All posts by James W. Breckenridge

Consider, Homeless, Issues, Municipal, Politics

The Void – Choices and Consequences

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For all of us Life is a constant stream of choices.

On a daily basis we face and make choices that have consequences that affect our lives and the lives of others in minor and major ways.

We cannot avoid the consequences of our choices by refusing to choose, by trying to wait it out, hoping someone or something else will tell us what’s the best course of action or a ‘solution’ will magically appear or that someone will eventually tell you what you want to hear.

“When you have to make a choice and don’t make it, that is in itself a choice.

William James

Complicating the consequences that befall us is the fact that the little choices that seem insignificant can turn out to carry major consequences as life unwinds and we find out that the tiny decisions we make are not as divorced from our major life decisions as we thought or wished.

Major choices, little choices, choices made by not choosing – it all comes down to the same question, a question of taking responsibility, of accepting responsibility for the consequences our choices, behaviours and actions have on our lives and the lives of others.

Justifying, rationalization, blaming, excuse making. ‘it is not our responsibility’ will not prevent the consequences of our actions and inactions from coming home to roost.

Don’t like what you see as you drive along Gladys Avenue? What you see is the consequences of the city’s choice to behave as ‘The Void’ on homelessness and its interconnected issues, rather than acting responsibly and taking effective action.

What is taking place along Gladys should not  be a surprised to anyone.

Victoria also had a policy of harassing their homeless. At least they did until 2009 when the BC court of appeals ruled that in a city where the city government had failed to address the issue of homelessness or take action on affordable housing, the homeless had the right to camp in city parks.

Suddenly Victoria’s council and mayor were motivated to acquire backbones and begin to take needed actions to address homelessness.

Among the first actions taken in Victoria was a Housing First project; a solid base to build on in putting in place the services and supports needed for recovery.

I wonder if Abbotsford’s sudden tolerance with the camps on Gladys Avenue results from the city’s struggle to stay out of court until after municipal elections in November? The mayor, councillors, the city cannot avoid the consequences of their behaviours –  facing Pivot Legal Society in court over [among other things] the right of the homeless to camp in city parks.

Because, not only has the City of Abbotsford failed to take action on homelessness and affordable housing, the city has actively blocked affordable housing, recovery oriented housing and services from being built by BC Housing and Abbotsford Community Services.

I suspect that once the consequences of the mayor and councillor’s behaviour has camps sprouting up around Mill Lake Abbotsford’s mayor and city councillors will find themselves highly motivated, as did Victoria’s mayor and councillor’s in 2009, to support Housing First projects, other affordable housing initiatives and the providing of the supports and services to reduce homelessness, substance use, mental illness on city streets.

Mankind’s greatest gift, also its greatest curse, is that we have free choice.

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Sadly, it seems that only something as drastic and unpleasant as a court ruling that the city can either address the issues or have the homeless camping at Mill Lake, will motivate the city to realistically and effectively address these issues.

Highly ironic that a mayor and city councillors so ethically challenged that only the negative consequences of their behaviours will/can motivate them to address these social issues, felt they had the right to spend taxpayer dollars to instruct, to lecture, the citizens of Abbotsford on the correct way citizens should behave and about character via their ‘Character Council.’

One’s philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes… and the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.

Eleanor Roosevelt

behaviour, Homeless, Issues, Municipal, Politics

Into The Void

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From 2006 – 2014 the recommendations of Abbotsford’s Social Advisory Committee to City Council were, in the words of members of the committee, ‘disappearing into a void’.

Eight years of wasting the lives of the homeless.

Eight years of wasting the time and effort of the citizens who were members of ASDAC.

And people wonder why I am so cynical about City Council’s sudden creation of a Task Force with an election looming in November 2014 and the only action of significance taken by the mayor and city councillors on homelessness was telling the provincial government to take their $2.5 million dollars for construction and all the millions that would have provided the support necessary to begin to get out of the recycling of those with substance use issues and get into recover oriented housing and services, and give those millions of dollars to a city that cares..

Mental illness, substance use, addiction…….. no true progress of significance can be made until the individual is ready. Personal responsibility and the commitment to doing the years of hard slogging, to dealing with all the pain, darkness and unpleasantness you will have to slog through to find recovery, wellness and happiness.

