Have you ever found yourself wondering if the super abundance of both Irony and homeless population in Abbotsford are inseparably intertwined as a consequence of some bizarre, intricate cosmic Dance of the Moirai?
If not you may want to be a little extra generous to give thanks you do not have to live inside my head.
It was a thought that coalesced around the irony of being asked to speak at a fundraiser for the 5 & 2, given that I would love to put the 5 & 2 out of business.
Fortunately – or should that be Unfortunately, I leave that for you to decide – for the 5 & 2, my ability to reduce the homeless population in Abbotsford is made moot by the ability of mayor and council to block any attempt to make permanent reductions in Abbotsford’s homeless population; a power mayors and councils have exercised several times since their first ‘NO’ in 2008. 1
Between them, the mayors, councils and ASDAC 2 oversaw the growth of Abbotsford’s homeless population that created the need that lead to the birth of the 5 & 2.
Crafting Housing First Action Plans for individuals is overwhelmed by the mayor and council’s enabling and supporting the continued growth of Abbotsford’s homeless population.
Mayor Braun’s recent comments to the media, as Abbotsford attempted to put the best spin on the victory the homeless won in their BC Supreme Court suit against Abbotsford, included stating that the mayor and council would continuing Abbotsford’s policy of enabling and supporting the growth of Abbotsford’s homeless population.
For the 5 & 2 the Good News is: Abbotsford remains committed to growing the need the 5 & 2 was created to serve; the Bad News is Abbotsford remains committed to growing the need the 5 & 2 was created to serve.
I have no idea why Abbotsford’s mayors and councils have and continue to enable and support increasing Abbotsford’s homeless population while preventing and ignoring the use of the ONE approach demonstrated to effectively and permanently decrease the homeless population – but they have.
If the Powers-That-Be in Abbotsford had any interest in reducing the homeless population in Abbotsford, one would have thought they would have joined me in Burnaby at the 2 day learning opportunity where the Mental Health Commission of Canada shared the results of the research study3 conducted for the federal government 3
The learning opportunity was intended to enable any community or jurisdiction that wanted to reduce their homeless population to do so by effectively enabling the homeless to permanently maintain housing instead of repeatedly recycling through services and the system – an expensive and pointlessly wasteful exercise [behaviour].
Or having somehow managed to overlook or miss THE 4 opportunity to learn how to reduce Abbotsford’s homeless population – this year rather than at some vague point in the future – from those with the most experience in Canada with reducing homeless populations permanently, you would think at least a member or two of council would have followed up or made inquiries after the mayor and individual councillors were sent copies of the article written about the 2 day learning opportunity and the demonstrated effectiveness of the Housing First Action Plan approach.
Even approaching the mayor, the chairperson of the homeless advisory committee5 and at least one other councillor and speaking to them in person about the results of the research study did not elicit either interest or follow up.
Of course ignoring information about an approach that is effective in permanently reducing homelessness is far easier and far less public an exercise that publicly confirming the mayor and council’s continued support for and enabling of the growth of Abbotsford’s homeless population.
As is having a Homeless Advisory Committee 5 approach to dealing with its homeless population.’
A statement that allows citizens to hear what they want to hear – that mayor and council are reducing Abbotsford’s homeless population.
Even as the actions and behaviours of the mayor and council enable and support the continued growth of the homeless population.
Search as they might mayor and council will not find a miraculous, fast, effortless, simple made-in-Abbotsford solution that permanently reduces the homeless population.
No such ‘solution’ exists.
Well …….
There is always an easy solution to every problem – neat, plausible, and wrong. H. L. Mencken
The only ‘accomplishment’ of the mayor and council’s made-in-Abbotsford quest will be to continue to enable and support the growth of Abbotsford’s homeless population.
No matter what reason Abbotsford’s mayors and councils have or have had for ignoring or disliking the Housing First Action Plan [the time, effort and commitment required to effectively create and execute the Plan?] the reality is that a Housing First Action Plan is the only approach that has demonstrated the ability to enable the homeless to permanently maintain housing.
