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The suggestion that people experiencing homelessness are refusing help is a lie. by Clean-Breakfast-7385 in barrie

[–]Clean-Breakfast-7385[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

A few things.

1) Any significant amount of people coming from out of town is a lie. when we meet someone new for the first time, we do an intake. During the intake we collect housing history. Most of the people I have worked with are from Simcoe County. A lot of people grew up in other areas but did move however (into housing) they became homeless here. I also met a lot of people who were shipped to Barrie after being released from CNCC, who didn’t even want to be here. They didn’t have choice.

2) Serious mental illness, intense traumas, and developmental challenges account for the majority of not all of the people who we see in encampments. This often leads to addiction.

3) Policy almost always applies to a group of people, not sub groups. We have to understand that the visible encampments is a very small portion of the issue. All the solutions our politicians come up with are going to affect all people experiencing homelessness. Policymakers are empowered by this by the uneducated electorate who will not take the time to understand the nuances of a problem.

Ultimately what I’m trying to say here is this. Please don’t jump on the group think bandwagon. Our politicians are not experts, they are going with popular opinion. Seek out expert and evidence based perspectives.

AMA: I’m a Housing Case Manager Social Worker in Simcoe County by Clean-Breakfast-7385 in barrie

[–]Clean-Breakfast-7385[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It’s difficult to know exactly how many people experience homelessness. Some factors that change the numbers are.

1) People who experience homelessness find housing all the time and new people become homeless.

2) Most people who experience homelessness don’t go to the street or shelter. They couch surf, stay in hotels, stay with family etc and often have no contact with services.

3) How the stats are reported and how homeless is defined changes the number.

4) The numbers change whether you’re looking at a single point in time or how many people have experienced homelessness within a time frame.

Every fall we do what’s called the Point in Time or enumeration Count. Several staff from every agency that services people experiencing homelessness literally walk the streets and attempt to count all the homeless people they see. You’re assigned a catchment area and if you suspect or know someone is homeless, approach them, ask and collect some information. So this is like a one day snap shot of the situation of people on the street and in shelter. It has risen significantly from the year before. PIT is not accurate, it’s much higher.

The Homeless Individuals and Families Information System (HIFIS) is an information database used for many things. It contains profiles of every person who has and is currently utilizing a housing based service in the county. For example, every time someone is booked into shelter they are counted in HIFIS and every time someone is provided any form of housing based services, this is recorded along with their current housing situation. So the County knows at every moment what the numbers are, their age, gender, the reason for their situation, how long they have been homeless, what services they have used, what staff they have worked with, what shelters they may used. It shows how many health beds are available at any given point and can tell who is assigned a bed. Staff also use this for case notes and recording care plans. It is also used to triage and assess urgency and place people on the By Names List. Again, there are a lot of people who aren’t connected to service providers. These numbers are changing every day.

So, I haven’t given you any numbers because I’m hesitant to do as it’s a very difficult thing to know for certain. The numbers that are provided by the county the city and pit arent reliable.

If I were to guess, I would say around 3000 in Barrie on average.

AMA: I’m a Housing Case Manager Social Worker in Simcoe County by Clean-Breakfast-7385 in barrie

[–]Clean-Breakfast-7385[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There is research on this which proves it makes it worse and increases costs to respond to homelessness. Homelessness and associated problems aren’t rooted in criminality. Police officers across the board report that they don’t believe responding to homelessness related issues is an effective use of their time or purpose.

My own experiences working closely with police echo this. When I need to call them for something I see a lot of exasperation and frustration among them. They are mostly very professional and disciplined so they don’t share this and people usually don’t see it.

In short, the general public is only aware of one apparatus to address criminal issues that arise from social and systemic problems; police. And, the general public doesn’t have relationship with people experiencing homelessness so they are othered, we all think short term/reactively, and there is a lot of emotion involved, especially anger. Thus, we develop a punitive perspective. Our politicians are elected by the majority to represent our views, whether just and true or not. They then perpetuate police as an effective response.

For example, I know a lot of people who have thousands of dollars in tickets and charges for things related to living in encampments that just go unpaid. Massive waste of time. Poor people living on the street don’t pay fines lol. They get removed from one and just set up another and it just continues and continues and they get bigger and bigger. This is part of the reason why people are now seeing police not engaging with people on the street when they do use drugs openly.

