To the editor:
North Bay Mayor, City Council and citizens, as a concerned citizen, I realize that long-term housing initiatives are extremely important for those experiencing homelessness, but what happens right now today?
What would any of us do if we were desperate and freezing to death? Many of us would do anything to stay alive and stay warm. I know I would. Therein lies the problem!
There are amazing agencies working in partnership with the Mayor and City Council engaged in long-term plans, and some immediate assistance is offered daily addressing the homelessness crisis, such as the warming centre, the Low Barrier Shelter, the Suswin Village Transitional Housing, CMHA, Ad-hoc Committee of Council, Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) and other housing initiatives.
My fear regarding the ‘homelessness’ reality experienced daily in our community is that when the bitter frigid winter days arrive, we will have these persons dying on our streets due to a lack of enough shelter space from the severe winter elements.
I know that caring agencies and organizations are in the process of trying to address this ‘homelessness issue’ in North Bay, and I wish them well. But realistically, I know we need to do something immediately to prevent these homeless persons from dying due to freezing temperatures on our city streets.
I do not have the answer, but I have collected some interesting ideas and suggestions direct from those who have and will experience homelessness which will help the situation in the short term today. Realizing these are band aid solutions to this long-term problem. Working together with those who are experiencing homelessness is the key to moving forward and finding solutions.
Charity is never giving into statistics and standardization, for it is important to address this issue in the short term (today) before we must deal with the grief that will happen during these long chilly winter days and months ahead.
Goal: To assist and help create more nightly accommodations immediately for those persons in the City of North Bay who find themselves without nightly shelter during the severe frigid winter months.
Objective: Creating more shelter space immediately and giving respect and dignity to our neighbors who find themselves homeless, living on the streets in the City of North Bay during the frosty winter months.
This shared goal is urgent, and an immediate response is necessitated by the severe winter weather conditions experienced in our geographical area, thus in due process creating a healthier, safer, and more cost-effective community by helping our homeless neighbors, which is a shared responsibility and goal for all citizens of North Bay.
Suggestion: A grassroots approach to the homelessness crisis may be the best route to travel (short term) for members of our community in responding to this shared reality.
Research Questions:
What is working in other communities?
What is presently working or not working in our community right now?
Identify this need, and who is responding to this growing need right now?
How can we complement these efforts?
Other questions welcomed…
Suggestions/idea’s coming from those who presently are experiencing homelessness on the streets of North Bay.
Military tents from the Air Base.
Old city transit buses sitting idle.
Old school buses sitting idle.
Old unused railway cars sitting idle.
Schools closed presently sitting idle.
Old buildings closed buildings owned by the city.
Church basements.
Old unused storage units
Old trailers sitting idle.
Old vans and trailers sitting idle.
Old school portables.
Old vans/cars sitting in junk yards.
Fish huts not used by anglers.
Other suggestions welcomed…
All these ideas/suggestions to help the homeless came directly from persons who have and or are experiencing this reality daily. Each of these suggestions will encounter and face a great deal of opposition from community leaders in North Bay due to cost of insurance, safety, heat, security, placement, disinfection of areas and other problems. The question that faces all concerned citizens in North Bay is do we allow these mentioned barriers to stop us from moving forward helping our neighbours, those who find themselves homeless each day of the new year 2024?
Working together from a grassroots perspective we can help address this reality much sooner than later. It takes a great deal of time going through the bureaucratic long-term reaction to this specific human need. Narrowing these suggestions down, the one that stands out immediately is the ‘Railway Boxcar’ suggestion. The buy-in aspect of this initiative is the historical reality is that the City of North Bay from its humble beginnings was originally a railway town, and this may be the best immediate solution to the homelessness issue that confronts our community right now. Also, homeless individuals I have spoken to recently have said that the unused old city transit buses and or using old school buses would be a great relief immediately, for they are heated, and they (those experiencing homelessness) would be protected from the fridged winter elements immediately…something to consider seriously eh!
Remember my fellow community members, unkindness to the unfortunate is not the way to have a healthier, safer, and more cost-effective community. Compassion is preferable to cleanliness. Charity is never giving in to cold statistics and standardization. Being practical for charity is the core of happiness. Thus, the goal of creating a healthier, safer, and more cost-effective community by helping our homeless neighbours is a shared responsibility and goal for all caring citizens of North Bay Ontario.
Sincerely
Daniel Bagley
Concerned Citizen of North Bay
