Owners and Unhoused Share Community Fears But Not Solutions

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This scene was created by affordablehousingaction.org and is licensed under CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication
Trapped in the same community? Why not share social similarities instead of differences?

Hey homies! How come your schemes to solve the growing community homeless problems keep falling flat?

It may well be because you won’t stop listening to yourselves, even though you haven’t a clue what’s really going on. Nova Scotia’s housing minister doesn’t know. He is billed as ‘ frustrated.’ Not a big surprise, considering. Community Services Minister Trevor Boudreau believed that the unhoused would feel safe and cosy when they cuddled down in Nova Scotia’s brand new homeless shelter.

Surprise! Nova Scotia’s unhoused don’t necessarily share the Minister’s feelings. It’s probably quite accurate to blame some of problem on the Homies.

Homies, safe in their houses, are quick to agree that mental problems are scary and dangerous. The often nod in agreement with each other and pontificate that the homeless are, to a person, unhinged, or druggies or both as well as scary and dangerous to boot.

It happens that, to some extent thanks to Homies, a community with a majority of just plain folks (the unhoused in general) are expected to live in communal spaces with a few of the unhinged. Not surprisingly, these unhoused don’t particularly want to go to bed at night and sleep mere inches away from someone who might decide to throw an explosive wobbler, bouncing off the walls in the wee hours of the morning.

In this shared fear, there’s not all that  much difference between fraidy-cat Homies, and fraidy-cat unhoused

So here’s one message to be absorbed by Homies: too much hysteria about a minority of the unhinged and not a lot of cooperation with like-minded but penniless homeless? It may produce a never-ending stalemate instead of meaningful solutions to end the spectre of men, women and children shivering in snow-covered tents who are afraid to go indoors.

Why is Minister Trevor Boudreau frustrated? Why are people who are unhoused more concerned for their own safety? Do citizen ‘experts’ imagine they know all the right answers when it comes to solving a national homelessness crisis?

Time to stop pontificating and start listening. A little bit of cooperation between Homies and the unhoused might help produce better results for all concerned. As a bonus there might be less stress on anxious-to please politicians. Read more at Halifax CityNews: Nova Scotia minister frustrated that unhoused people are snubbing Halifax shelter