Part VI of VI

Braun said, “I know people say we are just studying this to death – no, we’re not.”

Mayor Braun you are not only studying it to death, you are POINTLESSLY studying it to death. By refusing to acknowledge the research and studies already done on Housing First Mayor Braun, City Council and the Abbotsford Homeless Advisory are preventing the creation and implementation of an effective Housing First Action plan that would reduce homelessness in Abbotsford.

As a consequence of their actions the homeless will continue to die needlessly of unnatural “natural causes’ that result from living unhealthy lifestyles.

No matter how Mayor Braun et al equivocate or what they tell themselves, in choosing not to create and implement an effective Housing First Action Plan they are choosing to be part of the problem.

Mayor Braun, City Council and members of the Abbotsford Homeless Advisory are responsibility for choosing to deliberately obstruct providing the supports and services needed for the homeless to transition from homelessness into housing and regain control of their lives.

A choice [a series of choices] that mean the numbers of homeless will continue to grow as the problems and issues are allowed to worsen and grow more complex. The longer the city dithers, ignores the reality of homelessness and what is required to enable to the homeless to be permanently housed, not just recycled, the longer it will require and the more costly it will be when the costs and consequences are so punishing Abbotsford is finally forced to use what has been demonstrated to reduce homeless numbers across Canada and around the world.

The federal government said it will provide a template for other similar-sized cities to do the same.

So Ed Fast and the federal Conservative government  are saying that the $110 million 5 year study of Housing First they funded was a waste of taxpayers money, that nothing of use was learned in the five years the study ran?

Because if the research study was worth the paper it was written on, there would be no need for Abbotsford to spend years doing research to try to create a ‘made in Abbotsford’ approach. Abbotsford would simply use the online toolbox created from the knowledge and experience gained during the federal government funded research study to create and implement an effective Housing First Action Plan – NOW.

The business as usual wasting of large amounts of taxpayer’s hard earned dollars, the waste of valuable time [research shows that individuals need a minimum 18 months of supports and services] and the failure to implement a Housing First Action Plan that will be effective is ……. well, stupid. Not to mention frustrating, maddening and an indictment of the mayor, city council, members of the homeless advisory.

The City of Abbotsford continues to demonstrate it lacks understanding of even the most fundamental concepts of what Housing First is about. In addition the actions and behaviours of the City of Abbotsford are in conflict with, or opposed to, the fundamental values of Housing First.

If you do not understand the concepts and principles of Housing First and the values you practice in your actions [it is not what you say, it is what do that produces outcomes] you are not capable of creating and implementing an effective Housing First Action Plan.

Case in point: Mayor Braun’s statement:

“Housing-first is a concept that focuses on getting homeless people under a roof as soon as possible, providing stability before addressing other potential issues such as mental health or drug use.”

While it is true that Housing First does not demand that the homeless jump through hoops such as treatment at Kinghaven before housing the homeless,  effective Housing First understands that getting a person under a roof as soon as possible does not provide stability. Simply getting a person under a roof is often destabilizing and gives rise to a variety of negative consequences.

To simply focus on getting homeless people under a roof as soon as possible means that you have looked at the surface and entirely missed the substance that effective Housing First is built out of.

Given recent debacles such as The Great White Elephant, the Abbotsford Heat and the start Monday [June 29th, 2015] of the trial of the homeless lawsuit against the City of Abbotsford you would have thought the mayor, council and the city bureaucracy would have come to realize the need to pay attention to the reality, the consequences of their actions.

Apparently not, since perception and wilful denial still drive the actions and behaviours of the City of Abbotsford.

If your car will not run common sense tells you to consult someone with knowledge and experience with cars and car repair.

Unless your are the City of Abbotsford which, standing there wringing its hands and proclaiming “Woe is Me”, notices a dent in the drivers door. And immediately concludes the dent in the door is why the car will not run and that a brand new, made-in-Abbotsford door will result not just in the car running but running like a million dollar race car.

With an election less than six months away the federal Conservative government is only to happy to fund the $400,989 cost of the City of Abbotsford’s fancy, made-in-Abbotsford new door.

Clearly for the politicians in Abbotsford and those in the federal Conservative party it is not about not their actions being effective [reducing the number of homeless]; it is about their actions being perceived as acting in a manner that will address homelessness.

“It’s not that they can’t see the solution. They can’t see the problem.” 

G.K. Chesterton

End Part VI of VI