Homelessness in Waterloo Region

Waterloo Chronicle Series

Focus on Homelessness in Waterloo.

On January 16, 2002, the Waterloo Chronicle published a series of articles and opinions on homelessness in KW. Despite the area's prosperity, there are many people who have no place to call home. We've reproduced them here with the kind permission of the Waterloo Chronicle.

No Place to Call Home: Affordable housing key to solving homelessness problem
The Face of Homelessnessness
Editorial: Homelessness is a reality in Waterloo
Opinion Column: It's our moral obligation to look after one another

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No Place to Call Home:
Affordable housing key to solving homelessness problem

By Bob Vrbanac
Chronicle Staff

The federal and municipal governments say they're putting the money back into programs that will help the estimated 1,500 to 2,000 people in Waterloo region who go homeless in a given year. But they are still waiting for a firm commitment from the province before they go ahead with some of the more permanent solutions.

Local front-line workers argue that all levels of government are to blame in a growing homelessness crisis in the area that is seeing demand for emergency shelter far out-strip local charitable groups' ability to provide it.

For instance, workers with the local Out of the Cold program, which provides emergency shelter seven nights a week at K-W churches, said there are more bodies than beds on any given night, and fewer resources to fall back on once they've hit that limit.

Bill Hills, co-founder of the program at First United Church in Waterloo, said more co-ordination of resources is needed and the only ones capable of that type of strategy are governments. That could include a central site that provides housing, laundry and shower facilities, helped out by the Region of Waterloo.

"We've got 500 people being put up at places like House of Friendship, Mary's Place, Anselma House and our program," said Hills. "They're all at capacity, and various places are at 105 per cent capacity.

"There is no co-ordination of these services really, and they need full-time people that might be able to co-ordinate this type of thing so that there is a place for people to have a good meal and some shelter."

But Hills' counterpart Mike Savage, who co-founded the Out of the Cold program at First United Church, said these temporary programs were meant as a stop-gap and that the more permanent solutions have to come from the levels of government with the bigger purse strings for programs like income support and social housing. That means the province and the federal government have to become more involved and let the funding flow instead of throwing up bureaucratic roadblocks.

Savage is tired of seeing all the studies that are constantly published on the problem without the funding flow to support any real solutions. When $1.4 million in federal funding was given to support Waterloo Region's Community Plan on Homelessness, it came with 40 pages of guidelines on how to administer it.

"The federal government has put so many rules and stipulations on what they have to do, they have to hire someone to administer it," said Savage. "Plain and simple, that's nuts.

"This program (Out of the Cold) runs on volunteers and donations - nobody gets paid, and we get the job done."

Other priorities highlighted by the Community Plan on Homelessness include providing more shelter space and improving access to resources; identifying housing needs; developing supports for people with special needs; enhancing prevention and building community capacity; and raising community awareness of the issue through education and information campaigns.

Waterloo regional Coun. Sean Strickland, head of the community services committee, said he understands the frustration of local volunteers, but said the solution is turning out to be more complex than first thought, with the co-ordination required between the three levels of government.

"I know there's a sense of frustration with many of the volunteers in our community because they feel that we're not moving very much ahead of this issue," said Strickland, who is also the executive director of the Food Bank of Waterloo Region. "I can say that it is moving more slowly than we like but we are making some progress.

"This progress can be speeded up if the provincial government signed off on the housing agreement with the federal government, and let the municipality do its work."

Strickland said the only permanent solution to homelessness is to make sure there is enough affordable housing available for those in need, and that means that the provincial and federal governments have to reinvest in social housing. Community groups, like churches, have filled the gaps in Canada's ailing social safety net, but it's up to the federal and provincial governments to help find more permanent solutions.

The federal government has taken the first step by confirming $753 million in new spending for a National Homeless Initiative in its November budget. More than $9.6 million of that will be available to Waterloo Region as part of its Supporting Communities Partnership initiative, that can cover up to 50 per cent of the costs of projects identified as priority needs by a community.

The federal government's first contribution came in December when Waterloo Region received $1.4 million to address homelessness in the area.

The region is trying to do its part too by taking a comprehensive approach to the problem, using some of the action plan identified by its community homelessness working group, and providing funding for areas ranging from temporary shelters to investing in new affordable housing projects.

Strickland said Waterloo Region was the first municipality in Ontario to put affordable housing strategy into motion, that will see more than 1,000 low-cost rental units built by 2004.

