Definitions

When many people think of homelessness they think of those individuals they see on the streets of large metropolitan cities. The number of people living on the streets in large centres is disturbing. But what is even more alarming and what many people do not realize is that the “street” or “unsheltered” homeless are only the tip of the iceberg. The crisis is much more extensive and widespread than most people realize. The truth is that homelessness affects many individuals, families, adults, youth, and children living in large and small centres.

Homelessness Definitions
Non-Sheltered Homeless - Individuals not provided any shelter whatsoever, for as little as a few days.

Sheltered Homeless - Individuals that have been sheltered in temporary accommodations for a few nights, or a few weeks, with no long term residence alternatives. Sometimes these people have been sheltered on couches in drop-in centres, in short term housing units, or crisis units.

Vulnerable / Marginalized - Individuals who have an income under Low Income Cut-Off rates, and those who are spending more than 30% of their household income on shelter costs.

At Risk of Becoming Homeless - Those individuals at high risk of becoming homeless for reasons of low or no steady income, household or family break-up, health problems or addictions.

Continuum of Care Definitions
Outreach - is a service focused on reaching homeless individuals and establishing rapport with the goal of engaging them in needed services.

Emergency Shelters - offer flexible, non-judgmental service based on need, without restrictions to lifestyle, current physical or mental condition, eligibility or frequency of use, in a building that is fully accessible; while acknowledging that acuteness of health needs, behaviour, or level of intoxication may limit the ability of the provider to give service. Usually modest dormitory-style or semi-private accommodation, and may include facilities for personal hygiene, laundry, nourishment, referral and counselling services.

Supportive Services - refers to a wide range of assistance available to homeless and individuals at risk of homelessness, and includes preventative and remedial therapies, services, activities and material supplies including, but not limited to, nutrition, clothing, personal hygiene, advocacy, referral, transportation, recreation, counselling, medical treatment, employment and life-skills training and programs, education, crisis intervention, psycho-social rehabilitation, addiction treatment, and harm reduction.

Transitional Housing - offers safe, secure, time-limited (30 days), fully-serviced accommodation (including heat, hot water, domestic electricity, and phone) for women and children fleeing domestic abuse or persons leaving addiction treatment, and involves supervision (24 hr), counselling and other supports.

Supportive Housing - offers fully serviced, self-contained accommodation (including kitchen and bathroom) that has added supports which may include meal preparation, life skills training, housekeeping, personal banking services, health therapies, counselling, and crisis response.

Prevention services - are programs or services aimed at keeping people from becoming homeless, and include, but are not limited to, counselling, mediation, and advocacy work focused on reducing crises and behaviours which might result in eviction.

Current State of Homelessness In Our City

The community as a whole is generally unaware that the community of Brandon has significant problems regarding homelessness. We need to develop a base of knowledge and understanding of issues related to homelessness.

The WESTARC Group Inc. released the Brandon Affordable Housing Study in November of 2000. The study found that 15 to 40 people in Brandon are affected by absolute homelessness, meaning that these individuals have no shelter at all. Another estimated 30 to 78 homeless individuals are temporarily sheltered by various agencies or may spend a night on a friend’s couch.

The size of the low-income population as measured by Statistics Canada in 1996 was 8100 people, or approximately 20% of Brandon’s population. Over 3500 households with an estimated population of 8500 could be termed as being vulnerable due to the fact that they spend over 30% of their household income on shelter.

Key informant opinion on the size of the at-risk of becoming homeless population ranged from 980 to 2900 individuals. Some of the major risk factors identified by key informants included rents higher than the ability to pay, lack of suitable housing, overcrowding, inadequate income assistance shelter rates, household breakup or family dispute, low or unstable income and health or addiction issues.

