I have a place - I feel human again. (paraphrased from video) Homeless doesnt just cost dollars - it crushes ones soul. Without a stable place to stay it is almost impossible to deal with any of the issues that contributed to being homeless in the first place. Housing First programs exist in Canada and are excelling. Anyone homeless has an enormous journey ahead of them. A place to live is not the END of any story.. it is the beginning of a very long journey. However it is almost impossible to begin that journey while in a shelter. There are so many generous, well-intentioned individuals and organizations that donate an enormous amount of resources - time and dollars - to the homeless in our society. And shelters fill a real need on our streets... we can not have people living outside because they have no where to go. But shelters were and should be looked at as a temporary solution only. We have exciting opportunity at this point in time to work on housing solutions. Housing will help to stabilize those in need to the point where they can work on issues which led to their homeless situation in the first place. It is our choice - dollars for shelters (temporary solution) or housing (permanent solution). NOTE: I am NOT advocating one over the other. We need both. But as long as our dollars go to shelters ONLY, the number of homeless will continue to increase as will the costs. It just makes sense - economically as well as morally - to spend dollars on both sides. This is a way more complex issue then my few words here can summarize accurately. Just my humble thoughts as I was watching this video.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Dec 2014 19:02:12 +0000
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