Depending on the definition of homelessness, Canada's homelessness population is between 150,000 and 300,000 and has been increasing for at least the last 20 years.
If those "living on the edge" with housing affordability issues are included, that number soars to over two million. Despite being honoured by the United Nations for eight years in the 1990s as the country with the highest Human Development Index, Canada has also been criticized by the UN for its homeless population, which has soared and shows few signs of decreasing. One in 10 Canadians, according to recent studies, are poor.
Despite a parliamentary resolution voted for unanimously in 1989 to eliminate child poverty by 2000, child poverty levels are unchanged since then. Poverty in Canada, to outside observers and commentators within Canada, has been described as "chronic."
Within North Battleford itself, it's not clear how many homeless people there are, but some who work with the homeless have estimated there are around 400 people "on the edge" - not necessarily homeless, but one rent increase or medical emergency away from life on the streets.
At the moment, there is no comprehensive federal-level plan to deal with Canada's poor. The Saskatchewan Party's website does not even list "poverty" as a category on the part of their website describing their record in office. But any effort to fight poverty must have the help of federal, provincial, and municipal actors, as well as private individuals.
Now that North Battleford has joined the ranks of cities with permanent homeless shelters, I decided to contact the various organizations who deal with the homeless for them to comment on the shelter, the present needs in terms of homelessness and where we, as a community go from here.
I spoke to Don Toovey, who runs the shelter, as well as Jackie Kennedy, who ran and is running the temporary shelter at the Battlefords Indian-Métis Friendship Centre, Jane Zielke, former executive director of the Battlefords United Way and currently working for the Canadian Mental Health Association, Bill Hall, executive director of the Battlefords Food Bank and Gavin Albert, who runs Cornerstone Community Outreach, a soup kitchen in Living Faith Chapel.
Each of the people I interviewed expressed gratitude towards City Hall for not only approving the permanent emergency shelter, but also approving it only after serious discussion and debate.
Toovey, who will be running the shelter, stated bluntly that "the meeting [city hall] held impressed me. They had good arguments."
Zielke at the United Way argued that too often, projects like this are started with good intentions, but not enough planning, and eventually fail. She is confident City Hall has done what it can to make sure the project is not doomed to failure.
Part of this approach is to make sure the project is not simply run by an arms-length group with little experience with the homeless. In Toovey's experience, these are the worst-run shelters. That the shelter is being run by Toovey, who has over three decades of experience working with the homeless in North Battleford, is encouraging. Everyone I spoke to expressed confidence in Toovey, who also knows almost the entire homeless population personally.
The project, however, is also collaborative. It will be overseen by a committee, which has not yet been completely chosen, but which have a members from the Canadian Mental Health Association, the food bank, the BIMFC and the Reclaim Outreach Centre, in addition to several community members. Soup kitchens within the city have also expressed an interest in helping the shelter with its food needs.
Responding to comments that the shelter was just a "band-aid" solution, all those interviewed agreed the shelter itself would not end homelessness. It was quickly pointed out, however, that two homeless people froze to death last year. A permanent shelter will not itself solve homelessness, but will at least provide a safe, warm place for the winter.
As for where the community goes from here, each person gave different answers. Toovey hoped for more programs to address what makes people homeless in the first place - cheaper housing, greater addictions therapy programs and so on. But he also spoke of a need to lighten the red tape around homeless shelters - at the moment the city funds some aspects, with the province providing other aspects of funding, and the federal government and band councils providing funding for First Nations people who use the shelter. For anyone running a shelter, it is simply too much work to fill out the paperwork required to get enough funding.
Albert argued the community needed food banks to afford to be open more than a few times a week, since there it isn't always possible for the homeless population to find enough food, but also that there is a need for homeless people to be taught basic life skills to help them transition out of homeless life.
But regardless of their position, specialty, or organization, all those interviewed agreed Canada needs a coherent, federal plan to deal with poverty. The money exists to deal with poverty - Canada is about to spend an extra $1 billion per year on prison construction. Studies have shown taking homeless people off the streets and placing them into affordable housing is cheaper than paying the police and medical costs associated with homelessness. And countries like Finland have shown it is possible to all but eliminate homelessness with a concerted effort.
"We're in a rich country, so there's no reason for anybody to be homeless," explained Albert. He also pointed to a Bible verse, Matthew 25:34-40. In his words, "this parable describes acts of mercy we all can do every day. These acts do not depend on wealth, ability or intelligence; they are simple acts freely given and freely received. We have no excuse to neglect those who have deep needs, and we cannot hand over this responsibility to the church or government."
In the minds of those who work with the homeless, a permanent shelter is an important step, and hopefully one step of many towards a society with less poverty.