LOCAL FACTS:
Housing:
• There is a shortage of safe, affordable and appropriate housing for individuals
• 15-40 non sheltered
• 30-78 sheltered
• 8,100-8,500 vulnerable
• 980-2,900 at risk of becoming homeless
-source: Brandon Affordable Housing Study
Completed by Westarc Group
November 2000

Samaritan hampers:
• Samaritan House distributes approximately 2200 hampers on a monthly basis, nearly half of the individuals who receive the hampers are under the age of 18
• Individuals are using up to half of their food budget on shelter and therefore have to rely on the food banks.

Helping Hands:
• During the 2003 year helping hands served 22,063 individuals. These numbers increased by 8000 from 2002. Of the 22,063 individuals, 2046 were children and 426 were youth.
• People are paying more than 30 percent of their income on accommodations and when you are on a limited income the only variable in your budget is food, so by eating at helping hands one can stretch their food dollar.

YFC
• Have had youth involved in their programs struggling to find shelter (sleeping in the cook shack in the park and sleeping in a van, for examples), which led to the formation of uturn-1
• When YFC first opened uturn1 they had 26 requests in the first two months. This led us to open uturn2
• 5-7 out of 10 uturn youth have had no shelter for 24 hours - 2 weeks at a time in the past year, and then they find friends or other options.
• YFC sent some youth to the mall for an informal survey -Out of 29 responses, 11 had indicated not having a place to stay in the past year.

Factors That Contribute To The Rise of Homelessness

The reasons why people become homeless are complex. The basic cause is poverty. The underlying causes can include poor physical health, violence or abuse in the home, lack of employment or an income, and a shortage of affordable housing in the community. No one chooses to be homeless and it can happen to anyone- from a teenager escaping an abusive caregiver, to a senior citizen on a fixed income facing a rent or tax increase, to a child whose parents suddenly become unemployed. Today, the spiral from stability to distress can happen in the space of a five-minute meeting.

While homelessness if not just a housing problem, it is always a housing problem. For many households there is a large gap between the cost of housing and the money available to pay for housing.

Homelessness & Housing in Brandon:

It is evident that Brandon is experiencing a significant shortage of affordable rental stock, as well as emergency and transitional housing spaces. This places additional pressure on treatment beds, and forces services to focus on the provision of immediate requirements. Youth and persons with addictions and mental illness are increasingly affected by this need to prioritize treatment, at the expense of the establishment of collaboration and partnerships needed to provide housing and support services, including personal skill enhancements and opportunities.

According to Rounds and Associates’ “Brandon Regional Housing Study,” the current 1.1% vacancy rate will further decline between 2002 and 2004. Projections indicate that the region’s population will increase by 6000 individuals. An additional 390 housing units will be required for employees of Maple Leaf’s second shift and 1,676 housing units will be required to accommodate the new secondary workers associated with the second shift. It is expected that the relocation of the 2PPCLI to Shilo will put an additional demand for 300 housing units over the next three years. Although this key economic activity is undoubtedly positive for the city, it places additional pressure on an already tight housing market, and the cumulative effect impacts disproportionately on those citizens who are marginally housed and exposed to varying degrees of homelessness.

Facts About Homelessness

The person you see on the street is just the top of the iceberg. The long-term or “chronically “ homeless person - the individuals we see on our streets in Canada- represent less than 20% of the homeless population. The other 80% are the hidden homeless- people living in shelters, vans and motels, or bunking with family and friends. They are families and individuals who find themselves without a place to live for a period of time. They can be found not only in large urban centres, but also in small and even rural communities.

The tens of thousands of homeless Canadians are a diverse mix of young and old, families with children, couples and single people. Families with children are the fastest growing group. Seniors on fixed incomes faced with rent or tax hikes, teenagers escaping abusive care-givers, and single moms earning a minimum wage or not much better also make up a significant portion of these invisible homeless. Additionally, about a third of homeless people are living with some form of mental health problem.

Many of the homeless, especially the hidden homeless, have jobs but struggle to make ends meet. They are the working poor, falling in and out of homelessness as a result of life events, rent increases or other unforeseen expenses, serious illness, marital break up, job loss, and abuse. For many families, especially single-parent households, it often comes down to a desperate choice - pay the rent or feed the kids.

