7 minute read
Without a Home
BY FRANCESCA PACCHIANO
Homelessness is a national issue with complexities that cannot be properly explored in a single article. Yet the tension between those experiencing homelessness, the resources available to them, and the ways this “problem” is being dealt with, should not be ignored.
Ladysmith has a homeless population. There are encampments in the woods hidden away from the town; and people bundled in blankets asleep in the museum parking lot. Some people only see the negative sides of the issue: garbage and needles scattered on the ground, left for other people to clean up. Other people see a need: brothers and sisters who have fallen on hard times, struggling in a system that makes it nearly impossible to fix the issue alone.
The first place people struggle with is buying food. Rent and food can be unaffordable together; priorities need to be chosen. The 2023 Homeless Count in BC identified that the largest factor (37% of the 11,352 people counted) is not having enough money, often despite having one or more sources of income.
The Ladysmith Resource Centre Association supports the community with resources for low- and no-income households. Their resources include an affordable apartment building called Heart on the Hill, a food pantry, and a homeless shelter.
The homeless shelter is a big way the LRCA addresses the needs of the community. It’s a very small space. A common area with a few plastic tables, a small galley kitchen, a laundry area, bathrooms and showers. The sleeping quarters are two separate rooms on opposite ends of the common area, six beds for the men, four for the women. Each bed was housed in a wrap-around stall to provide as much privacy as possible.
There are many reasons someone may seek out the shelter’s support. Andrew Akrod, the shelter manager, spoke about the experiences he had. “We see people who are experiencing homelessness from addiction, fleeing from abusive relationships. Financial losses; they’ve lost their jobs, or they’ve had some major unexpected expense. We’re getting them as they’re at their lowest. We’re really there to stabilize and help them find resources.”
Since he started with the shelter three years ago, Andrew has seen the need grow exponentially. “We would see maybe four or five people, and it started to accumulate more and more as winter came. Over the last few years, that has grown significantly. We now serve a minimum of twenty to thirty people a day.”
As the demographic of people accessing support grows, Andrew noted that their capacity to support is starting to fill the role of a referral service. “We’re seeing a massive increase in the elderly, especially with people who are starting to experience dementia and Alzheimer’s, who are having a difficult time finding housing that suits them…we do look to find a lot of resources for them.”
While the need is larger than the space accommodates, they only have permission to operate within their space. However, that doesn’t stop them from reaching as many as they can, even if it’s just to provide a drink and a bite to eat. In the summer, they run a cooling centre with cold meals and water to help prevent heatstroke and in the winter months, a warming station.
Unfortunately, shelter isn’t a home, and beds aren’t always guaranteed. Sidewalks and door stoops are used to find shelter from the elements. The mess left behind by those living on the street is a point of contention.
The Ladysmith Museum, across the street from the LRCA’s shelter, often has unhoused people sleeping in bushes, or sitting on the curb. Drug use and overdoses are common.
Kim Stordy, a volunteer at the museum, spoke about the ongoing issues. “They’d have their sleeping bags there and their crack pipes and sitting on the stairs and shooting up. And it’s gotten particularly bad since [the Town] put in the sharp’s container.”
The sharps’ container was installed by the Town last November, without communication with the museum. The sharps container, Kim noted, is attracting people struggling with addiction as a place that is safe for them to use and dispose of their needles. This usage is causing patrons of the museum to avoid it for both perceived and legitimate safety concerns.
“A lot of our volunteers are elderly people. People 60 and over. They feel threatened; they don’t want to come and volunteer unless there’s a second person. They just feel intimidated.” Kim noted that volunteers haven’t been harmed, but they have experienced being yelled at.
Kathleen Oliver is an artist who tried to set up a studio in the basement of the museum. “There were two of us downstairs and we were trying to see if we could set up a studio. But honestly, coming here alone and then knowing what’s all around the building and right outside, it doesn’t feel safe.”
Both Kathleen and Kim have asked the Town and law enforcement for help. But the response isn’t what they wanted. Kim said the only advice they’ve received from the bylaw officer was to keep the garden trimmed. “They think if you beautify the area, then you have more people coming to use it from the public and then the homeless people see that, and they won’t want to be around.” The question then becomes: where do they go?
Dave Judson from the Ladysmith Sportsman Club has organized environmental cleanups in the woods around Ladysmith for the last twelve years. He says that this year’s cleanup removed 30,000 lbs of trash, adding to the approximated 180,000 lb total.
“I contribute it to the homelessness. They’re up there in tough conditions, they’re hauling cars. Sadly, the Ministry of Environment shows no support.” Dave also said that the town of Ladysmith hasn’t offered support, despite the garbage being on the watershed.
The lack of support from governing bodies is frustrating.
After 12 years, Dave is ready to be done but if he doesn’t do it, the mess will just be left. “I really was gonna wash my hands of it this year, but…so many people that will enjoy going up in our backyard, they jumped on board and I had enough to do it.” Dave said that people don’t want to live in fear of the mess or the homeless, but it’s challenging to bridge that gap when the garbage is left in places it shouldn’t be.
The biggest areas of concern for Dave are the woods around Peerless Road, and Bannon Creek Forest Service Road. “There were over twenty-three homeless residents living up there.”
This year’s cleanup efforts removed 70 tires from an abandoned stash in the woods. “They were stealing the tires or taking the tires out of recycling. And then they were using them to build a wall up the mountain. And then when they abandoned the project, they never picked up the tires. There’s quite an environmental mess there.”
One concern with people living in the woods and leaving garbage behind, is the higher chance of fires especially during the fire ban. The Ladysmith Fire Department and the RCMP did not respond before presstime regarding these issues.
We did speak to Justin Gueulette, Fire Chief for the North Cedar Fire Department. He said there were no current concerns regarding people living in the woods. “We’ve had the odd time with people camping in some of the local parks, but it was more their using cooking fires during inappropriate times, like during a campfire ban.”
The Town of Ladysmith was reached for a comment on these humanitarian and environmental issues but they did not respond before we went to press.
