Outreach - Part 6

Prepared by: Theresa Cardey

We hope you have found the Lenten series presented by the Outreach Committee to be informative and educational. Now we are wrapping up this phase of the committee’s work.

The following is a summary of what we’ve learned so far:

1. People experiencing homelessness are like you and me...ordinary people.
   Poverty, an accident, loss of work, mental illness, drug addiction and divorce can all contribute to life falling apart and loss of safe, secure shelter. We learned about Mike, married with three kids and a good job who suffered a work accident. A dependency on prescription painkillers caused a downward spiral that left him unhoused and alone. And this is not an uncommon story.
   Another of the most touching stories is about a homeless person who, upon finally finding housing, was thrilled that he was now being called by his name, Joe, instead of “Homeless”.
   
   
2. Homelessness and housing are very complex issues involving multiple levels of government. Homelessness is related to Indigenous issues, climate change, refugees, lack of affordable housing and income security issues.
   
   
3. There is a shortage of housing in Hamilton. The private sector, the non-profit sector and all three levels of government must work together, putting their individual biases aside to work toward the common purpose.  We need smart and courageous governments to tackle this crisis.
   
   
4. We learned about alternative housing solutions like HATS (the Hamilton Alliance for Tiny Shelters) that have worked in other cities like Waterloo.

Where do we go from here?

As our Outreach committee moves forward our plan is:

1. to continue to inform with a presentation on May 1 by Jeff Nevin CEO of Indwell, a Christian charity that creates affordable supportive housing communities for people with special needs There will also be a presentation by Rene Hill, an indigenous speaker who will address many issues including housing.
   
   
2. We have been encouraged by your responses to our survey. A total of 60 people has responded so far and we have had 16 congregants volunteer to participate on the task force. The survey responses are still coming in, but so far there is a strong interest in advocating with the government to act now, fund-raising for organizations supporting people experiencing homelessness, and collaborating with other organizations to address the issue. We will be publishing the final results when the survey closes.
   
   
3. We will be reviewing all the input we’ve received and meeting as a committee in the coming weeks to develop an action plan of how St. Paul’s can contribute to solving the Homelessness and Affordable Housing crisis.
   
   

We are very encouraged by the level of interest and support we’ve been receiving. We know that working together, we can make a positive difference.

Recovery for All:
“I'm living proof we can end homelessness” https://youtu.be/jsz_L_6uKjA?t=2