Poverty Awareness in York Region

Former Golden Glove boxer John Fletcher lived here behind the 404 plaza in Newmarket. He died homeless. There is no transitional or assisted housing for single men in YR. The lone Men's shelter runs full most nights. Join us Ap 19 .

  In my previous blog I wrote about being locked in for the Ontario Budget and commented on it a bit and felt I shouldn't let the federal budget go without comment.

  Firstly the feds are planning to implement new rules to make it even tougher for everyone to collect employment insurance - including Ontarians who already get shafted on the eligibility requirements in comparison to most other provinces - rules that will include a provision that workers cannot say no to any 'local"job offer. That is worrisome, like firstly how will they define "local", and secondly that would require a guarantee of transportation to and from said 'local" job which the feds cannot guarantee such as through something like the recent York Region Transit strike which left riders in lurch for 4 months and still has essentially the same problematic deal between the region/transit company/and unions still in place, so there's certainly no guarantee there for them.What would happen then? The onus would be on the worker as the feds would say, " public transportation is a municipal matter" is what.

  Also quietly buried in the feds' budget was the fact that they have killed the National Council of Welfare which, since 1962, has been there with a government mandate to advice and warn policy makers about the consequences of neglecting poverty issues. Their 1.1 million dollar budget afforded them the ability to access expensive unpublished Stats Canada facts and data that anti-poverty advocates used to make their points and present their educated ideas from. Not any more, as another long standing social agency bites the dust. You couple this with the recent elimination of the long form census and what we will have here is a situation wherein the government will be able to fudge facts and figures and no-one will be able to counter with any certainty - a fact the shrewd working feds are banking on. Meantime Back in Ontario Dolton is licking his chops..quietly.

  Speaking of Premier MCgee..rumour has it he's making a "mannequin tour" this coming weeks as part of the "Put Food in the Budget" Campaign with the idea that people can speak their mind to the real - life sized-looking Mcguinty lookalike, a version of which will be hanging out with me in York Region from April 19 to 23d should anyone like to "interview" him...on camera of course! The tour gets kicked off at Toronto's Queen's Park April 19 at 1:30PM to draw attention to the freeze in social assistance and ODSP rates as contained in the Ontario budget, and removal of the "Start-up" fund which in essence eliminates York Region's lowest income recipients from any anti-homelessness programs completely.. Join us!

  Another topic I blogged and created video-blogs as far back as November about was the need to make the York Regional Chairperson a voted position and lo and behold it's now finally on the table for review!? This position carries far too much responsibility and power for it to not have someone held accountable as in times such as the recent transit strike wherein our Chairman, Bill Fisch, could essentially sell out low income York Regioners by sitting on his hands for 4 months whilst some peoples lives dissolved around them. He dismissed offhandedly my submission to council that they leave their cars at home for the duration of the strike. His laissez-faire attitude toward bringing an end to the dispute was a shining example of why that person needs to be held accountable - either through a performance review or voted out by the public. Other regions have adopted a voted in Regional Chairperson and certainly see no reason why York region shouldn't as well.


  Funny thing, at the same time as Newmarket council raised the issue of perhaps instilling new measures to ensure 'donations' and such for elections are controlled and transparent, so too did they in regards to charities and events the councilors support. They mentioned donations to " Belinda's Place", The Hoedown, Y.R. Habitat for Humanity - which recently paid out a whopping 6 $million dollars in "costs" fyi.

  Speaking of Belinda's Place, nice to read in the Newmarket Era that the to be 'single women's shelter" as well as the other 7 shelters in York Region that accept women (abused - includes immediate access to social housing - 3), family-1, single women to age 27- 1 (plus transitional housing), In / Out from the Cold's(2) are going to have apartments, transitional housing and "programs' to assist them all. This in addition of course I assume to whatever programs are offered out by the Y.R. Womens Centre.

