Homelessness: Where Do We Belong?

Let's start by recognizing that to solve homelessness;

a) One person involuntarily on the street is too many, especially children;

b) We must have the homeless as clear voices when it comes to deciding on solutions;

c) We can't solve homelessness for free, but to do so properly will stop wasting money;

d) A huge part of the Homeless Emergency is the mental health emergency.

e) Therefore, Health Care is an inalienable part of alleviating homelessness.

A Personal Note

I've been homeless. So have other candidates, including Lisa Gretzky. (Way to survive and thrive, Lisa. I'm proud of you.)

I wouldn't even be alive today, never mind thriving like I am, if it wasn't for dozens of WAY underpaid workers like Leo, Greg and Maria from Covenant House.

My grandma donated to Covenant House for years - before I ever got there - and our Ontario communities get great joy out of helping others. Our GoodFellas drive proves that.

Thank you all so much from the bottom of my heart...and the soles of my feet.

I do know that some folks - whether through mental illness or a drive for personal freedom - don't want housing. I respect that choice, whether I like it or not. However, it's Canada, and when things get cold or when 'living rough' puts a human life at risk, we owe it to ALL, rich, poor, black, white, native, male, female, straight, gay, EVERY LIFE needs a plan to be saved.

It's solution time! Here comes The Big Idea.

We need to work with great humans like the Windsor Homeless Project (go donate, will you) to make sure we're laser-fixated on the fact that THESE ARE HUMAN BEINGS who deserve our best. We can't have humans like Patrick O'Leary dying on park benches from cold and lack of care. Make that thought your first thought every time you think about solutions and we'll get there.

Plan One: The Temporary Fix: Yes, it's an emergency.

I will push through The Patrick O'Leary Act: Every municipality, aided by the Ontario taxpayer, shall immediately begin construction or renovation of easily-accessible emergency hard-weather shelters capable of sheltering one percent of their population, with the goal of increasing this to two percent by 2030 and four percent by 2035.

This isn't just for the homeless. It's for major disaster readiness; we've seen the world changing, and so we need to be ready. As a bonus, though, these shelters can be used for extreme temperature event shelter for our homeless who opt out of regular shelters as well.

Plan Two: Next: The Short Term

Government has tried to stick the homeless in (sometimes luxury) hotels, reasoning that there's running water, bathrooms and that it's 'cheaper' to do it that way.

That's a short-term 'fix', and it lasts about as long as a drug addict's 'fix', doing nothing to actually solve the problem.

There are office buildings vacant. I'd have government BUY those properties outright - renting and leasing costs too much - and get a group of kind angel investors in place to create a "sovereign wealth fund" that funds a) turning those vacant properties into short-term residences and b) pays for the continuing upkeep, security and staffing.

Plan Three: Permanence and Belonging: Now let's talk about "ending" homelessness.

I'll use the term "ending" not because I believe that there will come a point when not one person is living on the street - we could invest trillions in housing and mental health and that point might never arrive, hope though I may. Hope in one hand and fill the other with whatever you like and see what fills up first. Smart action is required.

I refer instead to the ending of the crisis point - the emergency - that we now do face.

To get there, an enormous mental adjustment is badly needed in government; we've got to get away from 'emergency' fixes that only enrich the poverty industry (yes, there are those making enormous amounts of money off homelessness) and start transitioning people (and families! kids!) into permanence and security.

I would build Progress Communities, where;

• We eschew immense U.S. ghetto-style apartment buildings; these breed crime, making it easy for criminal predators to hide from police and terrorize - re-traumatize - residents;

• We recognize that you can't be safe, thrive or grow without community, so a continuous feeling of community must be built, with staff cross-trained AND WELL PAID as nurses, security and social workers all well-known and loved - trusted - by their residents;

• We have bright, cheery, well-lit apartments, schools, community centres and Safety Centres that residents are proud to live in, answering the depressing question of "why bother" and creating a sense of ownership;

• Recreation - sports! - for kids! Bored kids wind up in front of judges. Imagine the incredible pride of the first Progress kid to make the NBA, MLB, NFL or NHL. Now imagine the pride of their community and every kid coming after.

• Residents elect and form, adhering to federal, provincial and local law, their own Councils to take charge of decisions; not to take over but to use local knowledge to help residents and co-operate fully, keeping the peace and happiness of their immediate community.

Now...these Progress Communities can't be forever...can they?

Actually, yes. They MUST.

To have the confidence and drive to give back, to return the grace that the world has given you, every human must have a place to belong. Ending poverty and homelessness isn't just a matter of giving them food and a roof over their head, or else we could just cut each homeless person a cheque and be done with it.

We need to make Progress Communities a place where people WANT to be;

• Encourage, support AND PAY residents, under the volunteer guidance of contractors, to repair and maintain their own Progress Community; from cleaning and painting to apprenticeships with HVAC, electrical and other contractors, thus transitioning the human away from "I can't do anything," to "Wow, I have a skill, a job and community."

• Encourage and train residents to join Progress Community staff; it's critical that Progress Community staff are former residents who clearly understand their residents;

• Gradually transition residents over three years from free rent - which does not motivate self-reliance BUT is critical for those just getting started - to start paying their own rent;

• Match every dollar these motivated humans earn towards both higher education (emphasis on health care?) and home purchase - when they get there, we ALL win, even if it's only because they've turned into earners - and taxpayers.

For this to work, we as a society can't just accept but must cheer these Progress Communities, not look down our noses at them, volunteering, taking on residents in our businesses and accepting them as friends.

I've been there. I KNOW. It can't happen without YOU.

I've got real solutions. Let's get to work, Ontario.