Both the numbers of such people and the length of time they are homeless are increasing dramatically.

Manitoba Stats:
• In 1996, 40.6% of Manitobans were Paying 30% or more of income on rent and 18.2 % of Manitobans were paying 50% or more of their income on rent.
• “The poor quality of the places that people are forced to accept as home is a key issue for several western cities.” (Layton, 2000).

Did you know…
• For every homeless person visible on the street, four families are at risk of losing the roof over their head, as they cannot afford rent.
• An estimated 250,000 Canadians were homeless according to a 1996 study. That number has risen significantly in the last seven years.
• 800,000 more Canadian households are at risk of losing their homes because they pay more than 50% of their income on rent.
• One out of every 7 residents in homeless shelters is under the age of 16.
• The number of children staying in shelters has more than doubled in the last decade.
• 800,000 Canadian women working full-time earn less than $20,000 a year. Especially for single moms, that is often not enough to cover the rent- and pay for food, clothing and other necessities of life.

* Source: Raising the Roof (http://www.raisingtheroof.org/)

How You Can Help

Volunteer programs

We need your help:
There is a great need for individuals of our community to become involved in the homelessness issue. We need broadening ownership by the public, non-profit and private sectors on the local issues affecting homelessness.

• Individuals can help by donating money or their time to non-profit agencies in need. Organizations such as the Samaritan House and Helping hands are always looking for volunteers and if you are unable to volunteer your time in that capacity any donations would be appreciated such as used belongings, food, blankets. If you are interested in helping our community you could phone an agency you would like to help their contact information is available in the Resource Guide on this web page.

• We also need groups from the private and non-for profit sectors to coordinate their efforts. Many groups are already working hard on community development to provide housing, support services, and employment and training; however if we develop more partnerships between agencies we will be able to better utilize existing resources and provide more effectively and efficiently to marginalized individuals.

Volunteering Tips:
• Volunteering your time to work directly with people experiencing homelessness is one of the greatest ways to learn about homelessness and help to meet immediate needs at the same time. Think about what you do best and the kind of setting in which you work most effectively-with individuals or groups, with men, women, or children, and so on. Then call a few places, ask what help they need, and arrange for a visit.

• BE PATIENT- many service providers are under-funded and understaffed. Staff members are often overwhelmed with trying to meet people’s basic needs or coping with emergencies. Let them know how you can help, when, and for how long, and give them time to figure out how to work you in. Remember that service providers need help at all times of the year-not just holidays-and will appreciate regular volunteers who can be counted on to show up.

Here are some ways you might help:
• Get connected to a coalition, such as the Coalition for Service Providers. For more information on this group please contact the Homelessness Coordinator at 729-2495

• Follow local politics. Attend neighbourhood and public meetings and speak up in favor of low-income housing, shelters, and homelessness prevention programs.

• Involve the media. Call or write the media to inform them of your concern for people experiencing homelessness in your area. Write editorials when important issues related to homelessness arise in your community.

• Encourage those most directly involved to advocate. Encourage people experiencing homelessness, agency volunteers, and staff to contact officials at all levels of government.

• Offer professional skills directly or assist in job training. Direct service providers may be able to use many services and skills, including secretarial, catering, plumbing, accounting, management, carpentry, public relations, fundraising, legal, medical, dentistry, writing, child care, counselling, tutoring, or mentoring.

• Share hobbies. Teach your hobbies to a group of people staying at a shelter. Ask them about their hobbies and have them teach you.

• Organize an event at a shelter. Plan an evening program such as a board game or chess night, an open mike poetry reading, a guest storytelling or musical performance, or a holiday party.

•Work with children. Assist program directors who are coordinating events such as field trips, picnics, or art workshops for children staying in homeless shelters. Find out if there are children who could benefit from tutors or mentors.

