Submitted by Laurie Nealin
After Pat and Cec shared Abraham’s story with us, I approached Jarred Baker, the Mayor’s advisor on homelessness, to see if a service provider could help lift our neighbour up and out of his riverbank encampment.
Jarred recently shared the good news that the Downtown Community Safety Partnership (DCSP) was able to find and connect with Abraham. Liz Moore, manager of the DCSP’s Community Outreach Advocacy Resource Team (COAR), offered this update: her team has now submitted a couple of housing applications on Abraham’s behalf.
At the end of June, at Liz’s request, Pat, Cec and I, and fellow neighbourhood advocate Carmen met with her and Matt Halchakar, one of DCSP’s MAC 24/7 team managers. They told us about their operations and services they provide to unsheltered folks in downtown neighbourhoods and offered advice as to how residents can best tap into those services.
In turn, we spoke about our experiences and concerns related to DCSP, Main Street Project and other service providers and the shortcomings of the shelters. We discussed various housing options for people now living on the riverbanks and streets and how homelessness is significantly impacting neighbourhood liveability. They took our comments back to their teams and DSCP’s executive director.
Liz said that knowing we all share the same concerns was encouraging in working towards bigger solutions that would benefit everyone in our community. She promised to keep our line of communication open given the benefit for them in knowing about our needs and concerns.
She was especially pleased to learn that residents care about the fates of unsheltered people in our midst and promised to keep us updated on Abraham’s journey while still respecting matters of confidentiality.
We found common ground with DCSP on these points:
There is an ever-increasing urgency to move with intent on homelessness
People with mental health and/or addiction issues are not always capable of making good decisions on their living situations
Living in a riverbank encampment is a further detriment to their physical and mental health
Better outcomes would result if more funding would be allocated to address underlying issues and housing rather than continuing to spend money on band-aid initiatives with no long-term benefits
What you should know about DCSP services:
Residents should call the police – 911 -- to attend to people behaving erratically on private property, given that DCSP does not have authority to remove them
Residents should call DCSP at 204-947-3277 when we see someone in distress or believe a person we encounter could benefit from DCSP services
On first contact, residents can ask DCSP for a callback to learn how a situation was resolved / to be sure the situation was adequately addressed
DCSP assesses each person's situation and offers assistance accordingly
Community Outreach Advocacy Resource (COAR) staff set up referrals to appropriate social services for unsheltered people
When DCSP determines that a person on public property is a danger to themselves or others, they call police to remove them
DCSP can't force action on anyone who is unwilling to accept help, but they do regularly check back with those people
DCSP works to form ongoing relationships with homeless people so they can monitor their ongoing needs and encourage them to accept longer term solutions
DCSP has no authority to enforce bylaws, etc. when dealing with the homeless population
Additional 24/7 staff have just been hired and trained, and will be on the street beginning of July
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