On Thursday June 29th 2006 “A Dialogue on Homelessness and Affordable Housing in the Fraser Valley” was held by the Fraser Valley Regional District in Chilliwaqck. It was a day with presentations from the communities involved, the provincial ministries that are needed as major supporters/partners in taking effective actions and a presentation from Canada Housing and Mortgage as another potential funding partner.

So much ground was covered that in order to get a real handle on, or an appreciation of, all the materials will require a review, once the materials are posted to the FVRD website. This has the bonus of making the material available to the public whose support, ideas and involvement are required in order to maximize the results of any needed actions, since it is clear that only a community response will prove effective. I urge readers to take the time to access the materials once they are posted in order to gain familiarity with at least some of the many facets of the issues.

It was encouraging to see all the mayors of the FVRD in attendance and to witness their engagement with these issues. Not only is their support and help needed if their communities are to take effective actions, but their collective resolve on these issues can provide political leverage in getting provincial and federal responsible action on these issues. At the same time the failure of the local MLAs’ and MPs’ to attend or acknowledge the importance of the Forum was a disturbing disappointment and suggests they are out of touch with regard to this pressing issue. With the notable exception of Harry Lali – MLA Yale-Lillooet.

While his attendance and recognition of these issues was good, it was not what caused me to take the opportunity to shake his hand and applaud his refreshing comment on policies and policy formation in these areas. Mr. Lali opined that perhaps the best approach for the provincial government to take in setting or adjusting policy is not to have the bureaucracy in Victoria draft what they think should be the policies/actions based on their limited, often non-existence understanding of the issues. Rather he suggested the novel approach of consulting not only those who have front line experience but the unthinkable (for politicians and bureaucrats) idea of asking those who have actually experienced the conditions/issues for input, suggestions and ideas. Perhaps his early departure was a result of the need to go into hiding for this heretical suggestion.

The attendance of and presentations from the representatives of the provincial ministries involved in these issues provided not only information, but the opportunity to meet and network with those who we need to work with and receive support from in order to make real, effective progress.

It was positive to see growing awareness of the complexity of the problems; the need for multiple approaches; the wide variety of issues and needs lumped under the one label of homeless; the need for political will to be brought to bear on the issues; that it will take a sustained effort to have any positive effect; the importance of support and follow through with the individuals we are aiding; the need to educate the public and provincial politicians as to the true face of homelessness and the need for affordable housing; that this is a community issue and that only a community wide response will prove effective in addressing these varied needs.
All in all this Forum is the most hopeful development this writer has witnessed since fate decreed that I obtain first hand experience and knowledge on/with the issues and needed actions on Homelessness and Affordable Housing.

I was recently reminded that how one feels about or looks at what is happening can very much depend very much on where you are standing. There can easily be two very different ways of seeing the same events, depending on whether one is on the inside or the outside.

I had a discussion with some people involved with the decision making process on actions to take in addressing homelessness. They felt things were moving along nicely, with all necessary speed. Later I had the chance to discuss what was taking place with the homeless. They felt things were moving at a glacial pace on making (non) decisions.

Clearly your view on these matters, whether or not decisions and actions occurred in a timely manner, was dependant on your living arrangements – literally whether you were lining on the outside or the inside of homeless issues. To those living on the outside – on the streets – and waiting on these decisions to obtain access to food, shelter, basic hygienic facilities, counselling and other forms of needed help, timely is pretty much NOW. To those making the decisions and who at the end of the “working day” go home to the comfort of shelter and food, timely does not have a set schedule or the same sense of urgency. When you think about it this difference is not surprising, that those with food and shelter lack the driving motivation for action of those without shelter or food.

Reality is that motivating those responsible for addressing problems to act in a timely manner is often difficult. How then do we provide motivation to those facing the highly complex and perplexing issues of homelessness and poverty? How do you motivate action and overcome the fear of making the tiniest mistake in a situation were even the very best choices are likely to give rise to some negative outcomes?

Creatively! I propose that those faced with making decisions on these issues be given an education immersion course that would enable them to gain first hand experience with the barriers faced by, and the needs of, those living homeless. We send those involved with planning and decision making to live in Compassion Park until some plans, decisions and actions are forthcoming. The City’s recent actions have rendered it unoccupied, clean and available for use. This way those tasked to address these issues gain both education and motivation. I am sure this would provide for planning and action in a much more timely fashion.