Advocate:
• Advocacy is critical to creating the systematic changes needed to end homelessness. Advocacy means working with people experiencing homelessness to bring about positive changes in policies and programs on the local, provincial, and federal levels. It means working with various sectors of the community to develop workable strategies for responding to homelessness. It also means changing your language and behavior in small ways that may contribute to larger changes in the way people experiencing homelessness are seen and treated in our society.

• Becoming more aware of your language. Try to minimize language in your own and others’ vocabularies that refers to people experiencing homelessness in derogatory ways. By using expressions such as “people experiencing homelessness” rather than labels such as “bum,” “transient,” or even “the homeless,” we remind ourselves that people who are in such situations are still PEOPLE first-just people who are going through a difficult period in their lives. In a time when they may find it difficult to hold onto their sense of humanity, it is particularly important that we do not use language that further diminishes the dignity of people in homeless situations.

Contribute:
While the concern and support demonstrated by volunteer work and advocacy are essential, material assistance is also a necessity. Escaping and ending homelessness is a long process. In the meantime, people experiencing homelessness and the programs that serve them need help everyday.

Needed items and services might include:
• Clothing. The lack of clean, well-fitting clothes and shoes causes great hardship beyond exposure to the elements-it hurts one's self-image and one's chance to get ahead. People experiencing homelessness must travel light, with few opportunities to safely store or adequately clean what they can't carry. On job interviews, a poorly dressed person has little chance for success. Give your clean clothes to those who could use them. Before you give your own clothes or start a clothing drive, talk to your local shelter and find out what items they really need. Most have limited storage space, and can't use winter clothes in summer or vice versa. Some serve only a certain group of people. Please clean the clothes before you donate them.

• In-kind services and materials. Service providers may be able to use copying, printing, food, transportation, marketing assistance, computer equipment and assistance, electrical work, building materials, plumbing, etc.

• Household goods or other items. Service providers may need items such as kitchen utensils, furniture, books, toys, games, stuffed animals, dolls, diapers, etc.

• Books. People experiencing homelessness may have limited access to a library and find that there is little for them to do when spending a night at a shelter. Find out if your local shelter would appreciate donations of books. Consider organizing a book drive to create a small library at the shelter if there is not already one there.

• Computers. Many non-profit organizations have a difficult time purchasing expensive but essential equipment such as computers. If you have a machine you no longer need, a local shelter or service provider might greatly appreciate the donation. Shelter guests might also appreciate the donation of machines for their use, although you should check if a shelter would have space to set up public computers.

• Homeless "survival kits." Create and distribute kits that include items such as cups, pots, pans, soap, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, and cosmetics. (Try coordinating this through a group that gives out meals, such as Street Love) During cold weather, organize drives for blankets, coats, hats, scarves, mittens, socks, and the like.

• Phone calls. Help people experiencing homelessness contact loved ones by offering the opportunity to make free, long distance calls on holidays.

• Job opportunities. Encourage your company, school, or place of worship to hire people experiencing homelessness (if they are not already working). Most unemployed homeless adults desperately want to work, but need an employer to give them a chance.

• Support for a homeless person or family. As people move out of a shelter or transitional housing program, consider raising money to contribute for a security deposit, or assist by contributing household goods, babysitting, or moral support. See if your local shelter has a partnering program.

Other things you might do to contribute include:
• Raise funds for a program. Ask your group to abstain from one meal and donate the proceeds to a shelter or soup kitchen. Sponsor a benefit concert or coffee house featuring local musicians and poets (Don’t forget to include homeless and formerly homeless performers!). Organize a walk-a-thon or a yard sale and donate the proceeds.

• Consider giving directly to people experiencing homelessness. Deciding whether or not to give to panhandlers is a personal decision. Some may not give money out of fear that it may be spent supporting an addiction. Although this is occasionally true, the money also may help someone buy a meal, afford housing, buy clothes, purchase an ID to stay in a shelter, pay for transportation to a job, childcare, healthcare, support a family member-the possibilities are numerous. In some cases, instead of giving money, people carry gift certificates to restaurants or granola bars, peanut butter crackers, sandwiches, or fruit to give to homeless people.