  Y.R.'s men get no apartments or transitional housing and are kicked to the curb at 8am until evening for their "programs', then shipped to Toronto or Barrie to be rid of. I guess the region didn't get the memo that with the opening of the new family shelter the women's shelters use numbers are all down. But hey, we can't spoil a planned party now, especially if its going to deify Belinda for her wondrous foresight aided of course by the etchings of the local newspaper Editor Deb Kelly who is also on the Belinda's Place's (closed group) committee, and helped present it to the Regional Council to acquire funding / support. Funny they haven't printed one letter I've written about the shelter idea and the fact that affordable housing for singles including men is what's needed, not another expensive to run shelter, even though I co-authored York Region's social audit " Behind The Masks" and Chair it's only grassroots organization with a mandate to reduce poverty. I've said it before and I'll say it again this proposed new shelter will have to bring single women (over age 27 since we have youth shelters already for single women up to 26) in from outside York Region to fill it, but Joe and Jill Public will ever be the wiser since all they'll be told through our mainstream local media (via the same Editor) is that everything is wonderful there. The same spin that happens now.

Homeless man visits for the first time since his death, the "home" of former homeless person John Fletcher. John's saying was " It's 60-40 for the good guys". He left behind two children when he died in Newmarket.

  Two homeless men I know of have died homeless in Newmarket in the past few years such as John Fletcher, a former golden gloves boxing champion who lived behind the Metro grocery store at the 404 plaza, and not a word in the local newspapers was written about them, nor any new programs to save our men announced - although funding for some upstart group claiming to be helping young low income girls was announced..I guess Girls Incorporated and Big Sisters or free activities programs offered up by Operation Sparrow which PACC helped create, does not segregate and costs nothing for users wasn't enough? Why not just fund them so they can expand a model already set up and sensitive to those living on the margins.

  I know it's nice to save our women and children first, just like the Titanic, but like the Titanic the model is destined to sink because it overloads one area while neglecting another. At some point they/we must all co-exist. You don't skip over 90% of a problem area to focus most of our resources( grants, gov $, charitable donations, media) to another because it's "sexier".

  90% of our truly homeless are men, 90% of those killed on the streets are men, and 90% killed in wars for this country are / were men...It's ugly yea, but surely the ones in need who didn't ask for a life of street violence, crime, and hunger deserve some consideration, respect and hope...just saying...

Tom out

 I attended the lockup for the Ontario 2012 Budget called Strong Action for Ontario. For those not aware the lock up is an opportunity afforded invited guests of concerned organizations to view the budget before it is released publicly. During this time you are not allowed to carry communication devises or even leave the room without a security escort. Wow, is it ever weird not having a cell phone. What happened to me? Ha. It's like you've agreed to have your rights suspended for 3 hours.. like jail! The coffee was likely on par with the latest institutional blend and where were the sandwiches promised in the invite? Luckily I avoided any escorted bathroom breaks and went to task feverishly reading over the budget.

  I like to read the throne speech that accompanies it first so I know what issues to watch for and the ones most glossed over are often the ones you have to watch, such as the discovery that in addition to freezing social assistance rates - including disability support programs rates - they've cancelled the Community Start up and Maintenance Benefit which helped put the lowest income recipients in and enable them to keep  homes.

Having followed and read the direction the social services review is headed, there seems to be some preemptive assumptive measures put in place in the budget even though the review is not completed or approved which I find alarming. Was there ever going to be any serious input from anyone other than this review commission who from the outset seems fixated that people need "incentives" to work.These "incentives" include creating enough income instability it would seem as to 'scare' people into "wanting' to work. Do they really think access to work is the only problem? Or jobs that have a pay structure enough to keep a roof AND pay for daycare?

  People don't need incentives like forced labour on our disabled as the two ( social assistance review and budget) seem to suggest ("integrating ODSP with Ontario Employment") to want to work, they already want to contribute. This part you seemed to hear, that people want to contribute, but not by force by CHOICES. And many already are, but want recognition so their esteem and mental health can experience growth or life, not embarrassment or loss of dignity through being "categorized" and branded.

  The budget continues down the alley of shifting government responsibility for taking care of our citizens through partnerships with corporations and corporate charities/religions to be used as distributors and hosts for funding / programs - not grassroots solutions based on reality. They've created a $2 billion dollar " Jobs and Prosperity Fund" for them to play with, so they can make even more free branding as well as more money for their executives, advertising, staffing and corporations received a freeze in corporate taxes as well. The budget also kept an education program that pays 30% of University or College tuition for kids living at home in households making up to $160,000 yearly. Hello!! Like they need it! Yet they froze welfare recipients at $599 month! I guess the charitable meal programs will have to feed them...ALL...Oh Wait..that's all part of their strategy! And I wonder how many low income earners will be asked to join the new "Jobs and Prosperity Council"?

