There is a woman who volunteers on Wednesday evenings to help prepare, serve and clean up after the meal for the homeless and other hungry citizens of Abbotsford.

Last week she was not at her best because she had just lost her home to fire. But this week she was back helping with dinner although she is now living in her car.

She is living in her car because, like far to many others, she has a very limited budget which sets severe limits on what she has to spend for rent and has been unable to find any place within her budget.

Governments can come up with whatever plans they want to help people find housing, people can utter whatever platitudes they want about “they’re homeless because they want to be” but the reality of homelessness for many is that there simply is no places available at a price they can afford.

And while that is a reality that politicians and the public need to recognize it is not the reason I sat down to share this story.

I am writing it because the homeless have expressed to me their belief, their concern that it is not healthy (in a variety of ways) for this woman to be living in her car and their anger that nobody in the Christian community of which she is a part is stepping forward to find or offer her a place to stay, even temporarily.

I leave it to you to ponder what it says about Abbotsford as a community that it is the homeless who are upset about the fact this disabled, not young woman is forced to live in her car while the rest of the community seemingly ignores her plight.

Trust me, I have no illusions about life and the homeless. In fact I just posted a piece on thanklessness on www.homelessinabbotsford.com

But the harsh reality, the unpalatable truth for many, is that it is far cheaper and ultimately more productive to house and deal with the homeless.

If you know any smokers and have watched people struggle trying to quit you have watched addiction in action. Do you think smokers started out thinking I want to be addicted to nicotine? No, they smoked to be cool, to control weight, to bug their parents etc….. They gave no thought to becoming an addict. They are just luck that the substance they are addicted to is legal and causes only limited physical and mental impairment.

Addiction is not the question here. Well, except to the extent that it is a “button pushing” issue for many and the cold hard facts of dealing with addiction and the cost of addiction get lost under peoples reaction to their buttons being pushed on addiction. People get stuck in the “I won’t help them bums!” and fail to see, or perhaps that is accept, that helping is cheaper than not helping,

It is just both cheaper and more effective in helping the addict to provide housing (of a sort, I am not speaking of luxurious accommodations) and support. As I say it is one of the great ironies that it would save money to house and help the homeless as opposed to having them on the streets and as I noted if you jail them your cost triples or more.

The other point is that this approach has a much higher success rate in helping addicts get into long term recovery so that not only do you get the huge cost savings when (most) get back to work but you get them contributing their taxes to help pay for the next bunch of idiots to slide into addiction.

But for me the real advantage is that as part of this housing and support we would put in place the housing and support systems for those who are not capable of helping them selves. Some of those you see sitting around the park looking stoned are no such thing, they are just not all there or capable of looking out for themselves and “normal people” avoid them so who else can they hang out with who will not judge them.

I volunteer with the Special Olympics and there are disturbing number of homeless who the only difference between them and people in Special O is that someone was/is there to help the people in Special O while those on the street had/have no one to fight for them.