On Friday, October 14th the Mayor of Peterborough declared a state of emergency due of the lack of suitable housing and/or shelter beds available for the homeless as the winter months set in. With an interest in homelessness, a couple of us decided to attend the gathering at All Saints Anglican Church that evening to hear what is being proposed and to get involved in some way. Approximately 100+ citizens gathered to listen to ‘the folks’ who were affected by this crisis along with their support workers from various Agencies advocating on their behalf for a reasonable and viable solution. In the audience were also the candidates who are seeking to be elected Mayor or Council Member in the upcoming Municipal election. Other citizens wanting to understand the current situation in our City were present and are willing to offer support in wherever ways might emerge from meetings such as this one.
The Agenda for the evening was set by the group as each person in the room had a chance to introduce themselves and state the issue(s) they wanted heard and addressed that evening.
Key statements from the meeting were statements about feeling discouraged at the response of current city leaders who have not addressed homelessness sufficiently;
shelters need more caring staff;
rules in shelters need to be explained in a caring manner;
Federal and Provincial governments need to come forward with funding;
frustrated because NO changes will happen until new city council comes into power;
income support programs need to be enhanced;
family shelters are needed;
places for youth need to be set up rather than having to couch surf;
tents in parks or at City hall are taken from the folks and thrown in garbage;
ODSP and OW is not adequate to live a healthy life;
POLICE PRESENCE IS NOT A RESPONSE TO HOMELESSNESS.
No matter who they are, people want to be respected and “looked in the eye” when they are spoken to.
On the other hand some positive comments were shared which gave HOPE to the audience: to learn and become educated about the role of the Municipal Mayor and Council and keep them on task to resolve the issue; look at Tiny Homes /Sleeping Cabins as a possibility to house people this winter until a more permanent solution can be found and funded; listening and sharing ideas with each other as this meeting has done will engage creativity among the group; a few people with ideas can make something happen (Ex. Kawartha Food Share began at a round table meeting and now serves hundreds of people in our community); once a human connection is made with a homeless person, I will be changed; use our power and our voice to speak up on behalf of those who have no voice; name this issue of homelessness as a violation of human rights when we get a chance in a public setting; take away one idea from this gathering and put it into action on behalf of the homeless.
Compassion is the wish to see others free from suffering (Dalai Lama).
