and forth between Kamloops and the Nicola Valley community, he said.
The City of Kamloops is providing $ 5,000 to ASK, in partnership with the Homeless Action Plan, to conduct he count. A complete report will be available in early November through www.kamloopshap.ca and www.askwellness.ca.
He said the sessions will cover everything from issues like safety to the backpacks that will be given to every homeless person the volunteers encounter.
“We talk about how to be safe out there and respectful toward the people we’re dealing with,” said Salter.
The backpacks contain all kinds of cold weather clothing from socks to mittens and hygiene products like toothpaste and shampoo.
“We’re still looking for donations. Whatever we can come up with, we will be filling the backpacks with,” said Salter, adding he’d like to have 150 backpacks.
The count will also take place in Merritt, hence the need for additional packs. Merritt is included because homeless people tend to travel back and forth between Kamloops and the Nicola Valley community, he said.
The City of Kamloops is providing $ 5,000 to ASK, in partnership with the Homeless Action Plan, to conduct he count. A complete report will be available in early November through www.kamloopshap.ca and www.askwellness.ca.
Monday, October 1, 2012
HAP Launches Donate Your Face Campaign for Homelessness Action Week 2012
The
issues of homelessness and affordable housing affect us all. Homelessness
Action Week has been taking place across the province for 7 years, this year we
need your help!
Activities
for Homelessness Action Week (October 8 – 12)
Donate Your Face! If you pay more than 30% of your income for housing.
Help us make a HAP video that
describes the diversity of people affected by affordable housing issues. Simply take a close-up digital photograph and
visit the HAP website to upload it! We
will post it on our website and social media in our “It makes sense to care”
campaign.
Min 1Mb files preferred, full frame
close-ups please!
www.Kamloopshap.ca/donateyourface/
Project Homeless Connect Event
Friday October 12th 1:00-5:30pm
Spirit Square, North Shore, McKenzie
& Yew - Connecting
homeless & at-risk people with
supports.
Free Flu shots from the IHA Street
Nurses, Valleyview Overlanders Lions Club free BBQ, Live Music by Full of
Excuses and Eclectic DJ Services
Contact the HAP for more info - t.250.571.9665 e.info@kamloopshap.ca
Oct 1st-12th Deliver your Donations to ASK Wellness, 433 Tranquille Rd.
For Homeless Count 2012 we need:
Clothing : socks, toques, gloves,
sweaters, blankets, long underwear
Food : bottled water, food coupons,
coffee coupons, granola bars
Hygiene : deodorant, toothbrushes,
toothpaste, bars of soap, washcloths, lip balm, lotion, nail clippers, travel
shampoos, combs/brushes, feminine hygiene products
Homeless
Count 2012
Want to
help? Volunteer Training takes place
Friday Oct
12 or Monday Oct 15 5:00pm – 6:00pm
at ASK
Wellness Centre, 433 Tranquille Rd
- Count takes place Oct 19
For more
information contact the HAP or: Ken Salter, Outreach – ASK Wellness Centre
t. 250.376.7558,
c. 250.851.5949, e. ken@askwellness.ca
Homelessness needs a national approach
Kamloops Daily News October 1st - 2012
We Say editorials represent the position of The Daily News and are unsigned. The editorial board of the newspaper includes publisher Tim Shoults, editor Mel Rothenburger, city editor Tracy Gilchrist, news editor Mike Cornell, sports editor Gregg Drinnan, and associate news editors Mark Rogers, Stewart Duncan, Catherine Litt and Dan Spark.
Ask any doctor or nurse who has spent some time in a hospital emergency department and they’ll tell you a thing or two about the mentally ill and the homeless.
One of the first things they’ll tell you about is the inordinate amount of time spent with people who for one reason or another opt to live on the outer margins of society — and they’ll tell you that many of them are the equivalent of emergency room frequent fliers, people who come back time and again due to real or imagined ailments that are somehow connected to their lives on the street.
They won’t pass judgment, however.
Most are by now resigned to the fact that they’ve pretty much become Ground Zero when it comes to responding to the needs of the homeless when much of the rest of society appears to have thrown in the towel.
But they may provide an opinion or two on the subject of cost and whether taxpayers are getting the best bang for their buck treating a problem as opposed to preventing one.
A study recently released by the Canadian Homelessness Research Network points out that it’s much less expensive to provide a place to live than it is to tend to the aftermath of homelessness.
According to the study’s author, Stephen Gaetz, governments spend more than $4 billion a year dealing with homeless people — money that could be better spent if there was a more unified approach to the problem.