Until Abbotsford has a City Council with a sense of personal responsibility and a commitment to doing what is needed to address these issues, however long it takes; to providing leadership and the backbone demanded by this matter……. all the increasing social issues, not just homelessness and substance use, that cities face today will continue to worsen in Abbotsford.

Reality will be reality, truth will be truth, regardless of lack of understanding, disbelief, or ignorance on the part of anyone.

The failure to pay attention that results from the mayor and council’s wilful refusal to acknowledge any reality they did not want to see has cost – and continues to cost – Abbotsford taxpayers dearly. As recent media reports have highlighted one of the major costs of council’s refusal to see anything but what they want to see is the $23 million dollars squandered on the Heat debacle and the $100+ million spent on a building that is empty because it was not needed……..except in the fantasy world that the mayor and members of council dwell in.

‘Learning more’ is a time tested way for politicians to avoid applying what we already know. Any good general, any good leader, can tell you that the only thing that constant analysis achieves is paralysis.

I have spoken with several members of the task force, including previous members of ASDAC who feel they need to give Abbotsford’s mayor and councillors a chance to show that the task force is not simply cover or camouflage for mayor and council who have failed to address homelessness with any effectiveness – or thought.

In thinking about the task force and its members it occurs to me that, should they so choose, the members of the task force can choose to act in the best interests of the homeless and the city – no matter what the mayor and council’s purpose in forming the taskforce was.

Should the members of the task force choose to take the bit firmly in their teeth the first order of business is to declare that it is time to stop recycling people through the traditional system of treatment and implement the services and supports that research and outcomes show to be effective in creating recovery and wellness.

The reason Housing First is part of addressing homelessness in those communities committed to reducing homelessness and dealing with mental illness and substance use in a long term and effective manner, is because Housing First was developed to be about recovery and wellness – about breaking the ‘business as usual’ cycle of recycling people through the system..

Abbotsford Community Services Housing First proposal was the right proposal, in the right location, the best choice as a first step to changing from recycling to recovery and to begin to put in place the resources, services and supports necessary for recovery.

If members of the task force intend to ‘damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead’ and be effective in dealing with homelessness in Abbotsford then their first order of business must be to stand up and tell mayor and council that the most important first step in addressing homelessness is to commit to getting out of recycling and into recovery and that committing to recovery requires council to approve and support the ACS housing proposal.

Let’s make it clear where the task force, mayor, city councillors, citizens – everyone – stands on the nitty gritty reality of homelessness:

Are you prepared to commit to taking the necessary actions, the actions that have been demonstrated to be effective in reducing homelessness, recovery from mental illness, substance use and addiction?

Or are you committed to saying the right things while opposing what has been proven effective around the world in reducing homelessness and fostering recovery and wellness?

It is time to stand up and be counted. Because the task force, best practices, beginning to effectively promote and support recovery and wellness will accomplish NOTHING unless we, as a community are prepared and committed to taking effective action(s).

Do, or do not. There is no try. Yoda

Consider, Issues, Mental Health

The Search for Happiness

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Mental Health Week May 5 – 11 2014

It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.   Mark Twain

I have a friend with schizophrenia who speaks of how, when people learn she has schizophrenia, begin looking at her as if they expect her to pull out a knife and kill them. All because of the way television and the broadcast media portray those with schizophrenia.

I and others of my acquaintance have all had the experience, repeatedly, of having people telling us we could not be living with mental illness because we were not homeless, muttering away to ourselves, well groomed, weren’t raving, made sense……

We have spoken of the difficulties posed by the fact that there is often no external evidence of the turmoil going on within or of the ruin that, occasionally lies within,.

CMHA’s Mental Health Week is an annual national event that takes place during the first week in May to encourage people from all walks of life to learn, talk, reflect and engage with others on all issues relating to mental health.

On Tuesday May 6, 2014 from 7:00 – 8:30 PM at Clearbrook Library Fraser Mental Health’s Abbotsford Advisory Committee is presenting The Search for Happiness: three perspectives on living with a mental illness.

Speaking about their experiences and, as time permits, answering audience questions about living and dealing with mental illness, and as time permits will be a person living with mental illness, a family member of a person living with mental illness and a staff member of Fraser Mental Health who works for Recovery.

