City social planning and homelessness

A social plan costing in the range of $75,000.00 is under discussion at Kamloops City Council. (And it would appear that Councillor John DeCicco is as ignorant about poverty as he is on GLBT issues. Guess he feels a bit foolish complaining about those picky beggars now that even the Salvation Army and the New Life Mission are complaining about the quality of food found at the Food Bank!)

Homelessness in Kamloops clearly doesn't approach the levels found in larger (and warmer) cities in the province. However, the number of people on the city's streets grows each year, with a particular increase in the number of homeless women. The last year for which statistics on homelessness in Kamloops are available is 2005. At that point, the Kamloops Community Committee on Homelessness reported 168 homeless people in the City, in a count that took place in late November. Although the male-to-female ratio of the homeless in Kamloops is much greater than in some other BC cities (e.g. 22% in Kamloops versus 37% in Victoria), there is a worrying dearth of facilities and services directed at homeless women in particular.

This was a problem in 2003 according to service providers, and continued in the 2005 report to be a chief complaint among survey subjects (the homeless themselves). There are limited women-only shelters, particularly emergency shelters, and limited food provision services for women. It can be traumatizing for women, especially those who have suffered abuse, to use the soup kitchens which are populated mainly by homeless men. Now, with the in-fighting going on lately among the groups who provide food for the homeless and disadvantaged, it may become an even greater problem. The City, in devising its social plan and allocating funds, should look into remedying this.

(As an aside, I'd love to see this Toronto project replicated across Canadian municipalities. Maybe it would raise awareness among those barbers...I mean, City Councillors...I mean, citizens...who find it so easy to ignore the people in need who are standing right outside their shop windows.)