No one should be homeless in a country with Canada’s resources. Yet, across the country, we are witnessing dramatic increases in the number of people with no place to call home.

Homelessness – simply defined – is the absence of a place to live. A person who has no regular place to live stays in an overnight emergency shelter, an abandoned building, an all-night coffee shop or theatre, a car, outdoors, or other such places not meant to be living spaces.

In the early 1980s, it became obvious that there was an increasing number of individuals and families, in the wealthiest nations, who had no place of their own to live and did not have enough money to pay for life’s necessities. They once had housing. They once had enough money to get by on. They once had a support network of family and friends in combination with a public “social safety net.”

The person you see on the street is just the tip of the iceberg.The long-term or “chronically” homeless person – the individuals we tend to see on our streets – represent less than 20% of the homeless population. The rest are families and individuals who find themselves without a place to live for a period of time.

Download factsheets from our Resources section to help you identify the warning signs for homelessness, learn about solutions that work, and the practical things you can do to help combat homelessness in your community.

The tens of thousands of homeless Canadians are a diverse mix of young and old, families with children, couples and single people. Families with children are the fastest growing group. And, about a third of homeless people are living with some form of mental health problem.
Both the numbers of such people and the length of time they are homeless are increasing dramatically.

The reasons why people become homeless are complex. The basic cause is poverty. The underlying causes can include poor physical or mental health, violence or abuse in the home, lack of employment or an income, and a shortage of affordable housing in the community. No one chooses to be homeless and it can happen to anyone – from a teenager escaping an abusive care giver, to a senior citizen on a fixed income facing a rent or tax increase, to a child whose parents suddenly become unemployed. Today, the spiral from stability to distress can happen in the space of a five-minute meeting.

All homeless people have one thing in common – a lack of housing.
While homelessness is not just a housing problem, it is always a housing problem. For many households there is a large gap between the cost of housing and the money available to pay for housing.

Homelessness has escalated exponentially since federal and provincial governments have stopped funding social housing construction. In more cities, homelessness is also directly related to low vacancy rates. Tight or heated housing markets make it hard for anyone to find housing. For individuals or families trying to live on minimum wage, a basic pension or other fixed incomes, it is especially difficult – even in “normal” times.

Homeless want a patch of land.

A 42-year-old man sifts through his dirty belongings and attempts to drag the leaves and undergrowth over the shelter he created to fend off the winter nights. He was covered and out of sight for a few days and enjoyed some peace and quiet. However, a group of kids has now attacked his temporary home and left it exposed to Abbotsford’s police and city bylaw officers. He expects a visit from them any time now, and knows they will likely confiscate his remaining possessions -something he said has happened six times previously – and ask him to move along. However, Kerry Pakarinen is adamant he is going nowhere. And the reason? He says there is nowhere for him to go.

Pakarinen has been living in Abbotsford for the past six months having moved here from Vancouver. He had a home and a job locally, but said an ankle injury and his epilepsy contributed to his downfall and he has been living on Abbotsford’s streets for six weeks. Pakarinen currently calls a patch of woodland on Sumas Way. Ironically, Pakarinen is a trained home renovator, and he put those skills to good use by digging a shelter into the side of a hill and reinforcing it with makeshift beams that he found in the woodland. He just wants to be left alone to find a job and get himself on track, but at the moment has more pressing issues. “When I came from East Van I thought I had come to God’s country. I have come to the Bible belt but all I have found is the devil,” he said.

Despite spending time in a number of communities across Canada, Pakarinen is adamant that Abbotsford is one of the worst for its “treatment of individuals. “People turn a blind eye and look the other way. If they saw they would be shamed by what’s going on. “Pakarinen believes he is well-qualified to make such a statement, having been at the forefront of homeless issues in other communities. Acting as a media spokesman at the time, Pakarinen was one of the men behind the high-profile squat in the old Woodward’s building in Vancouver in 2002. The protest followed a decision by the B.C. Liberals not to build social housing in the structure, despite a commitment by the previous NDP administration to do so. The City of Vancouver eventually evicted the squatters through the courts and in 2003 bought the Woodwards building from B.C. housing for $5 million. In the summer, it will be made into houses, shops, green space and a post-secondary base for contemporary arts.