He sites recent research by the Mental Health Commission of Canada that shows by providing support and housing to the chronically homeless, taxpayers can save up to 54 cents on the dollar as opposed to the current patchwork approach that involves various levels of government, social agencies, the private sector and church groups.
What’s needed, Gaetz argues, is a national strategy that would require federal, provincial and municipal governments as well as grassroots aid organizations to work together to address the issue, providing a solution and saving money at the same time.
To be clear, there are a certain number of people who will always be homeless, preferring to look out for themselves on the street no matter what aid is available. But there are those who would benefit from a national program that provides adequate housing for those who want it.
Stephen Harper’s Conservative government should take a lead role in establishing an implementing a nationwide strategy to take people off the streets and keep them out of Canada’s prisons.
For a government bent on trimming costs and ferreting out efficiencies, getting a handle on homelessness seems like a no-brainer. It has the potential to save taxpayer dollars and makes long-term financial sense.
We Say editorials represent the position of The Daily News and are unsigned. The editorial board of the newspaper includes publisher Tim Shoults, editor Mel Rothenburger, city editor Tracy Gilchrist, news editor Mike Cornell, sports editor Gregg Drinnan, and associate news editors Mark Rogers, Stewart Duncan, Catherine Litt and Dan Spark.
Ask any doctor or nurse who has spent some time in a hospital emergency department and they’ll tell you a thing or two about the mentally ill and the homeless.
One of the first things they’ll tell you about is the inordinate amount of time spent with people who for one reason or another opt to live on the outer margins of society — and they’ll tell you that many of them are the equivalent of emergency room frequent fliers, people who come back time and again due to real or imagined ailments that are somehow connected to their lives on the street.
They won’t pass judgment, however.
Most are by now resigned to the fact that they’ve pretty much become Ground Zero when it comes to responding to the needs of the homeless when much of the rest of society appears to have thrown in the towel.
But they may provide an opinion or two on the subject of cost and whether taxpayers are getting the best bang for their buck treating a problem as opposed to preventing one.
A study recently released by the Canadian Homelessness Research Network points out that it’s much less expensive to provide a place to live than it is to tend to the aftermath of homelessness.
According to the study’s author, Stephen Gaetz, governments spend more than $4 billion a year dealing with homeless people — money that could be better spent if there was a more unified approach to the problem.
He sites recent research by the Mental Health Commission of Canada that shows by providing support and housing to the chronically homeless, taxpayers can save up to 54 cents on the dollar as opposed to the current patchwork approach that involves various levels of government, social agencies, the private sector and church groups.
What’s needed, Gaetz argues, is a national strategy that would require federal, provincial and municipal governments as well as grassroots aid organizations to work together to address the issue, providing a solution and saving money at the same time.
To be clear, there are a certain number of people who will always be homeless, preferring to look out for themselves on the street no matter what aid is available. But there are those who would benefit from a national program that provides adequate housing for those who want it.
Stephen Harper’s Conservative government should take a lead role in establishing an implementing a nationwide strategy to take people off the streets and keep them out of Canada’s prisons.
For a government bent on trimming costs and ferreting out efficiencies, getting a handle on homelessness seems like a no-brainer. It has the potential to save taxpayer dollars and makes long-term financial sense.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Project aims to aid homeless seniors
Mental- health group in talks for shelter
Kamloops Daily News September 18th By MICHELE YOUNG Daily News Staff Reporter
Six weeks after an emergency shelter was opened to help people living on the streets of Kamloops, the lead organization involved wants to create another centre just for homeless seniors.Canadian Mental Health Association executive director Doug Sage told the City’s co- ordinated enforcement task force Monday he’s in negotiations with the society that operates Cariboo Manor in Westsyde.
The 11- bed facility would tartarget homeless seniors, , which Sage said is a demographic raphic group expected to increase crease in number in the coming ming years. The manor houses uses seniors who need some me care, but not around the clock.
The new seniors’ housing ousworked project is being worked on in partnership with th the Seniors Outreach Society ciety and is by no means a done deal, he said. Vanderwolf could not be contacted Friday or Monday for comment.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Kamloops' living wage pegged at $17.95 an hour
By Andrea Klassen - Kamloops This Week
Published: July 28, 2012 2:00 PM
Kamloops' living wage is keeping up with inflation.
The latest calculations from the Changing Face of Poverty committee peg Kamloops' living wage at $17.95 an hour, up from $17.30 in 2011.