  About the only good news for low income recipients is they're reducing or elimination some pension contributions and like them MPP's incomes are being frozen at their current (allbeit 6 figure) rates. Poor them.

  Other planned cuts aside from pensions are done through amalgamations or merges of entities like schools which they plan to merge - which will affect low income kids without transportation - as well as Children's Aid Societies which at the best of times are stretched to the limit already with 6 of 10 in their care coming out of their "care" to live in poverty or be involved in crime. Great idea Duh-alton. Apprenticeship programs boast having gone up from 60,000 in 2003 to 120,000 now but has a 50% in-completion rate...so...doesn't that mean it has failed? Do the math - 50% of 120,000 is 60,000! Right back where they started from! even after we've gone through a recession? The program has too high an expectation on employers to work and make it worth their while as often times the programs requires an overkill of assorted tradesman on site to make it financially feasible for them. Fixing this would enable thousands of apprentices to get into meaningful job situations resulting in completions.

  As usual the politicians aren't listening. Although they invite me / us to all these gathering and input sessions and claim they want our input yet they seem to pick and choose what they (want to) hear from a preordained vantage point, and when you do speak with them as I have with the MPPs involved with Poverty Reduction Strategy as well as the Commissioners of the Social Assistance Review and others, you seem to get preconditioned and canned responses that don't allow for new ideas or flexibility.

Click Here for fun video on Ontario budget and low income cooking!

 We're all on the same team here and the sooner everyone understands that the better off we'll become. Yes it'll take "strong action" for Ontario to move forward but that doesn't mean categorizing and shifting responsibilities it means building bridges that work because they've had the proper input of materials to make them work. Not a patchwork of ideas that may work, but ideas with a history of working, which we've brought to their tables many a times.

Tom Pearson

York Region Food Network was asked to move out

Y.R. Food Networkers ousted from building - Did they lobby on behalf of other tenants' clients' rights too much?

   The recent release of preliminary initial findings from the social services review Commission confirmed the feeling we had from when we met with Commissioners Frances Lankin and Munir Sheihk earlier this year when they seemed mired in relating everything to the labour force - as if the only barriers people had were work related - and they seemed fixated that if you fix that, that would be the end of the "problem". Gee, if that were the case it'd have been "fixed" long ago. These guys still don't get it and seemed already fixated and predisposed (re:directed) on this relationship as well as the fact people apparently, in their conclusions, need 'incentives" to work, to get off welfare. Never mind the lack of adequate daycare, jobs, transportation, health supports or pay. But what about while people are on social assistance (usually a temporary measure for the majority) can they not be given enough to pay rent and eat? And what about those in need NOW! They were big on quoting only select input from people they chose to, but nothing of the points from our hundreds, if not thousands, of Ontario-wide connected parties that have studied and researched the 'problem" for years, not months, and have some great realistic and DIGNIFIED solutions that don't involve charity. And I don't mean political parties I mean people.

  And how about jobs with a future instead of pigeon-holing people into quick fix " skills' training programs that often have no local bearing, but sound good on paper. The report cites these  but leaves out specifically mentioning a raise is needed in the meantime, and that people are actually worse off now under their government than Harris' after taking inflation into account as they have never adequately brought rates up to where they were before the infamous Harris conservative slash, burn and blame programs of the mid 90's. The prelim just goes on and on and on about the "labour" market and in doing so deliberately creates a divide by pitting poor against working poor in its set-up as well.
   Like this is a choice for most? Who would choose to live a life of misery and hunger? It's just more of the blame game and it even points fingers at the disabled as the "review" encompasses suggesting forcing them to 'work" for their income by making it mandatory. Whose brainstorm was that?

   People on disabilities have a hard time often just getting out their doors in winter here being as our system doesn't provide free(or any) driveway snow shoveling services, but makes them rely on charities which are inconsistent at best.