Everyone is invited to join us to hear about the reality of living with mental illness.

Homeless, Issues, Municipal, Politics

You Could be Right

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With the stories in the Abbotsford News highlighting that Abbotsford’s City Councillors squandered $23.1 million dollars [5.24 + 8.32 + 5.5 + 4.04* = 23.1     *ballpark estimate for year 5 subsidies] on their Great White Elephant ego project [AKA Abbotsford Sports and Entertainment Centre] and buying the presence of the Heat as a tenant for their empty ego trip………….

I have to admit there is solid evidence that Mr. Eric Myrholm was right when he asserted that Abbotsford council and staff have the mental capacity of a cumquat and thus need a Task Force and more study of homelessness..

Furthermore I acknowledge that the evidence provided by council’s actions over the past decade would support, perhaps better support, the lack of mental capacity at City Hall hypothesis than it does my hypothesis that stalling is the reason council has taken no effective or intelligent actions to address homelessness in the past decade.

A decades worth of forums, a decades worth of best practices and the outcomes from those practices in other cities, a decades worth of research, six years of having an advisory committee for council, a social planner as part of the planning process, the decision that the city no longer requires a social planner, overwhelming evidence in support of the ACS Housing First proposal, council’s self described irrational voting down of the ACS proposal and provincial funding, council’s need to create a Task Force………

Provide piece after piece of evidence to support the ‘having the intelligence of a cumquat’ hypothesis as to why Abbotsford city council and city hall felt they did not have enough information to make intelligent decisions vis-à-vis homelessness.

Lack of metal capacity could explain the fact that, over the Easter long weekend, without consulting their Task Force and ignoring what advice they did get, the city – having been presented with a handy excuse – descended upon a homeless camp that had been a thorn in their side and removed it.

As I say he could be right.

The only point I can definitely say that Mr. Myrholm is wrong about is coming up with a great solution.

The more you know about mental health, substance use, homelessness, the economics of poverty, the economy, political gamesmanship, business, finance, wilful denial,  the insistence on seeing [being told] what they want to hear and ignoring reality…….

The more knowledge and experience you have with issues involving people and the complexities introduced by the psychological. sociological, biological and cultural components of individuals……

The more you understand that issues and situations involving people have no nice neat solutions; that with people what you would expect to be the outcome of an action is often totally wrong and the outcome you get is something unexpected and counterintuitive.

Be aware that when I am speaking of the involvement of people in an issue such as homelessness, the term people doesn’t include just the homeless but all of us.

Because one of the hard facts I do know is that the mistaken information and beliefs held by the public are major obstacles to addressing not just the issue of homelessness but many of the issues and challenges facing us today.

I can tell you the most important action we need to take is to get out of the recycling of people business and get in to the recovery business. That is why the Housing First – a recovery based approach – project proposed by ACS was important.

I can tell you what course and direction individuals need to follow and move in to find wellness; I can tell you that what they need to do, while similar, is different for each unique individual; I can tell you what resources, supports and services we need to put in place to help people achieve wellness and recovery; I can tell you what best practices are available to provide the resources, supports and services needed and what outcomes those practices achieve; I can share my experiences, the knowledge and understanding I have gained and where/how it was gained.

I cannot force people to change, I cannot force them to want to change, to abandon wilful denial, much less act to address the issues associated with homelessness.

I can write; advocate; share; educate; make knowledge, resources outcomes and best practices available; encourage; support……

And I can remind people that when faced with a complex problem involving people and without nice neat [perhaps any] solutions the most important action is to choose to start.

“I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing, and what a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while actually producing confusion, inefficiency, and demoralization.”   Petronius

The James Commentary

James Commentary April 21, 2014

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Fun With English

I saw this container and sign in the MCC East Thrift Store:

When I saw this I found myself wondering where in the store I would find the container of Umbrellas Not For Sale and why, in a Thrift Store, you would have Umbrellas that weren’t for sale?

Because, if the only container with umbrellas was the one with the umbrellas for sale, why would you feel the need to label the umbrellas as for sale?

Wouldn’t the presumption be that any umbrellas in a Thrift Store were for sale?

Why would you have umbrellas on the floor in a Thrift Store if they weren’t: For Sale?