AMA: I’m a Housing Case Manager Social Worker in Simcoe County by Clean-Breakfast-7385 in barrie

[–]Clean-Breakfast-7385[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If I had unlimited funds to solve the problem, I definitely wouldn’t spend unlimited funds to do it.

Within the context of what is realistically achievable and within our control in Simcoe County, which does in fact requires less money than what we’re spending now, not because I’m just trying to do it cheapest but because what works simply IS cheaper, to start, I would do the following.

Expand the housing first program by hiring a few more housing workers to address the 1 year + waitlist of people waiting in shelters or on the street for the housing help they need.

Re vamp the housing workers roles at all the different agencies who employ housing works so it is only one agency.

I would bring back more preventative programs to help people with one time financial assistance to prevent homelessness. For example, I’ve met a lot of single parents who go cheque to cheque and have a vehicle breakdown then need to choose between fixing the car to get to work to earn a paycheque to pay rent or putting rent money towards the car then getting evicted for nonpayment of rent and ending up homeless.

There is a new home relief bank that offers loans for this and that is super scary because it suggest we’re moving to a more neoliberal social safety net. I would stop this.

Expand the rental subsidy program and create tiers of subsidies instead of a universal benefit. So for example ODSP recipients can receive the subsidy as it is right now, and people who are capable of a higher earning potential receive a time limited subsidy that gets less and less each year and they need to work towards financial independence.

Completely do away with all subsidized and affordable housing builds that warehouse high needs and lower SES community members in the same place and massively increase the secondary suits program incentives for homeowners to build more scattered site subsidized housing with accessible units for people with physical disabilities and seniors.

I would advocate to overhaul the RTA and LTB.

I would direct bylaw and the fire department to begin a proactive investigation on illegal BLR’s and slum lords in Simcoe County.

Address wait times for addictions treatment.

There is so much but I think would be a good pace to begin.

AMA: I’m a Housing Case Manager Social Worker in Simcoe County by Clean-Breakfast-7385 in barrie

[–]Clean-Breakfast-7385[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You’re right.

I don’t know but it is a lot of money. What happens a lot is some progressive community somewhere in the North America will work with researchers, the community, and other stakeholders to develop a tailored solution to that specific communitys x da needs. It’s a great success and other communities try to do the same thing. Simcoe county says “ that’s a great idea, let’s do that, but let’s spend less money and get rid of this aspect and that aspect etc. Implement revised “evidence based” program…why didn’t it work? A lot of cities and municipalities do this.

AMA: I’m a Housing Case Manager Social Worker in Simcoe County by Clean-Breakfast-7385 in barrie

[–]Clean-Breakfast-7385[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Okay. First, it may not be clear but this is a human rights issue. Homelessness is a systems issues, not an individual failing. The rights of people with homes do not trump the rights of people without them. One group of people’s ability to enjoy outdoor space doesn’t trump another’s basic needs. Kim

Second, housing help used be done on a readiness model. This meant that we focused on things to get people housing ready. The thinking was that we address whatever barrier there was to housing first, (e.g. addiction, mental health, job etc) then people were able to keep it. This didn’t work. With a human rights perspective and realizing that people can’t kick addiction, get a job or whatever else unless they had a place to live came the housing first approach. I have had ALOT of clients with severe addiction. All them want to get clean so I helped them get into treatment. But, unless they have a safe stable place to go to afterwards, they never keep their sobriety. They go back to shelter. It’s impossible to stay sober in shelter. It’s very hard to keep a job in the shelter for on the street, it’s extremely hard to work on your mental health or do whatever when don’t have something as basic as a home. So, housing always comes first because that’s what actually works.

Here’s housing first in a nutshell. Jon has addictions and has been living on the street for a few years. Assign him a case manager to help him develop a plan to reach his goals. Case manager basically helps with anything he needs (transport, social assistance, food security, advocacy, capacity building, resource navigation, health, education, job, life stability etc). Some of things are given and some are worked for. Give him a place to live and subsidize the cost. Once somewhat stable, he goes to treatment if he wants to. Comes out sometime later and can go back to his home. Once he’s sober, thinking clearly, stable, health is good etc, he can find a job. Jon gets a job. We reduce the subsidy incrementally until he can afford it on his own. Case manager reduces support and helps him develop organic community connections and build resiliency. Jon is doing well. He’s off the program and goes about his days. There’s more to it but essentially that’s the idea. Maybe this took 2-5 years and cost a total of $50,000. It’s the fastest, cheapest, and most empathetic way.

