Housed and Unhoused at the same time

This is the reality of the people we work with every day.

They carry everything they own with them; they fear it being stolen if they sleep.

This story has a twist this time; hint: they are housed, on paper.

Someone I have become super close to over the years; he is sweet, kind, smart, and brave. He cycles between being housed and unhoused often.

He is currently housed... in Watford. There are no soup kitchens, no supports, NOTHING in Watford. It is a small town about a 45 min drive from all the support services in Sarnia. He doesn't drive; he's biked it multiple times, but his bikes keep getting stolen. There is no public transit from there to here.

If they turn down the housing out there, they will be put at the bottom of the list, which, compared to our build rate, is a 65-year wait!

The county puts people in those areas, which is great! But those we work with are the wrong demographic to put out there.

Today, he had everything he owned around him in the field near my house. I stopped; his face lit up the moment he saw me!

I let him know my neighbours are horrible and would call the police. I asked him when he was last at his place; he said it's been a long time. I asked if I could sit with him and talk; he said, "Of course," super excited. I asked if he would like me to load up his items and take him and them to Watford. He was so grateful.

He looked around and opened his arms. He said Please take anything you would like, I said, " No, hun, these are yours. I don't need anything. You owe me nothing.

He was so grateful. He knew we had a meeting tonight and that I didn't have long to get him there, but he really wanted to sort everything out and figure out what he needed to sleep on the streets again. He was scared of being stuck in Watford alone. I said How about this. How about I drive you there with everything, and I will pick you up in the morning, but it has to be after my kids' swim lessons. I promised I would be there to pick him up. That will give him time to sleep and get ready properly.

He trusted us, so he agreed. So my SUV is stuffed FULL of everything he owns, and we are taking him "home" until tomorrow morning, when we will be there to get him exactly when we say we will.

He said you are really going to the meeting and talking to people in politics to help us again. What he doesn't know is we do it every day; it's just more public right now because of the upcoming election. He said You guys are miracle workers, I told him, " No, we are not. We are NOT miracle workers; we do what ALL humans should be doing: loving, caring, non-judgmental, supportive, and treating EVERYONE with respect and like they are important. Not as an act, not for clicks, likes, votes, etc but because THEY ARE.

So put those services there. Well, in our area we have many small towns, and very few services that could afford to set up not-for-profit food banks, clothing closets, etc. Then you would need to increase government funding for addiction services, mental health services, OW/ODSP offices and other services to go to all these areas.

It is far more cost-effective to house them close to the services and supports they use daily.