Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Prejudices Homelessness
There are many miss conceptions as to what homeless people are. As a sub group, homeless people are victims of discrimination. The main ones are that, it's their fault if they are in that situation, they are not educated, they dont wash themeselves and that they are all alcoholics. When people walk by a homeless person they tend to think, "get a job". But imagine how hard it is to find a job when homeless. You don't have a car, you don't have a computer to write a CV and then, how are you going to dress for the interview? And what will you tell the interviewer when he asks about your background. Maybe it is possible to get a job, but infront of that wall, I can understand why many of them don't even try.
Homeless Statistics.
Shelter Occupancy Rates by Canadian Province March 2001
According to the 2001 census, the following occupancy rates in Canadian shelters (meaning homeless shelters, halfway houses and emergency lodgings for abused spouses and their children) on one day in March were reported as:
Canada 14,145 (total)
Ontario 6,100
Quebec 3,365
Alberta 1,935
British Columbia 1,085
Manitoba 885
New Brunswick 265
Saskatchewan 255
Nova Scotia 165
Newfoundland and Labrador 45
Northwest Territories 20
Yukon Territory 15
Prince Edward Island 5
Nunavut 5
Ontario 6,100
Quebec 3,365
Alberta 1,935
British Columbia 1,085
Manitoba 885
New Brunswick 265
Saskatchewan 255
Nova Scotia 165
Newfoundland and Labrador 45
Northwest Territories 20
Yukon Territory 15
Prince Edward Island 5
Nunavut 5
"The data should not be interpreted as Canada's homeless population but the number of people in shelters that day."
The statistics are fairly accurate for a "one day spot check," says Diane Morrison, executive director of The Mission, a homeless shelter in Ottawa. The numbers reflect only the month of May, when the census was taken.
"If the data had been taken during winter, when we experience our highest occupancy rates, the results would have been quite different," she says.
This is only for one day out of 365 days, can you imagine how dominant this problem is. Its a reality that we are faced with, however, not many people are aware of the situation.
Groups say federal program to combat homelessness is in limbo
In the 1993 film Groundhog Day, Bill Murray’s character wakes up to relive the same horrible day over and over and over again. Across the province advocates for the homeless are identifying with the film’s plot line as they wait for the federal government to announce the guidelines and budget for the Homelessness Partnering Strategy (HPS) funding.
The community-based program to combat homelessness has existed since the beginning of this millennium. In Quebec, $18 million is spent annually throughout the province, roughly $750,000 of that is used in Sherbrooke.
Several local organizations, such as Chaudronnée, la Source-Soleil and the Maison Jeunes-Est, benefit from the program to continue long-term projects and offer services.
The funding has also helped develop new responses to urgent needs, primarily when it comes to transitional and supportive housing.
But in 196 days the funding ends prompting agencies to urge the federal government to act quickly.
Table de concertation sur l’itinérance à Sherbrooke along with its partners in the group Réseau SOLIDARITÉ itinérance du Québec (RSIQ), a network of services for the homeless, is reminding the federal government to not neglect their commitment to prevent and reduce homelessness.
“The services for our homelessness community have proven effective for people and are recognized by others in our milieu. It is deplorable that the partners must continually mobilize to demand the resources they need to maintain these services especially since a pan-Canadian assessment found the HPS program to be very successful,” said Marie-Claude Vézina, RSIQ president and spokesperson for the Table itinérance à Sherbrooke, which alone helps between 1,000 and 1,300 people annually.
Across the province last week RSIQ members and partners gathered outside the offices of the Secretariat of partnerships to fight against homelessness in Montreal and Gatineau and held rallies in various regions to ask the federal government not to leave its most needy citizens out in the cold.
The current budget for the HPS in Quebec is the same as in 2001 despite the increasing needs and rising costs of both intervention and real estate. Rather than ask community organizations to maintain the same level of service with a restrictive budget the RSIQ is requesting the HPS annual budget to be increased to $50 million in Quebec for the 2011 to 2014 period.
Members of the RSIQ are apprehensive that the program’s guidelines may be amended prompting them to ask that it continue to operate under general-interest financing allowing it the flexibility to enable a diverse amount of projects geared to the needs of individual communities.
Lastly the groups are requesting that the federal government not drag its feet any longer and implement the 2011-2014 HPS quickly to avoid disruption of services before March 31, 2011.
By Corrinna Pole, The Record, The voice of the eastern Townships.
http://www.sherbrookerecord.com/content/view/517309/1/
The community-based program to combat homelessness has existed since the beginning of this millennium. In Quebec, $18 million is spent annually throughout the province, roughly $750,000 of that is used in Sherbrooke.
Several local organizations, such as Chaudronnée, la Source-Soleil and the Maison Jeunes-Est, benefit from the program to continue long-term projects and offer services.
The funding has also helped develop new responses to urgent needs, primarily when it comes to transitional and supportive housing.
But in 196 days the funding ends prompting agencies to urge the federal government to act quickly.
Table de concertation sur l’itinérance à Sherbrooke along with its partners in the group Réseau SOLIDARITÉ itinérance du Québec (RSIQ), a network of services for the homeless, is reminding the federal government to not neglect their commitment to prevent and reduce homelessness.
“The services for our homelessness community have proven effective for people and are recognized by others in our milieu. It is deplorable that the partners must continually mobilize to demand the resources they need to maintain these services especially since a pan-Canadian assessment found the HPS program to be very successful,” said Marie-Claude Vézina, RSIQ president and spokesperson for the Table itinérance à Sherbrooke, which alone helps between 1,000 and 1,300 people annually.
Across the province last week RSIQ members and partners gathered outside the offices of the Secretariat of partnerships to fight against homelessness in Montreal and Gatineau and held rallies in various regions to ask the federal government not to leave its most needy citizens out in the cold.
The current budget for the HPS in Quebec is the same as in 2001 despite the increasing needs and rising costs of both intervention and real estate. Rather than ask community organizations to maintain the same level of service with a restrictive budget the RSIQ is requesting the HPS annual budget to be increased to $50 million in Quebec for the 2011 to 2014 period.
Members of the RSIQ are apprehensive that the program’s guidelines may be amended prompting them to ask that it continue to operate under general-interest financing allowing it the flexibility to enable a diverse amount of projects geared to the needs of individual communities.
Lastly the groups are requesting that the federal government not drag its feet any longer and implement the 2011-2014 HPS quickly to avoid disruption of services before March 31, 2011.
By Corrinna Pole, The Record, The voice of the eastern Townships.
http://www.sherbrookerecord.com/content/view/517309/1/
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