• Smile. Whether or not you choose to give change, please don’t look away from homeless people as if they do not exist. Making eye contact, saying a few words, or smiling (provided that it is a situation in which you feel comfortable doing so) can reaffirm the humanity of a person at a time when homelessness seems to have stripped it away. Most people will be glad simply to be acknowledged. For more insight into panhandling and homelessness, read "Panhandling: A Little Understanding," at http://www.nationalhomeless.org/panhandle.html.

• Educate Others. You have a great capacity to educate not only yourself, but others as well. Friends, family, and people within your community will benefit greatly from a compassionate and informed point-of-view. As you learn more about the problem of homelessness, share what you find out with those around you. In some cases, you may learn as much from the reflections of those around you as from a book. Whatever you do, don’t let the insights you gain stop with you! Opening up a dialogue is an essential first step we can all take in confronting this difficult problem.

Information Adapted with permission from the following website:
National Coalition for the Homeless
1012 Fourteenth Street, NW, #600,
Washington, DC 20005-3471
Phone: 202.737.6444 | Fax: 202.737.6445
Email: info@nationalhomeless.org

Organizations in Brandon that May Benefit from Your Help:
• Habitat for Humanity: Help build or fix up houses
Contact: Arnold Grambo 726-4960

• Helping Hands Soup Kitchen
Contact: Joanne Wilkinson 727-4635

• Samaritan House Ministries
Contact: Marla Somersall 726-0758

• YWCA
Contact: Karen Peto 571-3680

• Westman Women’s Shelter
Contact: 727-3644

• Brandon Friendship Centre
Contact Gail Cullen: 727-1407

• Westman Immigrant Services
Contact: 727-6031

• Big Brothers & Sisters
Contact: Carla Black 727-1787

• Brandon Community Welcome
Contact: Sheryl Hayne-Cavers 728-1514

• Canadian Mental Health Association Re-store
Contact: Glen Kruck 728-2227

• Westman Recovery
Contact: Rodney Smith 726-4609

• Youth for Christ
Contact: Dwayne Dyck 727-1251

• MCC Thrift Store
Contact: Elsa Krawn 727-1162

• Salvation Army
Contact: Bruce McKenzie 727-6271

• YMCA
Contact: Kerri Bridges 727-5456

• Food for Thought
Contact: Judy Seib 727-1040

• Breakfast Program: New Era School
Contact: Delvina Kejick 729-3161

• Street Love
Contact: Henry Idonije 761-8442

• Elspeth Reid Centre
Contact: Marie Wotton 726-6280

• Brandon Adult Learning Centre
Contact: Sylvia Provenski 726-7134

WHAT TO DO WHEN...

Please visit the Brandon Resource Guide for a complete list of services available in Brandon. Download the Crisis Contact List from the document section of this web page for an easy to read printable listing of Emergency Resources.

An individual is in need of EMERGENCY SHELTER:

• If the individual/family is in need of emergency shelter After Hours:

Province of Manitoba After Hours Emergency Assistance- Will provide
assistance for individuals in need. Individuals must phone 1-866-559-6778 after
4:30pm. They will be in contact with an on-call center where an intake worker will
collect information and then contact the Employment and Income Assistant
worker who is on-call. This worker will then contact the individual and decide
whether or not to authorize assistance.

The CMHA provides emergency units for individuals at 1202 Rosser. Contact 761-5040 for access to the units. The emergency units have their own private entrance directly from the street, washrooms with showers and an emergency fire sprinkler system. Each individual living unit is separate and secure from other homeless tenants.

The YWCA provides emergency shelter for families. Contact 571-3680 for access to the units. There are 2 three bed units and 1 six be units. Each unit is separate and secure from other homeless tenants. Each unit has its own washroom and shower.

Salvation Army- Can be contacted at 727-4334 and
will provide individuals/families with accommodation for a motel for an evening.
Eligibility is determined by needs and age.

