GuelphToday received the following letter to the editor from reader Kim Richer, who expresses her support for permanent supportive housing in Guelph-Wellington:
I am in support of permanent supportive housing being built in Guelph-Wellington, and especially in my community, the Onward Willow Neighbourhood.
THANK YOU to Skyline for the wonderful gift of land for one of the projects and to all the great people out in our community working so hard to end homelessness by 2023.
My own journey with homelessness began when I came to the Guelph Wellington community in October 2000. I had a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter and I was nine months pregnant with my son. I barely had any possessions to call my own and I felt broken inside. Through a shelter in the community, I was lucky enough to be offered two housing options from the County of Wellington Guelph Housing and I chose to live in the Onward Willow Neighbourhood.
I had nothing to fill my new home with, and before I moved in, my home was furnished on every floor. Professionals connected me to volunteers in the community that made sure I had a fridge, stove, washer, dryer, tables, beds, couches, etc. It was the Onward Willow community that did that for me. I was so worried that my neighbours would not like me and see how broken I felt, but they did not judge me. They welcomed me with open arms and encouraged me to work hard on my future goals. When I moved in, I had only one goal…..SURVIVAL, but over time, I found safety and security and the confidence to form new goals for myself and my family.
If you asked me 20 years ago, I would have never dreamt to be where and what I am today. Due to the incredible wraparound services I experienced in our community, I have many things I never dreamt for myself the day I moved in.
I am no longer a client at the Guelph Community Health Centre. Today, I am staff at the Guelph CHC. I bring uniqueness to my role of Community Connector and Health Promotion Administration Support because I am a community member, a community volunteer, and a person with lived experience in addiction and mental health.
Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) is perfect for our neighbourhood. The 24/7 support can encourage people to meet goals and if they do not have any (like me, so long ago), staff can assist with that too. PSH can meet our most vulnerable people’s needs by simply giving them safety and security of a home to call their own.
I never lived on my own before coming here. I slept with all the lights on in my home for a long time. I would have loved the opportunity to have had a place to transition from homelessness to the home I have now, with supports to show me how to cook, how to socialize, how to regulate, and learn more about how addiction and/or mental health played a role in my life. The site in my neighbourhood that has been generously donated by Skyline is perfect in many ways.
Tenants of the building will be within walking distance to so many amenities – this was so helpful for me when I moved in, because I had no car or licence. As for PSH being near a school, a daycare, and a community centre, all that is more reason to be happy about the site. We have apartment buildings, houses, and townhouses in the area, all of which have tenants/owners that might struggle with addictions and/or mental health and even possibly criminal records but what they do not have is 24/7 supports like the PSH will. We do not get to choose who our neighbours will be, but we do get to choose to welcome them to our community in a positive manner, model for them what a good neighbour looks like, and do our part to make our community safe for all. Plus, with the new building, we will have a chance to get a proper lit path behind the buildings, which will make our community even safer!
There have been many statements about protecting our vulnerable children; however we must also protect individual/families that are homeless because they too are people’s children. Housing is a basic human right, no matter how people become homeless, we need to end homelessness as a community and show our strength in helping other communities also achieve this goal.
We all have a role in making our community a better place. I encourage everyone to think about what they are doing to help.
Kim Richer,
Guelph, ON