Tom and Ashley volunteer community organizers. Recently Ashley was told to buy a walker and change her medication after years of being told she had a certain illness and made to take mal seizure causing pills. She went for her 1st walk unassisted . she still has not had her daughter returned now 6 mos seizure free. Meet her Sat Mar 17 volunteering at the Friendly Neighbourhood youth road hockey Challenge.

  One such couple spent the last two weekends stranded inside their house when the charity service didn't show up and their calls for help to them went unanswered. Do you know how depressing that is in winter to be stranded? And what about food and errands, doctors? During this period they also were expected to attend at the Children's Aid office to visit their daughter since she was taken off them for no other reason other than they were disabled and poor. They couldn't make the visit. This gets held against them on their "file' as well. Frankly I don't see why their daughter isn't brought to them since its not their fault of being DISABLED, even though as one half of the couple in question discovered, after 6 years of being ordered to take seizure causing medication when a new doctor stopped it, that she has now not a SINGLE SEIZURE in 6 mos but they still don't have their daughter??!....They are losing their energy to fight and certainly don't have the money for a fancy state-like attourney. So now they're to be forced to do labour too? Good luck with that hair brained idea! Might as well call them the Liberal Conservative Party at this rate.

  The York Region Food Network having been "evicted" last month by the controlling powers that be at the Inn From The Cold building, moved out of 510 Penrose in Newmarket to an obscure location in Aurora that is a tough access for people without vehicles. Too bad, they did some o.k. work there and often stood up for the rights of those on low income, instead of only using them like some do as 'clients' and "guests", but I guess they were sticking up for peoples' rights too much and not playing nice quiet accept the lousy treatment of people tenant that they wanted there. Some "hub".

Fred Joly one of the performers for Opening Face-off party to raise youth award funds for FNY Road hockey challenge

   If you want to get away from it all for a night and feed a good cause that isn't a corporate charity connected to the money people like Y.R.'s seem to be, then come to the Opening Faceoff Party in Newmarket on Fri Mar 16 at 7:30pm PM for a ripping great lineup, free entry/snacks and donations go to $1000 youth friendship award.

TP OUT!

   Don't forget about P.A.C.C.'s now longest running in Ontario Road hockey tourney! We need players and volunteers still! Meeting next Wed at 1220 Stellar Dr. Newmarket unit 205 Deli House Catering hall 6:30 PM - 8PM.
2012 Youth Road Hockey Challenge Newmarket

Youths can sign up here for the annual youth road hockey event!

Tom out!

YRNG reports about York Region Council needing an elected Chairperson months after PACC urged action.

    It seems the York Region Media Group is finally getting with the program. Several months after we first began blogging, creating media, and reporting about a need to replace the York Region Chair not only because of the present chairperson Fisch's incompetence but also because an elected chair seems more democratic than having the same guy anointed every year with no challengers. It's just too cozy an arrangement for a guy making over $200,000 a year! The elected Mayor of Toronto doesn't make that much - and meantime Fisch seemingly doesn't think transit drivers should make even $50,000 a year - which is only 1/2 of the average household income in York Region. Pay them a fair wage, give them reasonable working conditions - like breaks - and let's get on with this thing! You can flop around all you want Fisch but your filet is cooked my friend, so I suggest you take the high road and bow out gracefully while you still can.  
Better yet take transit.

  Speaking of cozy arrangements, am I the only one who finds it astoundingly outrageous that an organization purportedly selling products donated free, that most people think are used to build homes for people in need, instead spends over a million dollars in 2011 for "administration costs". Huh? Let me get this straight..they built exactly 0 homes in Newmarket, Aurora or Georgina in 2011 and incurred over $1,000,000 in expenditure costs? On What!? And now "need" to hire professional fundraisers too?

   This U.S. based model corporate connected "charity's" usefulness has gone the way of the dinosaur I'm afraid as it doesn't fit our Canadian ideals or system and it stigmatizes those chosen - as they are expected to be the face in the media mouthing wonderful things about these wonderful people before and as they move in as part of the deal instead of with privacy and dignity - while at school the kids become the "habitat kids" and other labels which can lead to low self esteem and mental health issues.. Because they are vulnerable, the chosen families of course will go along with it all and who could blame them?

