Oh Give Me A Home...

Last Wednesday I attended a presentation about homelessness hosted by HOPE  (Hamilton Organizing for Poverty Elimination), and I have been deeply disturbed ever since.  I had no idea the desperateness of this situation.   I was shocked at the number of people who are homeless. I knew it was serious, I just didn't have any idea HOW serious.  You see homeless people on the streets here and there asking for change, but there are thousands we don't see...in shelters, or staying with friends short term, or in hospitals.  Many of the homeless are youth who have reached the age where they are no longer eligible for foster care and they are forced to leave.  And there's no where for them to go.

 I was even more shocked at the amount of money homelessness costs in tax payers money.  Homeless people usually have a variety of medical issues and most of them use the hospital as their primary health care place, ...they have no family doctors.  We spend more money on the homeless problem than we do on providing housing for them.

I don't have a head for statistics and can't really remember the exact numbers.  A lot of statistics were mentioned by many different organizations.  I just know how hopeless I felt coming away from that meeting.  Because I know that if it weren't for the generosity of my former partner, I could very well be on the streets myself and it terrifies me.  Most of us are one pay cheque away from being in the same situation.   One illness, one accident, one job loss, one marital break up....we are precarious.  One statistic I do remember is this:  OW pays 602.00/mth/couple for housing costs.  The average one bedroom apartment in Hamilton is 749,00. It boggles my mind that the government doesn't see the absurdity at this situation.  Or they see it and choose not to do anything about it because homeless people don't vote and can't possibly compete with the big corporations whose  asses the government loves to kiss.

There are many organizations who are gathering forces to make a change.  Medicine Hat Alberta has solved its homeless problem by....wait for it...providing homes for them!!
They actually acted on the problem  rather than sitting around talking about it, and forming endless committees, and hosting endless workshops...or presentations where they preach to the choir.   We could take a page from their book.

The next time you see a homeless person on the street, remind yourself that they are just the tip of an enormous iceberg.  They are not always drunk or addicted, they are not always poor and uneducated. There are families.  There are children who are going to school after spending the night sleeping in a shelter or in a car.  And after you remind yourself of this, then thank the powers that be that you are not there with them, and pray you never will be.