This month we decided to talk about food insecurity and homelessness in the West Island. Although the Pointe-Claire Record is Pointe-Claire-centric, homelessness and food insecurity know no boundaries.
We as a society need to think about these issues even when it is not in our own town. That said, there is homelessness in Pointe-Claire and many of our citizens are struggling to eat.
These topics are not glamorous and barely get any political attention unless, unfortunately, some poor soul is found dead, frozen. Then it is just “thoughts and prayers” from politicians while $800 million is slated for a stadium roof that nobody wants to use!
At the provincial level, we have a Ministry of Health and Social Services, yet social services are left, by and large, to non-profit organizations that have to beg the government and the public for funds to house and feed the less fortunate. It appears that the priorities of the government are not for the citizens who are not likely to vote.
Now, at the municipal level, we face several different issues because we have Montreal (the elephant) and the demerged cities (the mouse) with different budgets and objectives. The sad thing about the demerged cities is the lack of interest in this topic from both politicians and citizens. No, not true. The West Island is full of great people who do donate and volunteer to help the less fortunate, but the notion of putting a crisis shelter anywhere near the 20, the 40, or the three main north-south arteries would be a definite NO.
Ricochet faced the dreadful dilemma earlier this year of having to kick people out of its shelter with just a tent and a “best of luck” goodbye. Why would a shelter for the homeless do this? Simple. A government agency, one from the Ministry of Health and Social Services, no less, wanted the building for their own use. You can’t find a better example of irony.
Where do we go from here? What can we do as citizens? Yes, lobbying is always good. Donate to food banks throughout the year and not just at Christmas so you feel good. Ricochet needs money too, and all of the organizations in this issue can use funding and volunteers.
Let’s also stop with the NIMBY mentality on this issue. Ghettoizing the disadvantaged does nobody any good. Nor does pretending it isn’t our problem. Our approach to this has to change.
In the West Island we have a lot of great programs to help people who are lacking in food, but food insecurity is really a poverty issue affecting people from all walks of life, and we need to tackle the root causes and not just provide a meal for the day. Our elected officials and community groups need to work together to come up with a comprehensive plan that creates proactive solutions rather than reactive ones.
Helping people find a way to earn a living wage is typically not the role of the food bank or shelter, but a cohesive link between all that are trying to help can make all the difference. It is unfortunate that social issues are not managed like a trauma patient who enters the system at the right trauma centre and is followed up with physio and home care. Governments rely too heavily on community groups and volunteers to fill the void, but that leaves these groups begging for money just as much as the disadvantaged, not ideal.
Is there a solution? Maybe, if we as a society change our view and approach and actually stitch up the wound and stop with band-aid solutions.