  They also build so few homes and include numerous qualifying conditions that should not allow them to market themselves in their numerous commercials as providers of "affordable housing". It's a wonderful sounding buzz phrase, but a misleading one, as it is one usually reserved for real builders of "affordable housing" - in the dozens or hundreds at once - not one or two units per year as they typically might build - and then uses the very people they claim to want to help for publicity campaigns.
Well you can't have it both ways I'm afraid. Sure it helps a few people a year locally, but at what cost?

  Habitat for Humanity York Region's future plans apparently include developing isolated ghetto-like properties by the sounds of it - a number of units per property - "because it makes fiscal sense" according to Habitat's E.D. Nancy Van Kessel - which goes against all the studies about building isolated low income housing projects.  This is exactly what is wrong with charitable solutions often. Since when does fiscal sense trump accepted social housing policy? And since when does York Region in general care about actual fiscal sense anyway? I mean where was "fiscal sense" when York Region Council ordered destroyed a perfectly good shelter a few years back whilst almost simultaneously announcing plans to build a "much needed" single women's shelter?

So Why is H.F.H. seemingly exempt from procedure or scrutiny? Because they are a wonderful charity with great commercials that say they are great so they must be? Or perhaps because they are, as their head office corporate website says, a great brand partner worth 3.1 billion dollars, as much as Starbucks as they write? Corporate charity is not the solution for affordable housing woes in York Region - building units in the dozens or hundreds of units with government funds are what is needed or an alternative like PACC presented which was a private venture offering mixed income owned condos along with some affordable units that the company would qualify tenants to own who normally wouldn't - not some band-aid U.S. modeled feelgoodgroup confusing reality by sounding like they are "providing affordable housing" in York Region, when in actuality most who need affordable housing would not even qualify for a habitat house based on their eligibility requirements. They do a lot of advertising but little actual building anyway from my perspective, and even then it's with conditions for those lucky enough to have enough of the right disabilities, or fit the correct "culture" or 'mold" that they are looking for each time, as often seems to be the case. Smile for the camera!

Tom Taylor, former Newmarket Mayor, and Father of Regional Councilor John, Chairs or sits on the Boards of a number of Y.R. service providing charities including YR Habitat for Humanity, Neighbourhood Network and Inn From the Cold.

  It all reminds me of these "Champions" some groups trot out each year from various sources who praise the organizations and charities they've accessed up and down meantime behind the scenes they're often getting extras like jobs, food, fees, and free goodies that bribe them enough to be the media 'face". In one case the face of the family shelter one year got up and said how she'd been homeless with her kids in Toronto and ended up in our Y.R. shelters, then Y.R.'s assisted housing, and that she loved her new life and job and now volunteered in the community she loved. Awww it was a wonderful speech. Teared me up. She left out the part about having a husband when this all went down who had lived with her right up until that very day ( now years on from her dilemma) as best I knew, as she'd introduced me to him when she moved in and I'd seem him often around - but who wasn't anywhere to be seen or mentioned on this day - coming across like a distraught single mom who'd gone through terrible ordeal all alone. Oh and volunteering? She'd looked me in the eyes previously at her own community hall and said "Fuck em" when dropping out the week we were to put on a puppet show for the kids in her neighbourhood - because there weren't enough other volunteers she'd said. I appealed to her that some just couldn't make it that night, but she wasn't interested. To say I was stunned would have been an understatement. We never saw her back to help again as I suppose she was busy with her new "career". The 'career" she referred to her in her speech was given to her by housing not long after she was moved in - while many others should have been considered before her - as it was a (part-time) tenants position and many qualified residents had lived there a number of years before her arrival. Not bad for someone who went homeless in Toronto! I sat quietly throughout her speech, although I may have shaken my head a few times in disbelief but I wasn't going to spoil their party and besides the food was great ...and the tour wonderful and programs sounded just wonderful too! Ha!