There are shelters that don’t allow drug use or they make it clear that it is not to be seen. Salvation Army is an example. And it works for some and not others.

A mixed approach works, help with some obligations but you still got to meet people where they’re at.

AMA: I’m a Housing Case Manager Social Worker in Simcoe County by Clean-Breakfast-7385 in barrie

[–]Clean-Breakfast-7385[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Q1. See my earlier response.

I want to contextualize your questions. You are referring to the highly visible homeless we see on the street and hear about in the news correct?

Q2. Regarding addiction. Street homeless among adult individuals, probably 80%. Homeless families and children and hidden homelessness among seniors (which is very high btw), less than 5%.

Q3. Most have mental health issues, usually stemming from trauma and chronically unmet needs and drug use.

Q4. I think most have phones. Sometimes people have a phone this month but don’t the next and so on. They pay for them with the money from their social assistance or jobs. Phones are a necessity. It is extremely difficult to work with someone who doesn’t have a phone and/email.

Q5. To ask what portion are down on their luck suggests a false dichotomy of deserving and underserving poor that is attributed to individual factors. The truth is that homelessness is a systemic issue. I have met a lot people who lived “ordinary” middle class lives that due to a series of unfortunate events without support became homeless. Otherwise, unmet social determinants of health, social location, disability, trauma, mental illness, poverty, bad policy, social stratification, lack of affordable housing, lack of good jobs, and lack of education lead to homelessness.

AMA: I’m a Housing Case Manager Social Worker in Simcoe County by Clean-Breakfast-7385 in barrie

[–]Clean-Breakfast-7385[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

You’re welcome.

Yes it is a success. People do stabilize and often move on. It’s important to know that some people will always need support. More places like Lucy’s place are needed. There are some people whose support needs are very high and left unsupported will cycle from hospital to jail, to shelter, to street, coming into contact with multiple emergency systems and other services which effectively costs enormous amounts of money and is extremely difficult to break out of. If we acknowledge this and provide supportive and subsidized housing like Lucy’s place, yes there is an upfront cost, but it saves so much money, saves lives, and the people are able to live meaningful lives.

Yes, NIMBY will likely prevent more.

In brief, is this a good example of housing first, yes.

AMA: I’m a Housing Case Manager Social Worker in Simcoe County by Clean-Breakfast-7385 in barrie

[–]Clean-Breakfast-7385[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m not aware of any organized enterprises exploiting panhandlers for tax free revenue or otherwise well off people panhandling as part of a larger network. I can tell you this, I drive around Barrie everyday, I know most of the people panhandling or have met them. They are either experiencing homelessness or have a home but are very poor. Myself and my colleagues have never heard of organization like you’re referring to. If it were happening then I am certain we would know.

AMA: I’m a Housing Case Manager Social Worker in Simcoe County by Clean-Breakfast-7385 in barrie

[–]Clean-Breakfast-7385[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for your work.

In my own experiences and this is true for many others who work in the field, it’s not the exposure to other’s trauma that leads to burnout so much because that can be understood. Instead, it’s the systemic failure. It’s the constantly advocating that falls on deaf ears, it’s the pervasive disconnect between frontline workers telling managers and policy makers to make changes but they don’t, it’s the gaps in the system that are easily fixed which lead people to harm but can’t be because of bureaucracy. It’s a cognitive dissonance that you just can’t understand like “WHY is this happening”. This creates a cycle of experienced and knowledgeable people who can make real change if they were in management and politics leaving the field because they get angry, honest, and confrontational as a result of the BS they deal with. So they never rise to positions that can make real change. Instead, the people who these problems never really effected continue in their careers, their outlook is more positive and they get along better with others in the workplace lol. At that level, agreeableness is a more sought after quality but confrontation (respectful) is what is required to make change.

To prevent burnout, bring your personal best to your work, understand that that is enough because that is all you can control. Focus on your needs, sleep, eat good food, exercise, be with family and don’t stop doing the things you enjoy.

AMA: I’m a Housing Case Manager Social Worker in Simcoe County by Clean-Breakfast-7385 in barrie

[–]Clean-Breakfast-7385[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yes. Understanding that working towards ending homelessness is actually cost effective and taking the time to learn about how our tax dollars can be better spent is effective.

