No one should be homeless in a country with Canada’s resources. Yet, across the country, we are witnessing dramatic increases in the number of people with no place to call home.

Homelessness – simply defined – is the absence of a place to live. A person who has no regular place to live stays in an overnight emergency shelter, an abandoned building, an all-night coffee shop or theatre, a car, outdoors, or other such places not meant to be living spaces.

In the early 1980s, it became obvious that there was an increasing number of individuals and families, in the wealthiest nations, who had no place of their own to live and did not have enough money to pay for life’s necessities. They once had housing. They once had enough money to get by on. They once had a support network of family and friends in combination with a public “social safety net.”

The person you see on the street is just the tip of the iceberg.The long-term or “chronically” homeless person – the individuals we tend to see on our streets – represent less than 20% of the homeless population. The rest are families and individuals who find themselves without a place to live for a period of time.

Download factsheets from our Resources section to help you identify the warning signs for homelessness, learn about solutions that work, and the practical things you can do to help combat homelessness in your community.

The tens of thousands of homeless Canadians are a diverse mix of young and old, families with children, couples and single people. Families with children are the fastest growing group. And, about a third of homeless people are living with some form of mental health problem.
Both the numbers of such people and the length of time they are homeless are increasing dramatically.

The reasons why people become homeless are complex. The basic cause is poverty. The underlying causes can include poor physical or mental health, violence or abuse in the home, lack of employment or an income, and a shortage of affordable housing in the community. No one chooses to be homeless and it can happen to anyone – from a teenager escaping an abusive care giver, to a senior citizen on a fixed income facing a rent or tax increase, to a child whose parents suddenly become unemployed. Today, the spiral from stability to distress can happen in the space of a five-minute meeting.

All homeless people have one thing in common – a lack of housing.
While homelessness is not just a housing problem, it is always a housing problem. For many households there is a large gap between the cost of housing and the money available to pay for housing.

Homelessness has escalated exponentially since federal and provincial governments have stopped funding social housing construction. In more cities, homelessness is also directly related to low vacancy rates. Tight or heated housing markets make it hard for anyone to find housing. For individuals or families trying to live on minimum wage, a basic pension or other fixed incomes, it is especially difficult – even in “normal” times.

Homeless want a patch of land.

A 42-year-old man sifts through his dirty belongings and attempts to drag the leaves and undergrowth over the shelter he created to fend off the winter nights. He was covered and out of sight for a few days and enjoyed some peace and quiet. However, a group of kids has now attacked his temporary home and left it exposed to Abbotsford’s police and city bylaw officers. He expects a visit from them any time now, and knows they will likely confiscate his remaining possessions -something he said has happened six times previously – and ask him to move along. However, Kerry Pakarinen is adamant he is going nowhere. And the reason? He says there is nowhere for him to go.

Pakarinen has been living in Abbotsford for the past six months having moved here from Vancouver. He had a home and a job locally, but said an ankle injury and his epilepsy contributed to his downfall and he has been living on Abbotsford’s streets for six weeks. Pakarinen currently calls a patch of woodland on Sumas Way. Ironically, Pakarinen is a trained home renovator, and he put those skills to good use by digging a shelter into the side of a hill and reinforcing it with makeshift beams that he found in the woodland. He just wants to be left alone to find a job and get himself on track, but at the moment has more pressing issues. “When I came from East Van I thought I had come to God’s country. I have come to the Bible belt but all I have found is the devil,” he said.

Despite spending time in a number of communities across Canada, Pakarinen is adamant that Abbotsford is one of the worst for its “treatment of individuals. “People turn a blind eye and look the other way. If they saw they would be shamed by what’s going on. “Pakarinen believes he is well-qualified to make such a statement, having been at the forefront of homeless issues in other communities. Acting as a media spokesman at the time, Pakarinen was one of the men behind the high-profile squat in the old Woodward’s building in Vancouver in 2002. The protest followed a decision by the B.C. Liberals not to build social housing in the structure, despite a commitment by the previous NDP administration to do so. The City of Vancouver eventually evicted the squatters through the courts and in 2003 bought the Woodwards building from B.C. housing for $5 million. In the summer, it will be made into houses, shops, green space and a post-secondary base for contemporary arts.

Having relocated to Abbotsford, Pakarinen is turning his attention to B.C.’s fifth-largest city.In February, the City of Abbotsford was criticized for elements of its homeless policy. At that time, city officials were accused of “stealing” the personal belongings of some of Abbotsford’s street people. In response to that, city spokesman Jay Teichroeb said bylaw officials gave homeless people 48-hours prior warning to shift from a particular area before city crews moved in to “clean it up. “Rather than “pushing around our poor folk,” Pakarinen said the city should designate a piece of property for homeless people to pitch their tents. “This has got to be better than chasing people all over the place.” he said.