   Still, it's a sad state of affairs that vulnerable people are used to legitimize groups that upon further examination - including the recent social audit done on York Region - that many of these groups are failing and in some cases rewarded time and again for programs or services that are poorly run or useless or not user friendly. And it is them who seem always left out - the majority - the ones not the chosen "champions" - that we need to look out for because our society and especially York Region seems to prefer  pretty stories instead of reality, and consequently keeps rewarding the same offenders with funds. I wonder if somewhere in here a conspiracy exists ....and the various boards with seemingly many of the same people involved is a good place to start.

Kristine Carbis on the scooter along with a number of people involved with Y.R.'s 1st ever social audit Behind The Masks  hiding her face with the report in this photo as she seeks no recognition for her immeasurable efforts

  You want a "Champion"- look no further than P.A.C.C.'s own Kristine Carbis who not only represents her community by sitting on a unique tenant reference group providing input to the Region to best manage housing tenant issues but has also tirelessly (and quietly) volunteered in her community (association) for years and is the one distributing food and goods to those in need, organizing her community events and Christmas Parties, connecting people to resources and schools, assisting with numerous projects to help end the affects of poverty in her community such as sitting for several years on the board for a P.A.C.C. assisted group we helped start - Operation Sparrow - which provides low income kids access to recreation and transportation at no cost, as well as assist the Put the Food in The Budget Campaign, Do the Math campaign, the P.A.C.C. hosted I.S.A.R.C.(York Region) Social Audit, Oct 17 Int Day for the Eradication of Poverty, and the annual Friendly Neighbourhood Youth Roadhockey Challenge she also helps organize both with P.A.C.C. and within her community to make sure a team is formed and everyone can get there. Currently she is quietly presenting to the Y.R. District School Board people to help them better understand dignified approaches to dealing with those who come from lower income homes' and why seemingly simple assignments might be an issue for others - such as access to libraries, computers, printers, embarrassment and such. And she's done so the last few years with use of a cane, then scooter, due to her deteriorating physical condition. Her biggest regret? Not getting chosen to be on the York Region Disabilities Committee - another controlled YR entity. She wasn't given a reason why not. Probably because she'd speak her mind for the rights of everyone and not quietly vote yes to everything without question.
  Now there's a real champion.

Don't forget to vote for PACC's finalist video One Paycheck Away before Jan 20!

Tom Pearson Out!!

  Good morning Vietnaaaaam! This famous line was uttered of course from Robin Williams' character in the movie of the same name which was based on a real person's story, took place in war times, and was recognised by the soldiers and personnel as the signal that they were about to be put at ease through the power of laughter - via a radio show. This comedy formatted show acted to keep spirits raised during a time that was extremely distressing and stressful. I think that is what is needed right now, especially for those who have been handcuffed by the York Region Transit Strike - which is now Canada's 2nd longest in history. To that end, TP produced a short spoof called Depressing Country Hits a mock commercial for a record album that uses the recurring theme of the transit strike in it. It's design is to make you laugh.

P.A.C.C. and the C.B.C. reported on poverty and transit issues

  To date it seems nothing P.A.C.C. or anyone has done or said has had any influence on ending this strike. We've done our usual mix of addressing (and embarrassing) politicians, councils, approaching other groups and bus drivers / union reps as well as our own online media campaign to create awareness and attempted to solicit more attention from the mainstream news media - which we think is covering it far too little - therefore keeping minimal pressure on to resolve it.

  In addition my letters to the Editor of the local (York Region Media Group) papers including the Era Banner go unpublished - even though they quote or use me/us when it suits which works both ways but we are the established voice for those on low or no incomes in York Region and recent host group for the most in-depth look at the state of York Region's social services, programs and safety net systems in the area's history via a social audit. The resulting report was adopted for recommendations by the Regional Council as well, and this 6 months to produce audit was a significant achievement admired and widely respected across Ontario, but has gone relatively unnoticed and unused here.

  As no one seems to be stepping forward to help end this strike which has now expanded to become a crisis maker for many, we feel P.A.C.C.'s experience and ability to connect people from diverse backgrounds and positions gives us a unique ability to get parties communicating, and feel we could negotiate a fair end to this for all parties involved.Uniquely as well, PACC supports the drivers' rights to a living wage and reasonable working conditions but also the rights for those riders who've had no choice and whose extreme users are most affected.
 