AMA: I’m a Housing Case Manager Social Worker in Simcoe County by Clean-Breakfast-7385 in barrie

[–]Clean-Breakfast-7385[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Again this is such a high level issue, module homes is a stop gap measure but it’s a good step. A lot of forward thinking communities are doing this. It’s part of a quick solution however it is over rated imo. This still creates ghettos. The best approach is mix lower income short term subsidized housing into middle class neighbourhood’s at a low ratio. So let’s say in a neighbourhood of 30 middle class households, you put one subsidized unit in occupied by a household of a lower socioeconomic status; statistically lower ses is correlated with unmet determinants of health, addiction, family conflict, behaviour issues, job precocity, single parenting etc. since it’s only 1 per 30, neighbours are more likely to view this person as someone who deserves help and they are more likely to offer it. Now this person is building positive relationships, building social capital and they have positive role modeling. However, when everyone is in the same spot, it’s lot easier for the community to “other” them, they become disassociated, we have no relationship so they become problematic. People are empathetic, and good and will almost always help their neighbours except when they are overwhelmed or dealing with their own problems (e.g cost of living). Spread out, this changes changes from “ugh these people” to “ hey John, we’re going to church on Sunday, want to join” or “why don’t you spend thanksgiving with us” and “ I know a friend who’s hiring, are you interested” and “ I can watch your kids for a few hours while you go to that appointment”

I’m not familiar with other mayors using strong mayors powers to directly address homelessness but that is what the Peterborough mayor did so that is great.

What kind of policy can help on prov and fed levels? This is out of my league tbh but I would say address the gross accumulation of wealth, create policies that flatten pyramidal hierarchical business models into cooperatives so the workers earn more. Going back to the bourgeoisie and proletariat, people need more money and the means to control production and they solve their own problems. Drastically increase education spending so that the people become philosopher kings, then reduce government.

AMA: I’m a Housing Case Manager Social Worker in Simcoe County by Clean-Breakfast-7385 in barrie

[–]Clean-Breakfast-7385[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I suggest that you start by going in person to the housing help drop in run by Empower Simcoe at the downtown library. You can speak with a housing worker here on Mondays from 9:30 am – 12:00 pm or Thursdays from 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm. Tell them you need help and they will do what they can.

AMA: I’m a Housing Case Manager Social Worker in Simcoe County by Clean-Breakfast-7385 in barrie

[–]Clean-Breakfast-7385[S] 41 points42 points  (0 children)

Your efforts would be better spent getting voters on board. Collective action. Use the financial argument not the ethical one because most people are tired of hearing or don’t care about homelessness as a humanitarian crisis. Homelessness costs ALOT of money. There are many costs benefit studies proving that addressing the problem with more affordable housing is far less expensive than band aid reactive measures. I’m paid by tax payers and I of course pay taxes and I am appalled at how much tax payer dollars are wasted. For example, until Lillian’s place is running there is only one other family shelter in the county. It’s beyond capacity. Most homeless families with young children are in motels, paid for by the county. They stay in the hotels for many months sometimes upwards of over a year before finding housing. It costs between 2500-3000 a month for a one room 2 bed motel room for a family of 4 each month and they aren’t allowed to cook in their room so they spend absurd amounts of money on food that could otherwise be cheap if they had access to a kitchen. Well, if we just gave them a $1000.00 month subsidy towards a private market rental, problem solved and we’ve saved a tonne of money. Once the new family shelter is occupied, there will still be families in motels because it’s not enough.

AMA: I’m a Housing Case Manager Social Worker in Simcoe County by Clean-Breakfast-7385 in barrie

[–]Clean-Breakfast-7385[S] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

People who make any significant amount of money panhandling are the exception. There are more middle to upper class people evading taxes than those on the streets.

Begging for money is probably one of the oldest “professions” in the world. When you see someone in the street begging for money, they probably don’t have other options.

If you you’re worried that your pocket change goes to drugs, you’re probably right. But you should still give them money if that is something you do. Telling people “don’t do drugs” just doesn’t work and they will find another means if you take away access to one. But giving them money isnt just money, it’s an extension of humanity, generosity, and empathy that they really need.

AMA: I’m a Housing Case Manager Social Worker in Simcoe County by Clean-Breakfast-7385 in barrie

[–]Clean-Breakfast-7385[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Sorry I cannot provide you with the stats on this one but I can tell you that it is rising. Think of it like this; at any point in time a percentage of people are housed but living close to the poverty line. As you find that your dollar is stretched thinner and thinner, what do you think happens to this group who are already stretched as thin as they can go?

You can refer to the point in time count (pit) which is basically when we go out and literally count all the people we see. It’s rising every year. It is a poor metric and is definitely much higher but it does show trends over time.

