Homeless Action Week
| Health and Fitness |
Submitted by Eva Navrot, Advocacy Support Worker CMHA
Homeless Action Week – What is it?
Oct 11th – 17th is homeless action week all over BC. In metro Vancouver it is organized by the Greater Vancouver Regional Steering Committee on Homelessness. In many other BC Communities it is recognized as a time to create awareness in our own communities around homelessness.
In Williams Lake there are several agencies and organizations that have interest in safe affordable housing. Some of the major issues that we face in Williams Lake around housing are providing safe and affordable housing for marginalized individuals. Ideally a person would not pay more that 30% of their income for housing. This is possible with government subsidy, but there is not enough for everyone.
Some individuals pay from 60 – 95 % of their income for housing making it almost impossible to live.
There are monthly meetings to discuss these issues and come up with solutions. The meetings are administered by the Community Advisory Council on Homelessness. The meetings are open to anyone with an interest in housing and ending the homeless crisis in BC. The group meets the first Wed of every month at 1.15 PM call Eva Navrot, homelessness support and advocacy worker at: 250-302-1516 for more information.
What do you know about homelessness? See if you can answer the following questions;
- All people who are homeless live on the street? True or False
- All people who are homeless are lazy or unemployable? True or False
- People who are homeless sometimes have pets for companionship? True or False
1. False: Visible homeless (the people we see on the street) is just a part of the problem. Researchers estimate that three out of four people who are homeless don’t sleep on the street, but use shelters, sleep in cars, or on someone’s couch. Our local shelter can house up to 32 individuals for 30 days, this means that on any given day there are at least 32 people that are homeless or in between places. Most days the shelter is full to capacity and often overflowing in the winter months.
2. False: People who are homeless face many challenges in getting and keeping a job. Without a phone or a fixed address it can be difficult to fill in application forms and apply for work. Many of the homeless individuals in our community may not have work clothes or work related equipment. In addition without money it is difficult to get to and from work, make lunches and “make it” to the first paycheck.
3. True: Pets provide people with friendship, comfort and loyalty, which can be a difficult thing for a person to let go of when everything else is falling apart.
What you can do to help:
There are many things that individuals can do to help in their own community. We have some wonderful services and resources that are always looking for donations and volunteers.
Food:
Salvation Army Food Bank
Métis Association Food bank
Churches also take donations of food
Clothing:
Salvation Army
Métis Association
Purple donation boxes at Safeway and Canadian Tire for non profits
Cariboo Friendship Society – Women and children’s clothing for various programs
Homeless Outreach program – jackets cold weather items and blankets
Canadian Mental Health Association
Furniture:
Homeless Outreach program – beds, tables chairs, couches
Canadian Mental Health Association
To learn more about how to donate to these places and to acquire contact numbers contact Eva Navrot, Marilyn Livingston or Wayne Lucier @ Canadian mental Health Association 250-398-8220 or 250-302-1516.
Many of the above places are also always looking for volunteers. Together we can make a difference in our community.
Finally you may ask your self why are there homeless individuals in this modern day of technology and abundance of resources.
Remember each homeless person has there own story, no two are identical, there are how ever some common links:
Not enough income
Lack of affordable housing
Poor access to health or social supports
Mental Health and addictions challenges
Although homelessness continues to be a problem our community has an action plan on homelessness and there are many people working towards solutions, lets all be those people!
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