Homelessness: an outsiders eye

I haven't posted a blog in a while. Its not that I don't have anything to say, its just this particular post is one that I knew I wanted to write almost immediately, yet took a little more thought and understanding on my part.

When you think of Vancouver you think of beautiful beaches and mountains, a fantastic lifestyle with lots to explore. You might not however, think of a deeply worrying homeless issue.

I am under no illusions. Every city in every country has its unique issues, but seeing other human beings lying passed out in the middle of busy streets while commuters walk around them is not something I ever expected to see anywhere. When we first arrived the shock of seeing so many people living on the street resulted in me giving money to whoever asked for it. I knew it was probably not the right thing to do but I really couldn't believe what I was seeing. Its not like homelessness doesn't exist in the UK, it does, but I have never in my life seen whole streets of people quite obviously "not of sane mind" and I mean that quite literally. In the last six weeks I have been growled at by a man who seemingly could only make animal noises, shouted and screamed at, abused in the streets for not providing money and wholeheartedly intimidated. I have seen grown men covered head to toe in their own faeces, I have seen many, many people obviously hallucinating and I've seen drugs openly dealt on street corners. Needless to say, I have since learnt it is better to provide food parcels to local food banks instead, which can easily be bought alongside your shopping at Safeway.

What makes me feel even worse is that I, like many Vancouverites, am starting not to see these people. The shock has died down and it is almost normal to me. I never want this to be normal. While I may not have any of the answers, I don't ever want to pretend the homeless population of Vancouver does not exist.

It is glaringly obvious that at the root of the homelessness issue, like many places, is drugs. But I have to say, we have drugs in the UK - why is it that it affects North America so deeply?

The greater Vancouver area has a total population of ~2.2 million and a homeless population of 2,623 (as of the March 2011 homeless count.), with ~731 rough sleepers. However Greater Birmingham, England where I am from has a population of ~3.7 million and only ~303 rough sleepers (source: 2011 homeless report from www.homeless.co.uk).

Vancouver law states that you cannot ask the same person more than once for change, follow a person or ask for change within 10 metres of an ATM (source: BC Civil Liberties Association) however from my experience this only intensifies the desperation of a drug addicted subculture and instead I have found homeless people willing to sell their belongings (which they retrieve from dumpsters and push around the city in shopping trolleys) do impressions, offer to make you laugh and play the spoons on the off chance you will offer up some cash. Instead I just feel uncomfortable and cruel when I say no.

One of the most saddening sights I have seen here was on my very first day in the city. Eager to explore we headed down towards Chinatown. Rounding a corner, in the distance we saw probably 60-100 people gathered on one block with what looked like stalls. As we got closer we began to feel uneasy as we realised that this was no market or local jumble sale. This was the local homeless population selling their belongings to each other to to try and raise some cash for whatever it was they needed that day - be it drugs, food or shelter.

As I write, Vancouver's current Mayor - Gregor Robertson, has been re-elected for a second 3 year term with a focus on homelessness and affordable housing. Indeed, Vision Vancouver states that they intend to end street homelessness by 2015 (http://votevision.ca/issue/affordable-housing-homelessness). However as you may expect, there are already many organisations and projects working towards the same goal (http://www.streetohome.org/projects) and I do wonder what Vision Vancouver plan to do that these projects are missing? It may be that the newcomer in me cannot yet see further into the issue at what needs to change, or is it that maybe more resources put towards cracking down on drug trafficking, drug supply and dealing would better tackle the cause of the issue rather than treat the effect of homelessness?

I can only express what I have found over the last six weeks and I'm sure over time I will come to understand this issue in more depth. But I do know that it is something that has very much played on my mind and will continue to do so.

I hope this documentary made by the Vancouver Police Department can perhaps fill in the gaps that I have missed and help develop a clearer picture of the issues Vancouver face. This is a wonderful city, but that does not mean it can rest on it's laurels.

Aimée L’amour x

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Print, complete, post, repeat...

Print, complete, post, repeat.
Since my last post this is pretty much how I've been spending my time. The International Experience Canada visa is a bit of a minefield to get your head around at first, but when it comes down to it the form itself isn't that hard to complete, it's the additional forms that go with it.

The first thing we needed to do was to each complete an ACPO Police Certificate form, which takes 10 days to be processed and the certificate to be returned to you, confirming your good character (naturally). The cost of the certificate is £35, but BUNAC recommends that you obtain a copy to show any potential employers once you arrive in Canada which is an extra £5 per copy. Again, the form itself was straight forward and self explanatory, with the only time consuming part being that you need to have a passport photo certified by a professional (from a list of occupations) who has known you for more than 2 years. More information on ACPO Police certificates can be found here.

While we're waiting for our police certificate we've got on with completing the other necessary parts of our visa - and therefore spent most of Saturday having passport photos taken (these need attaching to the visa application) and visiting both of our banks in order to get our all important 'Proof of funds' form signed. I was already a bit apprehensive about this as I had read on both the Work Canada facebook page and also the BUNAC twitter feed that it was notoriously hard to get your banking establishment to sign anything , and judging by my past experiences with banks - I knew that they are not renowned for their helpful nature!

The proof of funds form looks like this:

All that it requires a bank employee to do is check my bank balance before adding their name, my name, a signature and a bank stamp - taking all of 5 minutes. Unfortunately it took me 2 separate visits, a bit of a fuss and a 30 minute wait before my bank would consider signing my form! I, like many others I suspect, was told that "banks don't do things like this anymore" and that they were not permitted to put the banks stamp on any documents whatsoever. My argument that thousands of people take part in this scheme every year, therefore it must  be possible to complete the form fell on deaf ears...twice. Third time lucky and I managed to convince the lady who was helping me to seek advice. 5 minutes later I had a completed form in my hand. Simple when you know how, eh?!

So now my completed visa is sitting waiting for my Police Certificate so that it can be sent off. The Canadian High Commission reserves the right to implement a cut off date for applications at any point, so I hope it hurries up!

Aimée L’amour x

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