  P.A.C.C.'s Letters to the Editor never get published!
I thought I'd print one of my recent letters to the Editor that they never publish, and if they do they change, as it's purpose was / is to bring more attention to the seriousness of this transit strike to more people.

Don't forget to vote once a day for our video contest 1 min adspot finalist One Paycheck Away here!

A sign on the door of one of the "non-existent" single women's shelter spots in York Region

  I just read with glee once again about how badly we need another women's shelter in York Region and thank goodness Belinda Stronach has come to the rescue of all those 500 downtrodden homeless single women we have! The Writer, Chris Traber, left out some pertinent facts like 90% of all homeless are men and that the 500 homeless women stat he quotes are in fact not 500 women at all but instead 500 contacts made by any woman single or not to find shelter, that didn't end with them staying there. So, in other words the same people calling numerous times per year to find out if room is available are counted each time, as well as calls referred to another shelter - as long as it doesn't end in them sheltering the caller. So if someone calls the Yellow Brick House and is then directed to call the youth shelter and then the family shelter, that's 3 people to their "stats". Belinda has a good heart I think, but she is often misinformed by people around her, either that or she really believes this bullcrap spin. And no offense meant, but she has no grass-roots experience and no real understanding of what low / no income people go through, man or woman. For goodness sake, her father in the same paper / issue was mentioned as Canada's 21st richest citizen...and anyway aren't there enough buildings, streets, and trails named after people still alive and still involved in community workings around here already!?

  The now defunct Homelessness Alliance's former Director, Jane Wedlock, from where the Era article quotes its "stats", knew that homeless / low income men have by far the least supports here - from shelters to programs ( no men's center here!) and I confronted the former Director  in her office at the time for caving in and supporting the manufactured bandwagon of obviously the least need, when this single women's shelter was being worked up for proposal behind the scenes to the Region some years back now.       
  Affordable housing was what was / is needed and she knew it. It played well though - this brand new of course - shelter for vulnerable single women, with the players and media, as they too were either bamboozled or sell-outs, or in some cases part of the conspiracy of half-truths spun as facts that translated into this manufactured idea of an overwhelming need for more shelters, which was then more or less rubber stamped by council. We don't. Wedlock seemed to take the position that since we weren't likely to get any affordable housing soon, then both a men's and women's shelters were "needed". "One at a time" she'd said. To which I'd replied, "Then we should be taking care of the most in need first shouldn't we!" She now has a cozy Y.R. United Way job.

With a homeless father and son in 2011 we finally got some attention to the lack of supports for men in Y.R.- still nothing.

  Another missing stat is the one that says individual women's shelter use in York Region was down in 2011..why? because of the opening of the new family shelter which takes a lot of the women in, as well the INN From The Cold and Out From the Cold which now shelters all women and still have room for plenty more  as they aren't near full on the women's side- or even used at times. That's right the room sits empty...often! The youth shelters also cater to single young WOMEN up to age 27 which the writer claims so passionately that York Region has absolutely none of. So where is this great demand! It's manufactured my friends to make some people look good.

  Now what should have been done, if they worried about costs at all, was realized in advance the family shelter would / is take the load off the other women's shelters - and then turned one of them into a single women's shelter - thereby saving taxpayers millions of dollars. Those dollars could then have been used to build what is ACTUALLY needed - more affordable housing. Instead, the Region approved the release of $3 (or was it 4?) million dollars to build one, providing this caring "group", and now board, raised the rest. Oh yea, and it has to be run as well, with paid staff lest we forget.And what of the area's Y.R. Councilor? What is his position on this issue? The one who's dad and former mayor sits on or Chair's many of the area's related charity and shelter boards? Hmmmm.

  What we really need immediately is affordable housing for singles so that those homeless women that they'll be shipping here - likely from outside York Region - to fill it up like what we do with affordable housing here for families - can have a place to live after their 6 weeks are up at Belinda's Place - or will they get special status to stay longer than the men do? And I assume by all the wonderful "life changing" programs the writer says they are going to do there it will all happen after supper time - as I 'm thinking that, like the men, they'll be kicked out during the day to their own devises. And guess what? There's a building already available on Leslie St. that could house what they want but no - it has to be a 5 million dollar project that taxpayers are paying the bulk of and whenever Belinda bores of it you'll be stuck maintaining it without her influence. I wonder if the Quakers knew before donating land for this?

