From the desk of Karen O'Shannacery, E.D.

...Continued from the Home Page

“I have four key messages that I want to share with you:

1. The homeless population is diverse and has a significant variety of needs and it takes a diversity of services and housing to meet their needs. Homelessness is not limited to street and shelter users.
2. There is not enough affordable housing units available to meet the needs of society – we have rising poverty amongst the working poor, seniors, disabled people, families. Many are affected...and this is what the issue is – and what we need to remain focussed on.
3. The 1,500 units of housing planned under the MOU was meant to be part of an overall strategy to address homelessness – not expected to take 1,500 people off the streets and put them directly into new housing. We know that this doesn’t work for most.
4. The report shows that non profits are meeting expectations and the MOU requirements. This should be celebrated!

Lookout has been providing solutions to homelessness for 40 years. We are minimal barrier, flexible, accepting and very client centred. Many of our clientele have been considered the “hard-to-house. ”

We know what it takes to successfully transition people out of a life of chaos to more stable, healthier lifestyles and homes.

The homeless includes the absolute homeless and those in shelters, but also the invisible homeless such as the couch surfers, such as women who trade sex for housing until they have housing. The homeless includes people who are at high risk of losing their housing and people who are “mis-housed” because of the lack of options for them –for men, women, couples, young, old... mentally ill, people with addictions, chronic health concerns and so on.

And of course, it takes a variety of resources to meet the diversity of the homeless and to prevent homelessness – including these sites that are meant to do this by balancing the mix in the building to create a secure and healthy living environments.

For some, they can come in from the street. Others need time to transition. Others escape the street into inadequate housing or are ‘parked’ in them as there are no housing options – and unfortunately, most of that affordable inadequate housing is located in the DTES in the SRO’s. Many are ready for their next steps. All are deserving of a decent, affordable home. All equally need a home.

We need a continuum of housing options to be truly effective in solving homelessness. All parts play an important role – shelters, SRO’s, transition houses, transitional housing, boarding homes, even detoxes/rehab centres/recovery homes. We need to stay focused on matching people to the best available option for them. That is a best practice.

Like others, Lookout has an agreement with BC Housing and intends, as have the other groups, to fully meet those commitments within the funding constraints we have.

In this way, working together, we will solve homelessness. Let us celebrate that we are making a difference. Let us non profits, experts in the successful provision of services, continue to do our job.,

For my last words, I find that the current media reports are painting only a portion of the picture around tenanting and don’t recognize the homeless that are not on the street or in shelter – nor are the homeless who are at risk being considered. I welcome continuing the discussions on developing statistical tools to more accurately capture this info.”

Karen