Reading Mayor George Peary’s comments regarding homelessness left me wondering if councillors are issued a simple ‘crib sheet’ or whether they are required to memorize the ‘official city response’ to parrot back on questions about homelessness.

Setting aside why it is that the City of Abbotsford  has such a limited amount of city owned land, one is left wondering why councillors keep pleading poverty whenever the issue of homelessness is raised.

I have not heard people clamouring for the city to fund homeless initiatives. This is hardly surprising since people are well aware that it is the provincial and federal governments that must provide funding if we are to begin addressing the complex issues of homelessness, addiction, mental illness, poverty etc. Not based strictly on whose responsibility it is, but because of the reality that the senior levels of government are the ones who have sufficient financial resources to fund solutions.

The city’s lack of funds is not the poverty that is, and has been for years, the major impediment to addressing, rather than avoiding, the issues connected to homelessness solutions.

A poverty of leadership from council, not a lack of funds, is the poverty that most interferes with making progress on these issues. It is this lack of leadership that has failed to rally the wide array of resources available in Abbotsford and the province of BC, preventing effective progress to be made on these issues.

The difference between those communities building affordable housing and striving to address the issues that surround and interconnect with homelessness versus the communities pleading poverty or that it is not their responsibility or whatever the excuse de jour is for wringing their hands then sitting on them – is leadership.

There is a desperate need for affordable, supportive, minimal barrier housing in Abbotsford. The Ebenezer home, a 91 bed supportive care home, sits empty. In a city with civic leadership on these issues … anything is possible.

To relieve tension over council

Once upon a time there was a poor troll who lived under a village bridge. The sheriff’s men and village workers were going to move the troll along “for his own good” but being wonderful human beings they were concerned about the poor troll and took along some people to reach out and find the troll a more acceptable place to live. And the troll lived happily ever after in a castle on the mountain.

The preceding tale bears as much correlation to reality as the fairy tale in the September 11^th Abbotsford News. As do any of the previous same spin, different bridge tales.

It would appear that whoever is responsible for this ongoing PR campaign featuring this series of same story, different bridge “news” (and I use the term news very loosely) articles are operating under the assumption that Lenin was correct and “A lie told often enough becomes the truth.”

No matter how often the local papers repeat this everything is wonderful mantra, that a homeless person “was put in contact with resources, and will have a more acceptable place to live”, it will not cause the suitable housing or the supportive services to help the homeless stay housed and get their lives back together to appear. In real life, no fairy godmothers will appear with their magic wands.

Unfortunately there is also a complete lack of leadership and willpower to take the actions necessary to do more than recycle the homeless through the system.

Depressingly, the knowledge and best practices exist to reduce homelessness and bring about recovery and wellness for those dealing with mental illness and/or addiction. But until we have the will to subvert the dominant paradigm (put an end to the status quo) and drive change forward homelessness, mental illness and addiction will continue to be a bane of our communities and society.

It won’t be easy, it will take effort and require change but it can be done. We start by hanging a question mark on the things we know or have long taken for granted.

What happened to the prior gentleman who, for his own wellbeing, was removed from under the Peardonville overpass and put into contact with resources? Not as easy as a photo op and recycling an old story, but much more informative.

Action and reaction, ebb and flow, trial and error, change – this is the rhythm of living. Change: clearer vision, fresh hope – and out of hope, progress.

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Finding a better place to live

By Rochelle Baker – Abbotsford News

Abbotsford Police officers crawled into the debris-strewn crawl space under the bridge deck of the Clearbrook overpass on Thursday morning.

Gravel trucks on Highway 1 thundered past just feet below, blasting dust up and onto the narrow ledge packed tight with the carcasses of wrecked bikes, bags of garbage and broken bottles.

Officers were there to help the city workers clean up the site and try to convince the man who called the bunker his home to seek alternative shelter.

Two Salvation Army workers were also on scene to liaise with the man.

Const. Ian MacDonald said such camps are safety hazards that have resulted in tragedy before.

In February a homeless man perished in a fire underneath the Peardonville highway overpass after heating his shelter with open fuel sources.

The city, police, and outreach workers try to make contact with people living in homeless camps and find them more suitable housing prior to cleaning them up, said MacDonald.

“My understanding is we encountered one individual [Thursday] morning and he was put into contact with resources, and will have a more acceptable place to live.”