• If the individual/family has no method of paying then the following options are available:

Employment and Income Assistance- Between the hours of 8:30am and 4:30
pm (Monday to Friday) individuals can phone Employment and Income Assistance in Brandon at 726-6438 or toll free at 1-866-726-6438 or visit them at 340 9th Street, located in the Provincial Building (second floor) for assistance. After 4:30pm, individuals can phone the After Hours Emergency Assistance (see information above).

• If the individual/family is receiving social assistance or has money to pay then the following option is available:

Westman Recovery- The unit consists of 10 beds; 3 of these beds are for short-term emergency shelter.
Contact: 726-4609; this is not a 24 hour service, so if the program manager is not available please leave a message and she will return your phone call as soon as possible.
Cost: $10.00 per night or funded through social assistance perdiems.

• If the individual is a woman who is fleeing family violence then the following options are available:

YWCA Westman Women’s Shelter- Provides emergency shelter for
women and children who are fleeing abuse from an intimate partner.
Contact: 727-3644

Helping Hands Soup Kitchen- Provides a hot lunch to any individual in need. The soup kitchen is open for lunch Monday to Friday from 12:00pm – 1:00pm. It is located at
111-7th street and individuals are welcome to come down for lunch. There is no cost to this service.

Samaritan House Ministries- Provides individuals/families with a hamper of food that may be received every two weeks. The hamper is provided to individuals at 1:30pm Monday through to Friday at the Samaritan House located at 630 Rosser Avenue. The Samaritan House also has a bread program that provides individuals/families with bread and vegetables on a daily basis. This service is provided at 2:00pm Monday to Friday. There are no costs to these services.

Salvation Army- Offers individuals/families a hamper of non-perishable and dry goods. This service is offered every Tuesday and hampers can be picked up every three months. Individuals are to phone the Salvation Army at 727-6271 and make an appointment.

An individual/family is in need of CRISIS SERVICES:

Westman Crisis Services- The Mobile Crisis Unit (MCU) provides crisis intervention, on the telephone or in person, to those in psychosocial or mental health crisis. To access the Mobile Crisis Unit, call 725-4411 or 1-888-379-7699 (toll free)

Crisis Line for Abused Women- Provides counselling support to women who are involved with an abusive partner, call 727-3644 or 1-877-977-0007 (toll free)

Crisis Pregnancy Centre- Provides counselling, baby supplies, and pregnancy testing. Individuals can telephone 727-6161 or drop in the centre located at 229 Princess Avenue.

Kids Help Phone- Provides support and counselling to children and youth in need. Telephone: 1-800-668-6868 (toll free)

Manitoba Farm & Rural Stress Line- Provides confidential support, counselling, and information to farm and rural families. Phone 1-866-367-3276 (toll free)

AFM Gambling Help Line- Provides support, counselling, and information to individuals struggling with gambling addictions. Telephone: 1-800-463-1554

Sexual Assault Crisis Program- Provides support to sexual assault victims.
Telephone: 1-888-292-7565 (toll free)

Suicide/Crisis Counselling Services- Provides support and counselling to individuals in crisis. Telephone: 1-888-322-3019 (toll free)

Samaritan House Ministries- Provides clothing and household items to individuals in need at no cost. Individuals can call 726-0758 or drop in the centre located at
630 Rosser Avenue to access these services.

The Women’s Centre- Women can bring in gently-worn laundered items of clothing and exchange it for an item of clothing for either themselves or their children. Women requiring clothing to enter or re-enter the workforce are provided with a couple of outfits free of charge. Telephone the centre at 726-8632 / 1-866-255-4432 (toll free) or visit them at 800 Rosser Avenue.

Salvation Army Thrift Store- Provide clothing and household items at reasonable rates. The store is located at 1126 Rosser Avenue. Telephone: 727-2051

MCC Thrift Store- Provides clothing and household items at reasonable rates. The store is located at 414 Pacific Avenue. Telephone: 727-1162

Elspeth Reid Family Resource Centre- Provides clothing and household items at reasonable rates. The centre is located at 255-9th Street. Telephone: 726-6280