  I first spoke about the idea with Belinda, I believe, at one of her functions several years ago. In fact memory serves it was the Good Brothers concert who she'd rented for the Aurora Town Park which I assume she booked for the B.B.Q. as a thank-you gesture for (her) Neighbourhood Network volunteers. P.A.C.C had joined the N.Network in order to open up dialogue by supporting their start-up charity and I attended with P.A.C.C. member Dan who hails out of a wheelchair. I don't think she remembered it was I who had beckoned her to join the "Squaretable on Poverty" that we organized while she was M.P., to which she agreed only after I went live on the C.B.C. to solicit a response from a group who had until then, all but ignored us (P.A.C.C.). At any rate, at that time, she said to me, " Did you know they have no women's shelters in York Region?"..I was aghast knowing of 3 right off the top in Markham, Aurora, and Georgina which have the distinction of houses for those "abused" but where no real verifiable proof is needed, so regularly women have gotten around the "abuse" condition by simply claiming it. It's common knowledge of women booking into Georgina for years for summer time in advance, and this was relayed to me by someone who worked there in front of many others. There are also Inns from the Cold which shelter all women, and youth shelters which shelter women up to 27, and the family shelter which I assumed includes women too. I informed her she was misled somewhat at the time and I would have discussed it further had she attended any of our Square Table on Poverty meetings, other than the forced initial one, after which it was an assistant always instead.

  Here's a letter a P.A.C.c.er sent to Regional Chair Bill Fisch in 2009 before they tore down another existing  building that also could have been fixed up and used as the shelter or transitional housing of which only a few for adult women exist currently in York Region and none for men.The Region claimed it couldn't be fixed, yet the foundation looked solid to our visual inspection.

This property on Leslie St. in Queensville is ideal for a shelter and has sat empty since last January. The Region knows it.

  Dear Chairman Fisch,
  It has come to our attention that the shelter known as “Leeder Place” has been slated to be torn down next week. The reason given according to your reports is that the building was not worth fixing up due to costs, yet another shelter (family) is currently being erected at significantly more of a cost. It would seem to us that spending $100, 000 - $150,000 to fix it up, as opposed to $3,000,000 on a new building would make more fiscal sense - or at least lower the need for a full new 40 bed structure as you plan, and save costs. Subsequent inquiries as to seeing the building inspectors report that lead to this decision have not been available to us to view as we were referred by a board member to seek it through the freedom of information act - leading us to wonder if there is something more to this decision?
   The same report indicates that shelter beds are in demand in the region, which is well known, thus we feel the tearing down of any shelters need be scrutinized with public input and as far as we can see no public consultation has been done to date.
  I wonder if we could have the destruction of this shelter postponed until such time as we and others have had a chance to have some input.
  In our opinion this shelter could be used as true ‘transitional” housing as there seems to be no exit strategies for shelter dwellers other than 6 weeks and then out to the streets in many cases, whereas in other regions they offer some longer term temporary housing, especially for men who tend to be homeless longer term which could include an “exit strategy” - instead of recycling them back into shelters via the streets.
  The slated building is only 40 years old whereas the existing buildings being kept are 100 therefore we don’t see how one and not the other can be kept.
  Please let us know if you are willing to delay implementation of the raze order this so that we can have some public consultation on this important matter.
  Sincerely,
  Rick H, Housing Specialist, Poverty Action for Change Coalition
They did not reply.
  
Adult Men in York Region have only 26 full time beds to choose from in a population of over 1 million people. No abuse shelters for them even though many are robbed, beaten, and terrorized while living homeless. Even though statistically men are assaulted and killed in far greater percentages than women or children and lest we forget - men are humans too. They bleed. They cry. They fear.They die.

A winter shelter for single women in York Region which the Y.R.M.G. claims none exist in YR. It sat empty that week

  Next up..the local Y.R. boards of these hostels, shelters and organizations seem to be a closed door to a select few with no real grassroots membership. P.A.C.C. will look into this further for the P.A.C.C. report on You Tube! Watch for it!