"In the first year, we're right on target and have commitments from our partners of 210 units," said Strickland. "With the federal announcement we should have another 200 units committed to in 2002.

"Unfortunately the problem has been developing for some time, and it will take some time to put those things in place. But there will be affordable housing units built this year in the region of Waterloo."

Waterloo MP Andrew Telegdi said the federal government is also back as a permanent partner in affordable housing, but now its time to get the province engaged. "It's a problem that all levels of government have to cooperate on," he said.

The provincial government recently gave local agencies more than $140,000 in funding to assist the homeless in getting emergency accommodations, and help to eventually find and retain more permanent accommodations. But the province still lags behind in its income support programs and has yet to sign the new housing agreement with the federal government.

"We're still negotiating," said Telegdi. "Certainly, (Waterloo MPP and leadership candidate) Elizabeth Witmer has talked about a more consultative approach, which obviously involves this kind of stuff.

"But from our end, I'm glad that we're active, and we need all levels of government active on it because we can't just leave it to the municipalities. They don't have the resources."

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The Face of Homelessnessness

By Andrea Bailey
Chronicle Staff

Lorrie-Ann tries to make the most of her days.

Whether she's reading a book at the library, chatting with patrons at a nearby coffee shop or strolling through Waterloo Park, she always chooses activities that she can later count as joyful memories.

And, it's those warm thoughts that help her get through the cold, bitter nights spent looking for shelter and food to fill her hungry stomach.

Lorrie-Ann is homeless, and has been for the last year.

Unable to work full time because of a disability, she was forced out of her apartment with no place to go.

Since then she has relied on the generosity of friends for an odd meal and over-night stay; but most of the time she is on her own, trying to find new options to escape the streets.

Over time, she's grown accustomed to the stares. She's learned to take the harsh comments and blatant rejection some members of society have bestowed upon her. And she's now able to share her story without breaking down in tears.

But there is one thing Lorrie-Ann refuses to accept.

"One time someone sent dogs after me," said the middle-aged woman, pale in complexion with dark circles under her eyes.

"All I wanted to find was a safe place to curl up for the night."

Doug knows just how difficult that can be.

"It's hard to find a place you trust enough to spend the night," he said over a warm bowl of chili. "It all depends on the person. Some people may be all right with sleeping on a bench; while others may go for a cardboard box under a bridge."

Doug said he's hung his hat in a number of odd places since losing his job and home.

But unlike Lorrie-Ann, Doug has more difficulty getting through his days than his nights.

"People are funny," he said. "One day someone will pat me on the back, and the next day they'll be kicking me out the door. But I truly believe what goes around comes around."

Doug and Lorrie-Ann represent a growing number of people in this community who fall under the Region of Waterloo's definition of homeless, those who sleep in indoor or outdoor public places and use emergency shelters.

According to the Waterloo Region Com-munity Homelessness Plan, released in December 2001, between three and five of every 1,000 people in the region are homeless; and 60 per cent of residents of emergency shelters in Waterloo region are women, which is considered to be significantly higher than other Canadian cities.

Most residents range in age from 13 to 79, with an average age of 32, and the most frequent age being 22.

Fourteen per cent of residents are in fact employed, and 11 per cent have a university degree or other post-secondary certificate.

The same statistics show only 13 per cent of shelter residents self-reported that they use drugs daily; whereas 66 per cent said they never use drugs. And 12 per cent self-reported they use alcohol daily; whereas 37 per cent said they never drink alcohol.

Yet, despite the demographics, there are still some members of society who believe homelessness stems from substance abuse.

But it's unfair to paint everyone with the same brush, says Margaret-Anne Tannassee, a volunteer with the Out of the Cold temporary emergency shelter program run every Thursday night out of St. John's Lutheran Church in Waterloo.

"You really can't judge a person until you get to know them and hear their stories," she said.

"Some people are living on minimum wage jobs, and can't afford rent and food.

"And some people have just hit a streak of bad luck. A lot of times when you hit rock bottom, you can't get back up."

Tannassee said most of the people she meets at the shelter are reserved and choose to keep their privacy.

But she will never forget that one man whose small request changed her outlook forever.

"This one man came up to me to give me a hug, and I just froze," Tannassee explained. "He then said to me, 'Margaret, all I wanted was a hug. Do you know how lonely it is on the streets?' I felt so bad."

Another volunteer, Grant McDonald, said he enjoys sharing a meal with

his "guests" and lending an ear if they choose to open up to him.

