16 Ave Homeless Shelter
Like many other Canadian cities, Calgary is experiencing a critical shortage of beds for the homeless. This problem is especially critical during the minus twenty-five weather the city will be experiencing this week. One temporary city plan was to renovate the old brick building on 16 ave into a homeless shelter. The shelter would be torn down in March when the city will continue to widen 16 ave. The Mustard Seed was going to bus the homeless into the shelter from the downtown in the evening and then bus them back to the downtown the next morning. They were hoping to make as little an impact on the local community as possible. Originally this shelter was supposed to be up and running by the middle of November and has since come against five formal objections from the local community. Now the city is using the Round Up Centre to house the homeless while the objections are addressed by city counsel.
My question is this, is this just another case of the 'Not in my backyard' attitude? Has the prosperity of Calgary caused us to shut our eyes and ears to the plight of the homeless in our city? Or is the community completely in the right to object to a shelter being put up in their community?
I'm still very undecided on the issue. I know I wouldn't want a shelter next to my house . . . but is that just my selfishness and ignorance talking . . .
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dbiddy said,
November 27, 2006 @ 1:59 pm
I have an old high school buddy, Mark, who is a city paramedic. He comes into contact with homeless people on a daily basis. He asked one lady why she came to Calgary. She told him it was because we treat our homeless really well. She didn't come looking for work, she came because she knew we'd take care of her. Mark says employers are always looking for workers at the Drop-in Centre, but they rarely find any takers. There's definitely something wrong here. If you don't have a job in Calgary, homeless or not, you're not looking. On the one hand, I don't want to see anyone freeze to death this winter, but on the other hand, I empathize with the Brick's neighbours... where are these people going to go during the day if they don't have jobs? Maybe shelter at the Brick should come at a nominal cost... i.e., $15/night. At least that way some of our city's homeless will be motivated to take advantage of our vibrant job market.
Dede said,
November 27, 2006 @ 2:56 pm
I like your point about the $15 a night dbiddy. Motivation, fire under your butt, incentive . . . whatever you want to call it, could be a very useful tool.
dbiddy said,
November 27, 2006 @ 3:05 pm
Oops, reread Dede's post... they plan on busing these people back downtown. The impact on the neighbourhood should be minimal. Still, this all begs the question... where are these people going to go during the day?
ro said,
November 27, 2006 @ 4:18 pm
To prowl downtown no less, same place they came from. It's a good solution to save a life, bus them in, hose them, bus them out. Inn from the Cold moves REALLY early so I'm assuming they'd be the same. I'm also guessing the logistics of busing hundreds of people would be steep so there's bound to be some chaos.
Having said that there are two sides of this coin. 1. It's a known fact that if you time your dinner right you can get 3 warm meals in a 9 block radius (I think it's 9 blocks.) That's 3 free suppers for the price of none.
On the flip side, affordable housing makes finding a house for new migrants impossible.
Kathryn said,
November 27, 2006 @ 5:16 pm
I want to know exactly what the community is objecting to, because there is something very wrong about wanting people to freeze to death on Calgary's streets. I doubt that's what the issue is, but that's the attitude I got from reading Dede's post.
As for busing the homeless to and from, that's a bit of a stretch, and a pretty penny for the gas. What can be done? Hoard all the homeless into one section of the city so they don't "bother" anyone else? How does that solve anything? I understand that a homeless shelter might have a negative effect on the community, but can't the community try to have a positive effect on the homeless?
herr niemand said,
November 28, 2006 @ 11:54 am
Man if employers are going to shelters to offer jobs, then people don't have excuses anymore. I am convinced that some of the homeless could find jobs, get on their feet and be productive the fact is they just don't want to. If people just don't want to work they shouldn't get fed and looked after.
Tim said,
November 28, 2006 @ 12:55 pm
A really awesome program they have going on in Red Deer is “meet the streets” basically kids are tossed out onto the streets of Red Deer for twenty four hours. You are given a homeless person as a guide and you get to hang with them and their friends for a day and hear their stories. I think Calgary has a similar program, but I’m not sure what it is called. Anyway it sure opened my eyes to this whole issue, and it is nowhere near as simple as people who just don’t want to work. As well rounded as we like to think our social services are there are some pretty big cracks for people to fall through the biggest part is finding personal support when your friends and family just cant or wont. A homeless shelter in your backyard may be inconvenient but if we are strong proponents for a “fire under your butt” mentality it’s a good way to motivate the general populace to take a good hard look at the neighbors they are supposed to be loving as themselves.
kc said,
November 28, 2006 @ 9:27 pm
If I am not mistaken, there is a similar drop-in centre already in place in the affluent community of West Hillhurst. People are bussed in and out on a daily basis without much problem. The residents in the immediate community surrounding the old Brick are not quite as affluent as those in West Hillhurst yet there has not been any significant objection from them since the Hillhurst centre was first proposed. I'm not necessarily taking any sides on the issue, but there is some precedence that supports that such a project can be successful. The only question is how similar the two initiatives are.
Michelangelo said,
November 28, 2006 @ 10:01 pm
We should train all the homeless people to play rugby, that way we have more people to play rugby and the entertainment value would be amazing.
It is an easy and amazing sport, the homeless people of this wonderful city will be awesome at said game.
ro said,
November 29, 2006 @ 10:43 am
KC, About 10 blocks south there's some affluence, around the Brick not really. That place only has one entrance though no.... I remember doing Inn From The COLD before. Man, some of these homeless don't need help. We made lunches and you 'd think they'd need em but some were left behind....So yea, there is a variety out there and we can't lump them into one.
Dede said,
November 29, 2006 @ 5:03 pm
Why rugby, why not hockey?? Thats more of a winter sport and the homeless are in greatest need in the winter. And just because they tend to wear colourful mismatched outfits does not mean they will be awesome at rugby.
dbiddy said,
November 30, 2006 @ 9:54 am
Let's take a page out of China's book... imprison the homeless and harvest their organs.
ro said,
November 30, 2006 @ 5:17 pm
Totally off topic... did anyone see in the ads above one for 'Edmonton Giveaway' - A trip to Edmonton? Wow, would love to win that, if I lived in Darfur.