As if the 5 & 2’s cup did not runneth over as a result of the mayor and council’s enabling support of the continued growth of the homeless population …..
When you say 5 & 2 people think ‘homeless’, it is one of those things everybody ‘knows for sure – that ain’t so’. Sadly, the need – the growing need – is much more widespread than ‘just the homeless’.
For those on disability, physical or mental, housing costs leave you little or nothing for ‘luxuries’ such as food or heat or warm clothing.
While I doubt it was the reason they chose the location adjacent to Jubilee Park for the two new seniors residences, that location benefits the many seniors who need the meals and other items the 5 & 2 makes available in Jubilee Park.
Fixed incomes and rising costs, in particular for housing, mean lines for meals, food and other necessities contain a growing number of seniors.
Then there is the fact, whether it was on purpose or the result of a failure to think their actions through and pay attention to the consequences of their actions does not really matter, that governments have created a new class of working poor.
A class of worker whose wages, even if they get 40 hours a week, are not sufficient, at least in the lower mainland, to pay for both shelter [rent] and food or other extravagances such as electricity, clothing, toiletries, dental care.
The disabled, seniors, families on limited incomes, the working poor, all face the need to keep the temperature turned down in order to keep the utility bill affordable and power turned on. If you need to keep the temperature down you need layers of clothing to stay warm.
If they could afford the clothing they wouldn’t needed the clothing because they could afford the utility costs to stay warm without layers of clothing. One of the many gotchas and Catch 22s disability, old age and poverty make you a victim of.
An individual’s needs do not change because increased demand upon other agencies such as the food bank forces those agencies to stretch resources further – thinner – rather the clients of those agencies are forced to forage further afield to meet their needs.
Be generous, keep in mind that the 5 & 2 is the delivery system the funds raised served allow the 5 & 2 to meet the growing needs of the most vulnerable citizens [a subset that is itself growing] of Abbotsford, needs that are not wants but needs that are far too often survival needs.
Notes:
- in 2008, as the first step to eliminating homelessness in Abbotsford, the ad hoc Fraser Valley Housing Network [FVHN] brought Philip Mangano, the US White House’s homeless Czar, to Abbotsford to speak in support of the Network’s plan to use the funding BC Housing had agreed to provide to build [$11 million] and fund supports and services [$600,000 per year] designed and created using the Housing First Action Plan approach.
Abbotsford’s mayor and council voted not to not support the Housing First Action Plan approach, even though it was and remains – the only approach demonstrated to enable the homeless to maintain permanent housing rather than simply recycling them through the services provided by well established service providers.
To acknowledge the FVHN for all the hard work in researching and finding how to reduce homelessness in Abbotsford, securing funding to finance the cost of reducing homelessness in Abbotsford and for bringing Mr. Mangano to share his expertise on the effectiveness of Housing First Action Plans in reducing homelessness and about what actions facilitated the effective implementation of a Housing First Action Plan, mayor and council decided there was no need for the FVHN to continue to seek solutions to affordable and/or supportive housing in Abbotsford.
To that end it was decided that the mayor and council would only be advised about housing and homelessness by Abbotsford’s Social Development Advisory Committee – once the committee was created. ↩
- ASDAC: Abbotsford’s Social Development Advisory whose advice to Abbotsford’s mayor, council and city staff ‘disappeared into a void in City Hall’.
ASDAC was ignobly dismissed with the creation of the Abbotsford Homeless Task Force because mayor and council needed someone to blame – lest voters decide to hold mayor and council responsible for the consequences [the increasing and increasingly visible homeless population] of their actions and non-actions.
It was the suggestion that it was the failure of ASDAC’s advice that was responsible for the failure of the city to address homelessness that lead to the comment from the committee that any advice they send to city hall effectively disappeared into a void, never to be heard about again. ↩
- the Canadian federal government provided $110 million to fund a 5 year research study of effectiveness of a Housing First Action Plan to reduce homelessness. Housing First Action Plans were created and executed in 5 cities across Canada – Moncton, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver.
In January of this year [2015] as part of the research study the Mental Health Commission of Canada, the agency responsible for managing the research study, held a 2 day learning exchange/opportunity at which they reviewed the results of the study.
