Everybody needs a sanctuary, each day
The obligation for common good rests on everyone in the community
Home. What an under-rated word that is.
Most of us take that word and place for granted. It’s the security that we’ve always had. It may have been a different place and for varying lengths of time – but we always had a home. And so, as with all things familiar, we don’t give the word the credit it deserves.
Our homes are supposed to be the safe place that keeps us grounded. I fully acknowledge and have personal experience of living in places that are not safe. My thoughts go out to all who live in conditions that should be better. But thankfully, the majority of people are safe and warm and inside four walls and a roof.
As people living in community, it’s in our best interests to make sure everyone has a bed to sleep in at night. That’s the least of what we must do. Morally, ethically and spiritually, we should help others have a home to lock themselves into at night. It’s our responsibility and obligation to do what we can to make that a reality for everyone.
PLACE OF SAFETY
What is a home? First and foremost, it’s our place of safety. Psychologically, if we don’t feel safe, it’s difficult to use our energy for positive movement forward.
The results of a mental health doctor’s study on homelessness in an American city a few years ago indicate that people need the following: constancy, daily routines, privacy, and a secure base for “identity construction.” No one can get that when they don’t have a home to hang in. (source: “There’s No Place Like a Home: Ontological Survey Among Persons with Mental Illness”, written by Dr. Deborah K. Padgett, 2007).
A key finding of the study shows people “in the system” are expected to be “well” before they are offered permanent housing. But Padgett says having a home is the best way and place that people can get well in the first place. Makes perfect sense to me. And that’s why getting folks into homes – even temporary pallet homes – is necessary for the long-term good of both vulnerable people and of our community as a whole.
Having a home with a door you can lock at night; people you can call in the neighbourhood if something is wrong; a warm bed; a good, quiet sleep; and a fresh coffee in the morning in your own home, goes a long way in healing people that too often are overlooked and rejected.
It might only be for six months but that’s a long time to start the road to independently healthy living.
CRISIS NOT NEW
This homeless crisis didn’t start last year. It’s decades old. It hasn’t been a priority to fix until now. Now, enough of us are being inconvenienced by seeing the effects of homelessness that the silent majority are finally showing up and calling out. The call is for human justice.
And as the weather grows colder, it’s a life and death situation.
Let’s face it, that old adage: “If you’re not part of the solution, then you’re part of the problem” fits well in this case.
Bless the change-makers who have kept a steady and faithful spotlight on the most vulnerable among us for years and years. They have been the voices calling out from the wilderness to do something to save people. It’s way past time the rest of us encourage politicians and the private sector to take more action to ensure people are homed.
And when they do take action, it’s up to the rest of us to support whatever endeavours they suggest in order to save lives and care for others.
I’m perfectly okay with people complaining about pallet housing. Because, in the long run, it’s forcing the government to finally plan on building good, affordable, permanent housing down the road.
MENTAL HEALTH ISSUE
This is a mental health issue. And that’s why it’s so important for everybody to support these initiatives in Nova Scotia. For total, all-encompassing community health, we need to ensure everyone has a home. People need to have safety and dignity. They need to have a little piece of something they can call their own and take care of. Once that happens, then ideally, the health services will come next for those who need them.
An excellent article in the Cape Breton Post on Jan. 31 referred to a pallet village in Denver as a “micro-community.” That’s lovely. For it is a community, a village and a residential neighbourhood. Communities like this are being built all over Canada to address this housing crisis.
Temporary housing can only lead to permanent housing among us – healthy, safe, private, warm, hospitable home-like structures of many kinds. My own home is my sanctuary. I want that for others too.