"Some volunteers eat their food in the kitchen, but I like to sit down with them (guests) to eat mine," he said.

"This one day I sat with a group of young people, in their teens. I asked them why they were here. All they said was, 'Because we want to be.'"

But no matter what reason a person has for needing shelter - whether it's because of unemployment, addiction, disability or choice - shelter program coordinator Larry Dubue said everyone is always welcome.

"You don't know and you can't judge until you walk a mile in their shoes," he said.

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Editorial:
Homelessness is a reality in Waterloo

We probably don't know them by their first names. And we likely won't see them when we go to our favourite restaurants.

But they are our neighbours nonetheless. Yet they have no place to call "home."

Homelessness happens in many communities; large and small, rich and poor. It's here in Waterloo.

Serving the needs of the homeless and disadvantaged in our community is a challenge that, in the past, has been faithfully met by volunteers from local churches and social agencies.

But particularly in the past year, the demand has been outgrowing the capacity of these volunteers to sustain the service. Greater personnel support and financial assistance is required from all levels of government. And moving government to act in such a way requires public pressure.

While those on the front lines have been making the case, there is still a lingering perception that homelessness is not a Waterloo issue. But it is.

And just because the homeless can literally walk next door to Kitchener doesn't make it any less of a Waterloo problem.

There are proven ways of providing support to the homeless in our community, and programs which have worked in communities of similar size can likely be adapted to work here also.

However, the first step toward addressing those needs lies in the acknowledgment that homelessness is a reality in Waterloo.

The second step requires us to take responsibility for finding Waterloo-based solutions - and not just pointing our homeless in the direction of Kitchener.

Surely, these are two steps which, as a caring and compassionate community, we can take immediately.

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Opinion Column:
It's our moral obligation to look after one another

By Deborah Crandall

Over the Christmas holidays, the old boy had a couple of days off work. So I asked him to take my rust bucket into CT to get the emergency brake seen to, get new wipers installed, and get the goosh-goosh thingy fixed so the new wipers would have something to wipe.

Some $2,000, several garage visits, and a couple of weeks later, I have my car back. Turns out it needed all manner of repairs - and watcha gonna do? We need our cars, right?

Mike picked me up at work last Thursday, and we headed over to the garage to pick up my car after it had undergone an entire brake job.

"Well, it's going to cost about a grand this time," Mike broke the news. And we both cursed all things mechanical as we headed up Weber Street.

Before we got to the garage, where we would split up and each drive a car home, we debated what we wanted for dinner. Would we get take-out, or would one of us stop at the store to get the fixings to cook something?

And should one of us stop at Steve's to rent some movies to play in the new DVD player we got for Christmas.

And then it hit me - likely because of the stories the Chronicle as been working on this week and last about the plight of the homeless in our community. While we were grumbling about the thousands of dollars (which we had readily available) it would take to fix one of our cars and grappling with decisions about what to stuff our overstuffed bellies with while getting cozy on the new Ikea chesterfield and watching De Niro's latest in widescreen format, some poor unfortunate souls in our community were just trying to find shelter.

The thought struck a nerve. And it's stayed with me. I have trouble imagining what it would be like not to have my home - a place that provides both physical and emotional shelter - where I can shut the door on the rest of the world, lick my wounds, and rest up for the day ahead. It must be horrible not to have that. It must be cold - very cold.

Whether we want to admit it or not, people without homes of their own wander the streets of Waterloo. Yes, affluent, clean, crime-free (for the most part) Waterloo has a homelessness problem.

And what really stinks to high heaven is the attitude of some folks in the community that those who are homeless have only themselves to blame. They figure their precious tax dollars shouldn't be used to give these "bums" free kip. After all, they logic, these people wouldn't be homeless if they didn't drink or snort their ways into the gutter.

Perhaps that deluded way of thinking helps ease the consciences of those who'd rather go on believing there's no problem - those who've chosen to turn their backs on their fellow men and women.

If we want our various levels of government to make meaningful commitments to do away with homelessness, we have to let our local politicians know we're aware of the problem, we care, and we won't tolerate it anymore.

There are many options to be looked at, like affordable housing, employment opportunities and welfare levels. And hopefully strategies in each of these areas will combat the problem. But solutions won't come overnight.

In the meantime, we have to do all we can to look after one another. It's our moral obligation.

© 2002, Waterloo Chronicle. Originally published January 16, 2002. Reprinted with permission.