Having relocated to Abbotsford, Pakarinen is turning his attention to B.C.’s fifth-largest city.In February, the City of Abbotsford was criticized for elements of its homeless policy. At that time, city officials were accused of “stealing” the personal belongings of some of Abbotsford’s street people. In response to that, city spokesman Jay Teichroeb said bylaw officials gave homeless people 48-hours prior warning to shift from a particular area before city crews moved in to “clean it up. “Rather than “pushing around our poor folk,” Pakarinen said the city should designate a piece of property for homeless people to pitch their tents. “This has got to be better than chasing people all over the place.” he said.

Pakarinen said he does not do drugs, although he does smoke a small amount of marijuana to control his epilepsy. Basically, having been living paycheck to paycheck, he said he simply hit a run of bad luck. “A lot of people out there are hurting and they need the help of their society,” he said. “I will be working again. I just need a hand. “I am a pacifist. If you have a fear of me then come and I will make you a cup of coffee. It would be good to hear people’s ideas and concerns. Please don’t be fearful of me because I am homeless – I am just hurting.

“Abbotsford Mayor George Ferguson said on Thursday that he recognizes homelessness in Abbotsford is a problem. Ferguson was recently approached by local resident Richard Bell, who is pushing to find a patch of land for Abbotsford’s homeless to pitch their tents. Bell set a March 31 deadline for that bid, but despite failing within that time frame, he got Ferguson’s attention. According to Ferguson, there are provincial and federal issues that need to be addressed when it comes to homelessness, such as attempting to include Abbotsford in the share of money that is currently allocated to the Greater Vancouver Regional District. However, he said the city can also play its part. “We need to find a solution to this homeless situation and figure out how we can deal with,” Ferguson said.” I will be asking at the next council meeting that we set up a homeless committee to deal with the local problem. The weather is now going to improve, but hopefully we will get something resolved so we do not have this same problem next year. “Bell said he plans to appear before council within the next couple of weeks. “I made it clear that there is going to be a solution to this,” he said. “People need to have a place where they can live legally. How that can be achieved is what we have to work on.”

Editor, The News:

I have been living in Abbotsford for 15 years now. As a homeless person, I travel the city almost every morning. What I see when I look around is not a very pleasant sight.

I see teenage hoodlums walking on the downtown streets. They move in packs as if tied together by strings. It is as if these adolescents pile up into herds like cattle wherever they see room available for them.

Just yesterday I saw a homeless man looking for pop cans from the garbage because these young miscreants are to lazy and thoughtless to bother recycling.

I see people every day, pushing buggies filled with the garbage these ill-mannered striplings litter the environment with.

These thoughtless punks make Abbotsford look filthy, unsanitary, and like it is an unpleasant place to live.

It is not only in the morning this is happening. It is through the whole day, mostly at night.

Is this the way we want people to see Abbotsford? I do not think so.

As we all know, Vancouver is hosting the winter Olympics in 2010. Many people will be coming to Abbotsford, and athletes may also be coming to use our arena to practise.

I don’t think many people who come here would like to see our streets filled with juvenile delinquents. These reprehensible hooligans are nothing but a bad impression on Abbotsford.

I used to see Abbotsford as the “City in the Country,” but I no longer do. My question really is: Why is city council not doing anything about these black sheep whippersnappers?

What’s happening in Abbotsford is not so great. It’s time that city council took action and started doing something productive for once so Abbotsford can be the “City in the Country” again.

PS: Perhaps G. Saini would care to correct the demonstrated ignorance on the subject of the homeless by leaving that nice sheltered existence, venturing out into the real world and learning a little about real life by volunteering at the Cyrus Centre for at-risk youth. More information on the Centre is available on the web at www.cyruscentre.com.

G. Saini’s Original letter for you information

Editor, The News:

I have been living in Abbotsford for 15 years now. As a young high school student, I take the bus to school almost every morning. What I see when I look out the window is not a very pleasant sight.

I see homeless people waking up on the downtown streets. They have made clothing lines by tying strings to trees. It is as if the homeless pitch tents wherever they see room available for them.

Just yesterday I saw a homeless man looking for pop cans from the garbage outside my school.

I see homeless people every day, pushing buggies filled with their belongings.

The homeless make Abbotsford look filthy, unsanitary, and like it is an unpleasant place to live. It is not only in the morning this is happening.

It is through the whole day, mostly at night. Is this the way we want people to see Abbotsford? I do not think so.

As we all know, Vancouver is hosting the winter Olympics in 2010. Many people will be coming to Abbotsford, and athletes may also be coming to use our arena to practise.

