{"id":1472,"date":"2009-10-06T16:01:06","date_gmt":"2009-10-06T23:01:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jameswbreckenridge.ca\/breckenridge\/?p=1472"},"modified":"2011-10-13T03:35:24","modified_gmt":"2011-10-13T10:35:24","slug":"abbotsfords-housing-leadership-vacuum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jameswbreckenridge.ca\/?p=1472","title":{"rendered":"Abbotsford’s Housing Leadership Vacuum"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reading Mayor George Peary\u2019s comments regarding homelessness left me wondering if councillors are issued a simple \u2018crib sheet\u2019 or whether they are required to memorize the \u2018official city response\u2019 to parrot back on questions about homelessness.<\/span><\/p>\n

Setting aside why it is that the City of Abbotsford\u00a0 has such a limited amount of city owned land, one is left wondering why councillors keep pleading poverty whenever the issue of homelessness is raised.<\/span><\/p>\n

I have not heard people clamouring for the city to fund homeless initiatives. This is hardly surprising since people are well aware that it is the provincial and federal governments that must provide funding if we are to begin addressing the complex issues of homelessness, addiction, mental illness, poverty etc. Not based strictly on whose responsibility it is, but because of the reality that the senior levels of government are the ones who have sufficient financial resources to fund solutions.<\/span><\/p>\n

The city\u2019s lack of funds is not the poverty that is, and has been for years, the major impediment to addressing, rather than avoiding, the issues connected to homelessness solutions.<\/span><\/p>\n

A poverty of leadership from council, not a lack of funds, is the poverty that most interferes with making progress on these issues. It is this lack of leadership that has failed to rally the wide array of resources available in Abbotsford and the province of BC, preventing effective progress to be made on these issues.<\/span><\/p>\n

The difference between those communities building affordable housing and striving to address the issues that surround and interconnect with homelessness versus the communities pleading poverty or that it is not their responsibility or whatever the excuse de jour is for wringing their hands then sitting on them \u2013 is leadership.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is a desperate need for affordable, supportive, minimal barrier housing in Abbotsford. The Ebenezer home, a 91 bed supportive care home, sits empty. In a city with civic leadership on these issues \u2026 anything is possible.<\/span><\/p>\n

To relieve tension over<\/em><\/span> council<\/em> <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reading Mayor George Peary\u2019s comments regarding homelessness left me wondering if councillors are issued a simple \u2018crib sheet\u2019 or whether they are required to memorize the \u2018official city response\u2019 to parrot back on questions about homelessness. Setting aside why it is that the City of Abbotsford\u00a0 has such a limited amount of city owned land, one is left wondering why councillors keep pleading poverty whenever the issue of homelessness is raised. I have not heard people clamouring for the city to fund homeless initiatives. This is hardly surprising since people are well aware that it is the provincial and federal governments that must provide funding if we are to begin addressing the complex issues of homelessness, addiction, mental illness, poverty etc. Not based strictly on whose responsibility it is, but because of the reality that the senior levels of government are the ones who have sufficient financial resources to fund solutions. The city\u2019s lack of funds is not the poverty that is, and has been for years, the major impediment to addressing, rather than avoiding, the issues connected to homelessness solutions. A poverty of leadership from council, not a lack of funds, is the poverty that most interferes with making progress on these issues. It is this lack of leadership that has failed to rally the wide array of resources available in Abbotsford and the province of BC, preventing effective progress to be made on these issues. The difference between those communities building affordable housing and striving to address the issues that surround and interconnect with homelessness versus the communities pleading poverty or that it is not their responsibility or whatever the excuse de jour is for wringing their hands then sitting on them \u2013 is leadership. There is a desperate need for affordable, supportive, minimal barrier housing in Abbotsford. The Ebenezer home, a 91 bed supportive care home, sits empty. In a city with civic leadership on these issues \u2026 anything is possible. To relieve tension over council<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,20,54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-issues","category-municipal","category-snafu"],"yoast_head":"\nAbbotsford's Housing Leadership Vacuum - James W. Breckenridge<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jameswbreckenridge.ca\/?p=1472\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Abbotsford's Housing Leadership Vacuum - James W. Breckenridge\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Reading Mayor George Peary\u2019s comments regarding homelessness left me wondering if councillors are issued a simple \u2018crib sheet\u2019 or whether they are required to memorize the \u2018official city response\u2019 to parrot back on questions about homelessness. Setting aside why it is that the City of Abbotsford\u00a0 has such a limited amount of city owned land, one is left wondering why councillors keep pleading poverty whenever the issue of homelessness is raised. I have not heard people clamouring for the city to fund homeless initiatives. This is hardly surprising since people are well aware that it is the provincial and federal governments that must provide funding if we are to begin addressing the complex issues of homelessness, addiction, mental illness, poverty etc. Not based strictly on whose responsibility it is, but because of the reality that the senior levels of government are the ones who have sufficient financial resources to fund solutions. The city\u2019s lack of funds is not the poverty that is, and has been for years, the major impediment to addressing, rather than avoiding, the issues connected to homelessness solutions. A poverty of leadership from council, not a lack of funds, is the poverty that most interferes with making progress on these issues. It is this lack of leadership that has failed to rally the wide array of resources available in Abbotsford and the province of BC, preventing effective progress to be made on these issues. 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