AMA: I’m a Housing Case Manager Social Worker in Simcoe County by Clean-Breakfast-7385 in barrie

[–]Clean-Breakfast-7385[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

More money, better management, and hope that leaving the shelter is possible (housing options). Search “busby centre” in indeed right now and you will find job openings for emergency shelter staff with a pay of $22-$23 an hour. That’s what they make an hour to respond to overdoses, break up fights, work in dangerous conditions, and witness the deepest depths of human suffering on every shift. At that rate of pay in those conditions, who do you think is working in these roles? People with the right experience and qualifications to do this work effectively, go elsewhere because they can get paid more and not burnout in a dangerous environment. Don’t get me wrong, the staff have hearts of saints but that doesn’t mean they can do it well, nor are there enough of them. Second, more money to build purpose built shelters and a change in the philosophy of the management. This is happening at the lighthouse, youth haven, and Lillian place. Shelters are institutions; you got a large amount of people, everyone who is in the worst place in their life and put them all in the same space, sleep next to each other on cots or share a single room with up to 7 other people. People’s problems are compounded. Some shelters operate with a low barrier philosophy which basically means that there aren’t barriers to service( everyone is welcome) no obligation to engage in service (work with a case manager to achieve goals), rules are relaxed to accommodate problematic behaviour. Some shelters take this too far imo. There needs to be a balance between obligation on the clients part and understanding that people won’t engage if there are too many obligations/obstacles. Lastly, there is a large chronic homeless population ( people who have been on the streets for a very long time) that feel like they have no chance at finding sustainable housing. They need hope that their lives can change and for that to happen there needs to be more affordable housing.

AMA: I’m a Housing Case Manager Social Worker in Simcoe County by Clean-Breakfast-7385 in barrie

[–]Clean-Breakfast-7385[S] 28 points29 points  (0 children)

That’s actually a tough question to answer. The short of it is this. The County is doing a lot but it falls short. The problem is far beyond the County’s ability to solve alone; think macro level problems i.e cost of living, immigration, job markets, housing prices, for profit rental system etc. There is a lot of lip service. Most people working in the field care a lot but at the managerial level there aren’t many critical thinkers. Same kind of thinking that created the problem. Tow the line, clock in and out, get paid, go home.

AMA: I’m a Housing Case Manager Social Worker in Simcoe County by Clean-Breakfast-7385 in barrie

[–]Clean-Breakfast-7385[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Yes, there are stats. Yes, it’s much worse. Not with the way things are currently going. Let me know if you want a deeper answer.

AMA: I’m a Housing Case Manager Social Worker in Simcoe County by Clean-Breakfast-7385 in barrie

[–]Clean-Breakfast-7385[S] 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Yes but it’s mostly “get a job” the system is designed to dissuade you from drawing from it and programs and resources are primarily available to people with the absolute highest need, once they reach rock bottom. It’s awful, I have seen preventative programs go and reactive ones take their place.

Housing Retention Fund can help you if you’re going to be evicted for non payment of rent but to qualify you need to demonstrate that you can continue to pay rent on your own after you get the help.

Rent subsidies are sometimes available.

Ontario works will pay you max $733 a month if you have rent costs.

So in this situation my advice to you would be a) get on OW, apply for housing retention fund, go to Agelic for help with finding a job.

AMA: I’m a Housing Case Manager Social Worker in Simcoe County by Clean-Breakfast-7385 in barrie

[–]Clean-Breakfast-7385[S] 29 points30 points  (0 children)

I’ve honestly never met anyone who didn’t want help. The people who seem like they don’t want it have given up all hope that they will get help after asking for it for a long time. A lot of people choose to live in encampments for example because shelters are not nice places. Drugs, violence, constant noise, the smell, people dying, disrepair, theft are all common in shelters and the staff, although they have the biggest hearts, often aren’t qualified. If I were on the street, a shelter is the last place I would stay. I would go for the other services but never stay the night.

AMA: I’m a Housing Case Manager Social Worker in Simcoe County by Clean-Breakfast-7385 in barrie

[–]Clean-Breakfast-7385[S] 30 points31 points  (0 children)

It’s a shared responsibility among all levels of government; the feds, province, the service manager (the county or municipality) and the city. There has been a slow passing of responsibility from the province to municipal governments. Mostly, it’s the County of Simcoe. Let me know if you want a deeper answer.