>Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 07:18:50 -0600 >From: Bill Fitzpatrick <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] : > >Homeless Deaths Predicted on Toronto Streets >- article on charity.ca > >by David Pate > > >This promises to be a grim winter for homeless people in Toronto, >according to a report prepared by the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee. > >"There will definitely be an increase in the death rate if something >isn't done soon," says TDRC co-founder, Cathy Crowe. Crowe is a 'street >nurse' who's worked with homeless people for the past 13 years. She >doesn't >expect to to see any quick solutions. > > >Thirty-five homeless men and women are known to have died so far this >year >in metro Toronto. > >The TDRC report, "State of the Disaster: Winter 2000," is described by >the organisation as a "street level snapshot" of the situation in >Toronto. >The TDRC uses information gathered from shelter workers, homeless >advocates >and homeless people themselves to argue for more beds, more shelters and > >more money. > >Disastrous situation > >It attacks the city and provincial governments for failing to respond to > >a crisis that Toronto City Council voted to declare a "national >disaster" >two years ago. > >"On any given night, there are 6,000 people using shelters and at least >a thousand more sleeping outside," says Crowe. "You can�t walk along a >city street without seeing homeless people sleeping. It's scandalous and > >depressing." > > >The TDRC estimates that there's a shortfall of one thousand beds in >the city, and the available shelters are overcrowded and home to >disease, violence and theft. And the report's authors sum up their >findings >in a four word solution: "open more shelter beds". > >The report itself paints a disturbing picture of life on the streets. >Most homeless people have experienced difficulty in trying to find a >bed, >and those with mental or addiction problems find it even harder. They >are >often barred from shelters. It's estimated that 20% of shelter users >have >both addictions and mental health problems, but only 2% of available >beds >are set aside for them. > >The realities of street life > >People who do get into shelters are faced with poor food and a bed that >is often just a mat on the floor, jammed between other bodies. Toilets >are >few and often overflowing. Showers are rare. Bedding is dirty and >contributes to the spread of lice and disease. And the crowded >conditions >guarantee that infectious diseases spread throughout the homeless >community. >They also raise tensions in a population where violence is a daily fact >of >life. > > > >All residents of shelters have witnessed violence; most have been >victims >or perpetrators. > >And whether in shelters or on the streets, even the meagre belongings of > >a homeless person are the target of thieves. Money, medication, clothing > >and food have to be guarded 24 hours a day. And the loss of an item like > >a sleeping bag can mean the difference between life and death. > >For some, the difficulty of getting into a shelter and the conditions >inside make sleeping in the streets preferable, even in winter. But some > >don't have a choice. The TDRC reports that apprroximately 2,500 parents >with >children are currently living in Toronto shelters. That's more than >double >the number of five years ago. > >Homeless children > >Every week since January, 1999, a hundred more children have entered the > >shelter system. These are families that have exhausted all other options >- >living with families, friends, in subsidised housing. Most end up living >in >one room in cheap motels. > >The TDRC calls for the immediate opening of enough beds to eliminate >the shortfall before winter begins. In the longer term, it wants all >levels >of government to spend 1% of their budgets on solving the homeless >problem. > >That�s about $2 billion nationally. It would allow the opening of more >and better-equipped shelters, including housing for those with mental >and addiction problems. > >�We�re hopeful that there will be more money in the federal spring >budget,� says Cathy Crowe. �But we need more shelters before the cold >weather. Something has to be done.� > >When asked what will happen if they can�t get the city to make more >beds available, she says she doesn�t know. > >�We�ll have to take a more severe strategy, because things will have >to happen. Maybe some of the empty buildings will have to be taken for >the homeless.� > > > > > > > > > > > >=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= > The Socialism From Below listserve was created by the New Socialist > Group to discuss and debate socialist activism, share news relating to > revolutionary struggles around the world, assist in organizing projects > of socialist renewal and on the ground activism. Views expressed on > the SFB list do not necessarily represent the views of the New Socialist > Group as an organization or those of its members. 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