The day I spoke to Abbotsford’s Homeless Task Force about the importance of taking the finances of the BC provincial government into consideration in drafting Abbotsford’s Housing First Action Plan, one of the other people presenting to the Task Force was a concerned citizen who was there to share what her research had revealed about reducing homelessness in Abbotsford.

I admit that assuming that the goal of the task force was to reduce homelessness in Abbotsford flew in the City of Abbotsford’s, and those who chose to aid and abet them, behaviour.

But, just in case either the task force was not just another political correctness exercise on the part of mayor, council and city hall OR the members of the task force wanted to actually begin to reduce homelessness in Abbotsford it was imperative the state of the province’s finances be allowed for.

Unfortunately the Task Force produced a Report that was visually impressive, full of buzz words and devoid of any content useful in reducing homelessness in Abbotsford.

As the concerned citizen who shared the results of her research on reducing homelessness told the Task Force, the only approach that has been demonstrated to reduce homelessness and promote long term wellness, is the Housing First approach

Her research would also have revealed that reducing homelessness does NOT require arcane knowledge. Reducing homelessness requires some basic – and straight forward research – and a willingness to accept the facts. As opposed to ignoring the facts because they are not what you want to hear and searching for facts telling you want to hear.

An ignoring of reality that has been ongoing in Abbotsford since 2008, when those seeking to reduce homelessness in Abbotsford arranged for Philip Mangano [the Bush administrations homeless czar for the US} to speak to the ability of Housing First to reduce homelessness and the fact that Housing First is the only approach that has demonstrated the ability to reduce homelessness.

A simple google search will take the searcher to the latest [and large scale] demonstration of Housing Firsts reduction of homelessness funded by the Canadian federal government and overseen by the Mental Health Commission of Canada – the At Home Project.

Research into our traditional approaches to treatment and homelessness [i.e. Kinghaven] shows that these approaches do not achieve long term wellness at a rate higher than that achieved by those seeking wellness on their own. The research clearly demonstrates that the only beneficiaries of our current approaches are the service providers and their employees who depend on repeatedly recycling people through the system for their cash flow and employment.

In fact, as noted by Philip Mangano when he spoke in Abbotsford about reducing homelessness, the traditional service providers have a vested interest in the status quo, business as usual, because – while the Housing First approach may not put them totally out of business – Housing First’s ability to promote wellness, recovery and housing will significantly reduce the need for the services they provide and thus cash flow and employment.

Housing First is the only way to reduce homelessness. Since Housing First Action Plans must reflect and take into consideration the local state of homelessness, resources and the community; Action Plans must be drafted, crafted, locally. Local municipal governments must either provide the leadership to draft the Action Plan or provide full and active support to those crafting the Housing First Action Plan.

Housing First was the only approach that reduces homelessness in 2008, when a group of concerned citizens tried to bring Housing First to Abbotsford to stem the rising tide of homelessness and begin to reduce the number of homeless on the streets of Abbotsford. To which Abbotsford City Council said ‘No’.

It remains true in 2015 that if you want to change the current policies of spending millions of dollars year after year recycling people through the system time after time and spend your money enabling people to get their lives back and in reducing homelessness – Housing First is your only choice.

Any action other than implementing Housing First permits homelessness to continue to grow. Any choice other than creating a Housing First Plan, turning the Plan into an Action Plan and implementing the plan squanders money, resources and time.

Given that there is only one course of action – assuming your purpose is to achieve a reduction in homelessness – Abbotsford City Council and its abettors have squandered taxpayer’s money, time, opportunity and lives through their  injudicious, feckless and negligent actions and behaviours.