LETTER: That 'body found in car' was my brother, and he mattered

LETTER: That 'body found in car' was my brother, and he mattered

'Let's come together and help our very own people in our very own community so they don't have to be found dead in a construction vehicle on a cold, cold January night, after the dealers found them,' writes Tracey Marques

GuelphToday received the following letter from Tracey Marques regarding the recent death of her brother Scott and the many others like him:

This letter is to the editor in response to the article published on Jan. 14: "Foul play not suspected after body found in car".

This lonely, lost person was my brother. Scott suffered terrible mental illness and the ongoing pain from feelings stemming from a lack of a sense of belonging when he was displaced to another city. The loss he experienced from the forced relocation, sent him back here to Guelph like a homing pigeon, always seeking to return to his beloved town of Guelph to be close to his family and friends.

Housing has always been a problem in Guelph for the lost, the transient, the men who have nowhere to go. The street family were there for each other, but in tough times many are known to recluse and hide out and try to numb the pain … alone ... and succumb to the call from the dealers.

You dealers are killing our childhood friends, our brothers, or uncles, our cousins, sisters, mothers and our fathers.

YOU, the politicians are also contributing to the pain and suffering, the loss, the loneliness and the poverty. Affordable housing and support for the marginalized does not seem to be a priority.

I challenge you, how many of you politicians, those who have the power to do something, I challenge you. Go stand outside the safe using site in Guelph, see the great work that The Bench and other such dedicated community-run programs are doing. That YOU , YOU those in control, are not supporting.

The delay in permitting tiny houses in our backyards in our communities within Wellington County is completely unacceptable. There is city-owned land, abandoned land, abandoned hotels, there are office spaces left empty due to COVID. There are caring citizens in our community that want to help and you are holding us up as these people are out there freezing and dying.

Tiny houses could be popping up all over our wonderful city and surrounding towns, where these deserving individuals could settle their things and find some safety and peace.

What is the hold up!? Approve tiny homes today! Prioritize affordable housing for our very own people who live right here … on our very own streets. I beg of you on behalf of my deceased brother to go out there, spend a few hours with those who are experiencing poverty so you can finally see first hand what is really going on.

The fallacy that everyone on the streets are addicts is very very wrong. There are many displaced individuals and drugs are not the reason, drugs often are what come to help numb the pain.

Guelph has so many great people ready to help, we just need the proper allocation of funding and focus on creating affordable housing for the marginalized, the poor, the ones that are falling between the cracks. Funding to continue the great work that Compass is doing Compass Community Services contributes in supporting those in need of mental health support.

It is time to support the mental health crisis and lack of housing in our community today.

I challenge you, YOU, those in power, to spend 48 hours on the streets on a cold winter night, or join the people in the line up for two and a half hours outside waiting to see if you get a bed at the shelter tonight. Go hang out, talk to them, and go find out that they didn't all choose this life.

They want to give back and contribute to society but they need Maslow's basics first. Come on, you all learned about the basics needed for survival right? They teach you that somewhere along the line don’t they? Clothing, safety, security, shelter, food, emotional support, a sense of feeling loved and a sense of community belonging, love, friendship,..ONLY THEN, can we self actualize.

Where do these deserving people shower? Or do laundry? Have you ever tried to work out a budget under $1,000 a month (and that's generous)? How about funding the programs and people who ARE willing to help and ARE willing to stand out in the cold like those at The Bench.

Let's come together and help our very own people in our very own community so they don't have to be found dead in a construction vehicle on a cold, cold January night, after the dealers found them.

Poem: Legacy of S.B. Falling between the Cracks

Oh how the pain of living

With confusion and chaos

Within my world, it beats me down.

Always seeking relief and to escape.

Full of love to give,

And the shirt off my back.

Always finding a way

To help you first.

Giving in to addiction

Was the only way out

So sad there are so many people