People experiencing homelessness prepare for an uncertain winter
Some would rather sleep in the cold than in the city’s shelter system
All they want is to be treated with dignity and respect, but people dealing with being homeless in Peterborough are feeling at odds with a system they say would rather stigmatize them than help them get off the streets.
As fall sets in and winter approaches, many of the homeless in Peterborough say they would rather face the coming winter on the streets than sleep in shelters they say are dangerous, dirty and uninviting.
Miranda Harvey, who is homeless, said she would rather stay at the warming room at St. John’s Anglican Church and not at the city’s overflow shelter at Murray Street Baptist Church because she can stay with her boyfriend who makes her feel safe, instead of alone in close quarters with other people who might hurt her.
“The Warming Room is pretty safe,” she said, adding she has not felt safe in other shelters. “I have my boyfriend, I stay with him, I feel safer, that is why I won’t stay at the shelters.”
On top of the safety issues in the shelter system, Harvey said, the staff do not seem to understand what homeless people are facing.
“The staff are completely judgmental, and they are very hard to get along with,” she said. “Some of them don’t even understand the situation the people are going through, and they can be extremely rude, and it is just uncomfortable.”
John Comeau, who used to be homeless, said he feels like he was harassed to find a place and get out of the shelter system, because he was “only” homeless.
“I was harassed every day to try and find a place because I didn’t have any addictions,” Comeau said. “It’s different treatment. Sometimes, I felt like it would’ve been better to be a junkie and you get better treatment. I hope I never end up there again.”
Brad, who asked his last name not be used, said he lives in a box in the woods. He finds living in the shelter system horrible because people are already at their worst and then they have to deal with rude workers on top of that.
“You have no pride to begin with,” he said. “Some of the staff are all right, but some of the
staff are just arrogant and ignorant, and then you are down and out and down on your luck.”
Kym Pickens, a homeless camper, said she knows some homeless people would rather live outside than in the shelter system right now.
“If you have a blanket or if you have a hammock, but if you have a tent, you are damned lucky,” she said. “I know most people would rather (stay outside).”
A lot of issues revolve around space, or the lack of it when staying at the shelters with people who have mental-health issues, she said.
“There are so many people — dealing with other people is a huge problem in a space that small and with so much mental illness in this town and no resources,” Pickens said.
Having up to 50 people in a confined space can grate on people in proximity.
“It makes the space an absolute impossibility to deal with,” Pickens said. “Because there is so much tension in that small space and so many people trying to deal with everybody’s issues and avoid each other at the same time.”
“Sometimes, I felt like it would’ve been better to be a junkie and you get better treatment.”
JOHN COMEAU
Dan Hennessey, an advocate for homelessness, said shelters can be disruptive, especially at night.
“Sleep is important,” Hennessey said. “Somebody comes in drunk or high and wakes everybody up. People get into fights and arguments over that one person.”
If you can’t get a good night’s sleep, the day is just a mess, he said.
Brad said people think the homeless have all the time in the world. “Being homeless is like a full-time job,” said Brad. “They think I have all the time.”
He said it’s devastating not having a place to lie down and a place to go to throughout the day when living in the shelter system.
“It’s overwhelming and you need a place of refuge,” Brad said. “You need a place to lie down, to cook to clean, not having that is stressful, because you have to find that all throughout the day.”
The Examiner reached out to city officials Friday for any update on shelter or housing plans for homeless and marginalized people for the winter beyond a proposal to set up a temporary shelter in the a city property on Wolfe Street, but did not receive a reply.