Pakarinen said he does not do drugs, although he does smoke a small amount of marijuana to control his epilepsy. Basically, having been living paycheck to paycheck, he said he simply hit a run of bad luck. “A lot of people out there are hurting and they need the help of their society,” he said. “I will be working again. I just need a hand. “I am a pacifist. If you have a fear of me then come and I will make you a cup of coffee. It would be good to hear people’s ideas and concerns. Please don’t be fearful of me because I am homeless – I am just hurting.

“Abbotsford Mayor George Ferguson said on Thursday that he recognizes homelessness in Abbotsford is a problem. Ferguson was recently approached by local resident Richard Bell, who is pushing to find a patch of land for Abbotsford’s homeless to pitch their tents. Bell set a March 31 deadline for that bid, but despite failing within that time frame, he got Ferguson’s attention. According to Ferguson, there are provincial and federal issues that need to be addressed when it comes to homelessness, such as attempting to include Abbotsford in the share of money that is currently allocated to the Greater Vancouver Regional District. However, he said the city can also play its part. “We need to find a solution to this homeless situation and figure out how we can deal with,” Ferguson said.” I will be asking at the next council meeting that we set up a homeless committee to deal with the local problem. The weather is now going to improve, but hopefully we will get something resolved so we do not have this same problem next year. “Bell said he plans to appear before council within the next couple of weeks. “I made it clear that there is going to be a solution to this,” he said. “People need to have a place where they can live legally. How that can be achieved is what we have to work on.”

Editor, The News:

I have been living in Abbotsford for 15 years now. As a homeless person, I travel the city almost every morning. What I see when I look around is not a very pleasant sight.

I see teenage hoodlums walking on the downtown streets. They move in packs as if tied together by strings. It is as if these adolescents pile up into herds like cattle wherever they see room available for them.

Just yesterday I saw a homeless man looking for pop cans from the garbage because these young miscreants are to lazy and thoughtless to bother recycling.

I see people every day, pushing buggies filled with the garbage these ill-mannered striplings litter the environment with.

These thoughtless punks make Abbotsford look filthy, unsanitary, and like it is an unpleasant place to live.

It is not only in the morning this is happening. It is through the whole day, mostly at night.

Is this the way we want people to see Abbotsford? I do not think so.

As we all know, Vancouver is hosting the winter Olympics in 2010. Many people will be coming to Abbotsford, and athletes may also be coming to use our arena to practise.

I don’t think many people who come here would like to see our streets filled with juvenile delinquents. These reprehensible hooligans are nothing but a bad impression on Abbotsford.

I used to see Abbotsford as the “City in the Country,” but I no longer do. My question really is: Why is city council not doing anything about these black sheep whippersnappers?

What’s happening in Abbotsford is not so great. It’s time that city council took action and started doing something productive for once so Abbotsford can be the “City in the Country” again.

PS: Perhaps G. Saini would care to correct the demonstrated ignorance on the subject of the homeless by leaving that nice sheltered existence, venturing out into the real world and learning a little about real life by volunteering at the Cyrus Centre for at-risk youth. More information on the Centre is available on the web at www.cyruscentre.com.

G. Saini’s Original letter for you information

Editor, The News:

I have been living in Abbotsford for 15 years now. As a young high school student, I take the bus to school almost every morning. What I see when I look out the window is not a very pleasant sight.

I see homeless people waking up on the downtown streets. They have made clothing lines by tying strings to trees. It is as if the homeless pitch tents wherever they see room available for them.

Just yesterday I saw a homeless man looking for pop cans from the garbage outside my school.

I see homeless people every day, pushing buggies filled with their belongings.

The homeless make Abbotsford look filthy, unsanitary, and like it is an unpleasant place to live. It is not only in the morning this is happening.

It is through the whole day, mostly at night. Is this the way we want people to see Abbotsford? I do not think so.

As we all know, Vancouver is hosting the winter Olympics in 2010. Many people will be coming to Abbotsford, and athletes may also be coming to use our arena to practise.

I don’t think many people who come here would like to see our streets filled with homeless people.The homeless are nothing but a bad impression on Abbotsford.

I used to see Abbotsford as the “City in the Country,” but I no longer do. My question really is: Why is city council not doing anything about the homeless?

What’s happening in Abbotsford is not so great. It’s time that city council took action and started doing something productive for once so Abbotsford can be the “City in the Country” again.

G. Saini
Abbotsford