The wage is calculated based on the expenses of a family of four with two young children and two parents working 35 hours a week each and includes government transfers and deductions such as EI premiums.
While this year's wage is up 65 cents from last year, Jeff Hicks, a research assistant with the Kamloops Homelessness Action Plan, said much of that change is due to some adjustments to the calculation that bring it more in line with similar calculations done across the province.
Without the calculation changes, the real difference in this year's living wage is about two per cent, just slightly under the rate of inflation.
The Kamloops wage is lower than several other calculations.
Vancouver's living wage for 2012 was $19.16, Victoria's $18.07.
"It represents the lower cost of living and that would be expected, especially given shelter costs are much higher in Vancouver," said Hicks.
However, the measure of a community's health isn't how high or low its living wage is, he said, but "whether people's incomes match the expenses they face."
That number wasn't calculated for Kamloops last year, when the committee released its first living wage numbers.
But, it will come in the next couple weeks, once Hicks crunches income data from Statistics Canada.
"We'll be doing some comparisons of that, as to how many people roughly are below this household income that you require to meet the basic level of expenses," he said.
While other living-wage proponents have in the past pushed for the City of Kamloops to adopt a living-wage policy, Hick said the committee's calculations are more about raising awareness.
"We give this information to the community, but we're not pushing for a municipal ordinance, we're not pushing for an official campaign," he said.
Instead, employers may look at the data as they make choices about how to run their workplaces.
"This kind of information can factor into people's decisions in many different ways beyond wage conditions, whether it's simply being more lenient with their days off or making the work environment more family-friendly," he said.
"There's all sorts of decisions that having this information in the back of your mind could change the outlook of."
One key difference for the Kamloops area, compared to Vancouver, is that single parent families can get by on a far lower wage than their two-parent counterparts.
Here, the single-parent living wage is $13.59. In Vancouver, the standard living wage isn't considered enough money to support a single parent and children.
What the living wage includes:
Food, rent, a $40 phone plan, one car and a BC Transit bus pass, child care and up to $1,500 in non-MSP health care per year.
What it doesn't cover:
College funds for the kids, saving for home ownership, payments for any student loan debt.
Published: July 28, 2012 2:00 PM
Kamloops' living wage is keeping up with inflation.
The latest calculations from the Changing Face of Poverty committee peg Kamloops' living wage at $17.95 an hour, up from $17.30 in 2011.
The wage is calculated based on the expenses of a family of four with two young children and two parents working 35 hours a week each and includes government transfers and deductions such as EI premiums.
While this year's wage is up 65 cents from last year, Jeff Hicks, a research assistant with the Kamloops Homelessness Action Plan, said much of that change is due to some adjustments to the calculation that bring it more in line with similar calculations done across the province.
Without the calculation changes, the real difference in this year's living wage is about two per cent, just slightly under the rate of inflation.
The Kamloops wage is lower than several other calculations.
Vancouver's living wage for 2012 was $19.16, Victoria's $18.07.
"It represents the lower cost of living and that would be expected, especially given shelter costs are much higher in Vancouver," said Hicks.
However, the measure of a community's health isn't how high or low its living wage is, he said, but "whether people's incomes match the expenses they face."
That number wasn't calculated for Kamloops last year, when the committee released its first living wage numbers.
But, it will come in the next couple weeks, once Hicks crunches income data from Statistics Canada.
"We'll be doing some comparisons of that, as to how many people roughly are below this household income that you require to meet the basic level of expenses," he said.
While other living-wage proponents have in the past pushed for the City of Kamloops to adopt a living-wage policy, Hick said the committee's calculations are more about raising awareness.
"We give this information to the community, but we're not pushing for a municipal ordinance, we're not pushing for an official campaign," he said.
Instead, employers may look at the data as they make choices about how to run their workplaces.
"This kind of information can factor into people's decisions in many different ways beyond wage conditions, whether it's simply being more lenient with their days off or making the work environment more family-friendly," he said.
"There's all sorts of decisions that having this information in the back of your mind could change the outlook of."
One key difference for the Kamloops area, compared to Vancouver, is that single parent families can get by on a far lower wage than their two-parent counterparts.
Here, the single-parent living wage is $13.59. In Vancouver, the standard living wage isn't considered enough money to support a single parent and children.
What the living wage includes:
Food, rent, a $40 phone plan, one car and a BC Transit bus pass, child care and up to $1,500 in non-MSP health care per year.
What it doesn't cover:
College funds for the kids, saving for home ownership, payments for any student loan debt.
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