I don’t think many people who come here would like to see our streets filled with homeless people.The homeless are nothing but a bad impression on Abbotsford.

I used to see Abbotsford as the “City in the Country,” but I no longer do. My question really is: Why is city council not doing anything about the homeless?

What’s happening in Abbotsford is not so great. It’s time that city council took action and started doing something productive for once so Abbotsford can be the “City in the Country” again.

G. Saini
Abbotsford

Robberies, ‘bums’ walking down the street and girl strung out on drugs wandered into my house. These are courtesy of the actions of the Downtown Business Association and the City of Abbotsford administration in driving the homeless out of the downtown area. It is not surprising that the focus of the Association was on the Downtown area and thus they were not concerned about the effects on the citizens or their fellow businesspeople such as those on Sumas way. But one would have thought that the City would have shown a little concern for the citizens of Abbotsford. On the other hand, it may well be that an administration that thinks that giving a homeless person living in a tent a 48 hour notice to move is an intelligent action that will accomplish something, lacks any capacity to plan its actions and thus cannot see the effect its actions will have.

I wrote and posted an article last fall for www.homeless-in-abbotsford.blogspot.com about this, when the City and the Association embarked on their efforts to drive the homeless out of downtown. I pointed out that the only thing it would accomplish would be to relocate the homeless (or as you call them ‘bums’) to the residential neighbourhoods. But the City continues to think that they can accomplish something by forcing the homeless to move – rather than address the real problem of where do they move to. I also pointed out that those forced to move would not have access to the food available downtown and thus would become hungry. Ask yourself, answer honestly, would you quietly starve? Neither would I so it was quite predictable to anyone capable of even rudimentary thought that in chasing the homeless into the suburbs you were laying the groundwork for a rash of robberies.

“I want city council to wake up!” I could not agree with you more. Until the City actually addresses the real problems these types of problems are only going to get worse. BUT – you, your parents and your fellow citizens must accept some responsibility for the current situation you find yourselves in. “My family is now talking of moving to another town farther away to get away from all of this mayhem.” This running away from the problems will accomplish what? The reason these problems are as large as they are is that people seem to prefer to bury their head in the sand and refuse to see them until they begin to have an impact upon them. Then they blame someone else, demand someone else fix the problem or bury their heads again and move elsewhere – until the problems they would not face follow them to their new location.

Letting the situation deteriorate to its current levels ensures it will take much more time to address it. The more time wasted hiding from the fact there is a problem, the bigger the mess becomes. And the truth (which most do not want to hear) is that there are no easy, quick, clean solutions (which/like the public demands). This is a very complex situation that requires many different approaches to deal with the myriad of problems that get lumped together and hidden under the tag homeless. But if you and your fellow citizens want these issues handled you have too be prepared to step up and be part of the solutions, not sitting back waiting for someone else to ride to the rescue. It is your city, your society – what kind of city and society do you want to build?

However I must totally agree with your statement: “I want council to stop worrying about whether there should be a casino by the college – because college kids might waste their money – and focus on what really matters. I feel that maybe something really drastic has to happen before we see a major change. But why should it?”

A short personal rant. When I was writing about dignity and reflecting on the contempt I had heard the homeless spoken of with, I had to accept I been feeling some contempt myself just a few days before, as walking towards the Salvation Army in the company of fellow homeless we watched as a well dress couple scurried to load bags of vegetable and bread into their new, expensive vehicle. This was not the first time any of us had seen this type of thing (it happened again today, the day I enter these words into the computer from the paper they were written on). Some of the goods taken by these various persons end up for sale at locations around Abbotsford. Free goods = 100% profit.

Some come to the Salvation Army kitchen to take advantage of the fact it is free. Understand that I am not speaking of those on fixed incomes who find it necessary to stretch their incomes to cover monthly expenses by supplementing their food budgets in this manner. I speak of those who use the money they save on luxuries rather than necessities.

I see how some people need to be doing this to make ends meet and maintain their lifestyles. If that is what is happening I would suggest not buying that new car, the designer labeled clothing or that big SUV. In a simpler lifestyle you just may find some valuable inner truths and lessons (I certainly have). Leaving the food for those whose need arises out of having nothing to eat not out of greed. Despicable – especially those who themselves look with contempt upon the homeless, but feel it is perfectly alright to take food from the mouths of those with real need.

Contemptible – end of rant.