Sleeping in Victoria

Finally!!

One has to wonder what kind of society we live in when, not only are people left homeless, we don't even want a homeless person covering their head while they sleep in a PUBLICLY OWNED space. That's how it has been in Victoria, City of Gardens, until yesterday.

A B.C. Supreme Court judge has struck down the City of Victoria's bylaws that prevent homeless people from sleeping in city parks.

In a judgment released today, Justice Carol Ross found it is unconstitutional to prevent homeless people from sleeping on public property or erecting shelter to protect themselves when there are not enough shelter beds available for the number who are homeless.

“We're very, very pleased,” said Catherine Boies Parker, one of the lawyers representing the people challenging the bylaws. “It's a huge step towards recognizing the importance of the safety and the dignity of homeless people.”

Victoria mayor Alan Lowe the local Times colonist reports, will release a statement later in the day.

“I'm sleeping in a tent-city tonight,” wrote David Arthur Johnston, one of the defendants challenging the bylaws, in an e-mail. Supporters were to meet at the Victoria court house at noon.

So now we wait and see. Will this scenario run like that of the courts ruling on Insite where the Conservative government is appealing the ruling that it is unconstitutional to not provide safe consuption space? Will the city decide they just don't want to support struggling people in the most simplest of ways?

On my blog, I can say what I want. Why, why does the ruling class hate helping those that struggle in our society?

It Takes A.....

I came across an interesting local study. Released last July 2005 by The Social Planning Council for the North Okanagan, one of the most interesting findings was the need of private landlords for adequate supports. In the study area (Vernon, BC), a good portion of affordable housing for harder to house individuals (those with FASD, brain injury, mental health issues, etc) is supplied by private landlords as opposed to social service agencies or government. The greatest barrier to both maintaining the current housing stock and expanding capacity, is profitability.

Profitability may seem like challenges our sensibilities when considering affordable housing for vulnerable populations. But consider what it takes to purchase, hold and maintain a property. There must but at least some sense of profit if even to maintain a replacement reserve. There is no doubt that there are nefarious landlords to be found. However, how often does a suite need to be rebuilt before it becomes a losing enterprise?

Here's what the study found:

"There is little information available that discusses strategies for working with the low-end private rental sector - the single largest source of rental housing for low income people in Canada - to offer safe, secure housing for individuals whose cognitive and/or behavioral impairments make it difficult for them to secure and maintain housing." (p. 20)

Further,

"The fact remains, however, that the private sector will continue to be the main provider of low cost rental housing in most communities across Canada, particularly in smaller urban and rural areas. The literature review confirms the need for intensive exploration of ways in which service providers can work with cognitively impaired tenants and with private sector landlords to provide the supports each needs to maintain stable housing situations." (p. 21)

I think that what we can take from this is the realization that it takes more than simply more housing stock. Don't get me wrong. More housing stock is an absolute nessecity. We are all aware of the low vacancy rate and very difficult time we have in finding housing for our clients. But that's just it. Landlords that want to see a return on their investment - or at least a break-even - are increasingly reluctant to accept individuals that are typically hard-to-house. We really need to make the case that the most important component to stable housing is support.

Questions, Questions

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to meet with various outreach/housing workers in town. Overwhelmingly, the message that I am receiving is that the housing directory/guide/binder was a fine exercise, but it rarely gets used. There are some common reasons for this.

First, it’s cumbersome. Let’s face it; pulling out a 4” binder to flip through isn’t exactly an efficient use of your time. It’s not very portable and it can be very difficult to search through.

Second, consider the probability of finding a vacancy in a ‘guide’ that may have been created six or more months ago. Is it up to date? Will any of these landlords accept your client? Why should they?

You can see the difficulty in having a hard copy. Would it be any better if it were delivered electronically? I know that outreach workers and others that work directly with our clients have precious little time to check their email, let alone some other (perceived) marginally useful tool. That’s why the binder never gets looked at. Something needs to happen. It may be that the very idea of this type of guide is moot if in fact there just isn’t the stock to place people. The most user-friendly, cross-referencable web guide in the world will not produce more housing.

The process that takes place in order to develop a resource such as this may, in fact, be the most valuable piece. It is through this process that we may find resources that before now we thought were inaccessible. Any engagement of interested parties will be at least as valuable as not engaging the process.

Can the information collected through this process be used to advocate for more stock? This remains to be seen. There appears to be plenty of evidence (CMHC, BC Housing) to support the need for more stock. The question remains on how to obtain it. Perhaps this is beyond the scope of this discussion and this project for that matter. The key, I think, is for the community – service providers, landlords, tenants and others to compile their voices and provide an integrated message that can garner positive, creative solutions to affordable housing

Recent Developments

Finding decent and affordable housing in Kamloops is showing itself to be an arduous task. I have spoken with some of the outreach workers in town and they describe it as tiring and disheartening. There just isn’t enough! The vacancy rate is so low that landlords can be increasingly fastidious about the kind of tenant they accept. This isn’t entirely surprising considering the kind circumstance some vulnerable people can bring to a place.

But consider what ‘affordable housing’ means. CMHC says that

“Affordability, one of the elements used to determine core
housing need, is recognized as a maximum of 30 per cent of the household income spent on shelter.” (http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/inpr/imhoaf/index.cfm)

Consider this: the $325 housing allowance that income assistance allows means that recipients (singles) should have an income of not less than $1083.33. Are any of your clients receiving that much?? How many safe, decent places have you found for your clients on income assistance for not more than 30% of their total income?

Perhaps as we move to a more user-friendly resource, more landlords will see the value of having the supports that come attached to the opeple we serve. Maybe, there will be there will be a (perceived, at least) value in a coordinated resource in the city.

Let me acknowledge those who have compiled similar directories in the past (some very recently). Keep in mind that I don’t claim this as a complete list:

• ASK
• Interior Indian Friendship Society (with funding from the National Homelessness Initiative)
• People in Motion
• Elizabeth Fry Society

Moving right Along

I was right. Although, not in an arrogant way. But, there are at least 3-4 housing directories in the city that other agencies have put together. I have found one at ASK, the E Fry Society, People in Motion and the Interior Indian Friendship Centre. If there are others out there I would sure appreciate knowing about it.

My greatest concern is that I will simply duplicate what has already been done. Only mine will have more pamphlets! Some have told me that the most success their clients have is in...the classifieds! This, along with the relationship that the professional has with various landlords.

This may be the case for others. If so, what would be the most useful kind of directory to have? Should it include brief (or more than brief) descriptions of the housing resource? Should it be printed, online or both? what about updateability?

Starting things off

I really don't know what else to call it. I want this to be a place where I can share some thoughts on the goings-on in our city (Kamloops, BC) province and country. Those who know me, know that I am a bit of a political junkie! This is particularly try around social issues. So much of this discussion will be devoted to things like affordable housing, mental health, addictions, poverty and disability issues. Please, feel free to add you comments or links and I may (or may not) post them.

My current issue is housing. I am working on a 'comprehensive' directory of safe, affordable housing in the Kamloops area. What do you see as the pitfalls to this? Do you have any ideas that may help with making this an easily updated resource? I want this to be as community-based as possible and I know that many of you may have already started or completed one of your own. Perhaps we could collaborate and make this a really inclusive project.

We know that there are lots (though not nearly enough) of affordable housing options for people. But how can this resource be coordinated to provide the greatest and easiest access for people? And what about the ethics around safety? You know the places I'm talking about - they're affordable but safety and security are not even a consideration. Would you in good conscience refer a client to those places. How would I get around that in a community directory?

I look forward to your opinions.
Sheldon