During the two days there was ample opportunity to speak with and ask questions of members of the team responsible for conducting the research.
Attendees also had the opportunity to hear from and question those who oversaw the creation and execution of the Housing First Action Plans and some of those responsible for executing the various components of the plan such as the person who managed the housing portion of the plan in Vancouver.
The research study resulted in the creation of an online ‘toolbox’ built using knowledge and experience gained over the 5 years in the 5 cities. The toolbox is designed to ensure a Housing First Action Plan includes all the supports and services necessary to enable the homeless to reach a point where they can maintain housing and continue forward on their own.
The toolbox also provides ideas, experience and options in how to provide the needed supports and services. on the effectiveness of using the Housing First Action Plan approach to reduce homelessness. ↩
- a Housing First Action Plan is the only approach that has demonstrated – repeatedly – around the world that it is effective in permanently reducing homelessness. Studies of the traditional approaches used, conducted in recent years, have found the ‘this is how we do it’ approaches are ineffective [the results on par with the success rate achieved by those who quit on their own] and a waste of money and resources.
The research/study makes it clear that it requires a commitment of 18 months [sometimes more] to get the homeless to a place they can remain housed and continue to seek wellness without needing additional support. ↩
- Abbotsford Homeless Advisory Committee is composed of members of the various ‘communities’ [business for example] who have no experience or expertise with homelessness or the homeless and of service providers providing services to the homeless – which begs the question “shouldn’t there be no need for the Homeless Advisory, because there are no, or only a few, homeless if the service providers have/had any clue how to enable the homeless to remain housed permanently, thus reducing homelessness?”
Given that the service provider’s livelihoods and the continuation of those livelihoods depends on the continued recycling of the homeless through the services they are paid to provide and that a proven effective program [such as the well proven Housing First Action Plan] would , even if it did not totally put them out of business, cut the business of providing services to the homeless.
If you – as has been demonstrated it is possible to achieved over time – cut the homeless population by 90%, you have cut the business of providing services to the homeless by 90%.
Which predicts that with a Homeless Advisory Committee that – as a consequence of the decision as to how members of the committee are chosen – excludes the homeless, and does not require [excludes] any experience, understanding or knowledge of homelessness, substance use, mental health, what is required and how to enable the homeless to maintain housing and whose members have backgrounds such as Abbotsford’s Homeless Advisory does …….
……. you will get ‘advice’ that leads to more shelters and/or shelter beds; more outreach services [of the type and nature currently provided]; drop ins and other advise that requires service providers and continuous recycling the homeless through the services provided by the service providers.
It is why the results, the numbers, for the Maple Ridge shelter had 245% of the homeless population in Maple Ridge PLUS Pitt Meadows [the 2014 homeless count did not split out the results of the homeless count into the individual cities].
Or stated another way: according to the numbers reported Maple Ridge, with a negative 121 homeless people on the streets, does not have a homeless person in Maple Ridge and will not have a single [ ONE] homeless person until 122 homeless people move to or are created in Maple Ridge.
Recycling, a great business to be in because business just keeps coming back time after time after time after time after time ………….
………. while you will not get advice that year after year reduces the number of homeless, thereby reducing the services required and thus reducing the money to be made providing those services – year after year after year.]/ref] with members whose income depends on continuing to recycle the homeless repeatedly through their services.
However Mayor Braun, no doubt bolstered by his experience as a city councillor and the success of using buzzwords ie Action Plan [for an ‘action plan’ that did not contain the most basic needed ingredient – actions to be carried out], managed the matter of confirming his and council’s continued enabling and support of the growth of Abbotsford’s homeless population most adroitly.
“Abbotsford remains committed to pursuing a Made-in-Abbotsford 6an approach that has resulted in Abbotsford Police Department officers slicing up homeless tents/shelters and/or bear spraying the homes and belongings of the homeless; that has given Abbotsford international notoriety for its use of chicken feces against human beings the city didn’t want – the homeless – and a reputation for holier-than-thou meanness of spirit, selfishness and parochialism. ↩