Monthly Archives: January 2006

Homeless

Footnote 1 – Dignity

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I have been accused of having to much pride in that I have not asked for all the help as often as I could – or more importantly as often as I should have. Pride? Or just the need ton preserve my dignity? I do not know. I will acknowledge that as my self-esteem has healed my ability to share the fact of my being homeless with others has grown. It is also true that after the latest ‘put down the homeless’ rant I heard I had to send the web address to this site to the household, not as Mr. H but as moi. I have not yet heard back but it was something I felt I had to do and was comfortable with whatever comes of that action. Of course this does emphasize that people have an image I in their heads of the homeless, an often highly inaccurate image, and do not see me (a homeless person) as fitting their image. Having judged me as a fellow worthwhile citizen they feel free to denigrate the homeless to me – how very ironic. A person at the table I was eating lunch at the Salvation Army at was likewise running down the homeless (or perhaps just trying to build herself up by putting others down0. When someone at the table informed her I was homeless she refused to believe it. After all I was to clean and presentable – not at all like the public perception of the homeless. She may well still not believe I was homeless but she did act differently after being informed I was homeless. lol She claimed she only came to the Salvation Army for company over lunch (from those she deems acceptable) and so she would not have any dishes to clean up. If these are the true reasons she was eating food prepared for those in need I can only suggest she take a long, hard, soul searching look in the mirror before decides to disparage the homeless. A case of the pot calling the kettle “sooty bottom”.

I will stop here and leave you with this thought – what does it truly say about the public at larges views and the true nature of the homeless that these self-appointed experts, who felt free to hold forth on how terrible and worthless homeless people are, cannot even recognize a homeless person sitting in front (or beside) them?

Homeless, Municipal, Provincial

Stop wasting $$$…

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… and there will be more than enough $$$!!

While writing the article concerning the fact that the City of Abbotsford currently wastes hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs associated with the homeless to accomplish nothing, rather than spend money in a manner that would benefit both the city and the homeless, a thought occurred to me. Should the city try to get the provincial government to fund programs that are actually designed to address homelessness in a positive and effective manner, the province would undoubtedly cry “No money.” This seems a favorite response, unless the money is directed into the pockets of the well off, big corporations or the politicians pockets.

  • To help those who are in need of help – “No money.”
  • To fund programs to address the many different facets and aspects of homelessness and poverty? “No money.”
  • To deal with the reality of homelessness – “No money.”
  • To have the system actually render aid and help to those who need the help to get back on their feet – even if it means accepting that some freeloaders will get to freeload, but that those trying to find work and get back on their economic feet will get a helping hand? “No money.”
  • To serve the ideology of the government and embarrass the opposition? Millions, hundreds of millions of taxpayers dollars to waste.

As has been all over the news recently, a company is proposing a service between Vancouver and the Island. Where did the ferries for this proposed service come from? Why these are the same ferries that the provincial Liberal government rushed to sell at sub-sub-sub-sub-sub-sub-sub-sub-sub-sub- sub-sub-sub-sub-sub-sub-sub-sub-basement sale prices to make sure they could blame the NDP (who are themselves not without blame in the ferry fiasco). The ferries the government claimed ere no good, although it appears all that is needed to get use out of the ferries is so competence. Say, are we not currently spending hundreds of millions more providing jobs and benefits in a foreign country to purchase 3 ferries? Plus, just how much did the current government waste on P3’s? Evidently enough that the new Abbotsford hospital is a profitable investment for trading among foreign banks (Foreign? Again?).

How would I propose that we fund changes to the current system? Changes based on what is needed to address the varied needs of the diverse homeless people. Fund experimental programs to see what works, what does not and which are the most effective approaches. To actually begin to address homelessness rather than use it as a distraction or bogey man for the voters.

Funding is not a problem – if we can just get the provincial government to stop wasting all those hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars.