Hope in a Homeless World

You know how a song can get stuck in your head? There’s a tune by American jam band Widespread Panic that’s been running through my mind since last week’s court decision striking down the city’s now-hastily amended anti-camping bylaw. It’s called “Hope in a Hopeless World,” but the version of it that’s been spinning on my internal jukebox is “Hope in a Homeless World,” since that seems to be one of the things in short supply these days. Adequate shelter, reasonable rents and a sense of hope—hope that we start seeing some greater steps being taken towards reducing homelessness, hope that all levels of government wake up to the fact that too many people are still sleeping rough, hope that the coming civic election will bring a measure of, well, hope to the people of this city . . . before we see our own collective fear of civic poverty spark a widespread panic of its own.

Regardless how you feel about issues of homelessness and the homeless themselves—that vast, complex and difficult-to-define group of people with wide-ranging obstacles, political aims and lifestyle limitations—there’s simply no denying it is the issue of the day. And the timing of last week’s court decision, which must have twisted the knickers of Beacon Hill Park’s staunchest defenders even more than the threat of a popcorn stand, was arguably perfect: the day after Thanksgiving, the same day as a federal election (where millions of dollars were wasted but poverty wasn’t even a blip on anyone’s campaign radar), three years to the day after the removal of the Cridge Park camp that initiated the appeal, and smack in the middle of Homelessness Action Week. The only way it could have been more in the city’s face is if the mayor had suddenly declared bankruptcy and landed on the street himself. (Alas, no chance of that. He had left town.)

One small part of Homelessness Action Week was the “Igniting Change” session featuring Stephen Snyder, chair of the Alberta Secretariat for Action on Homelessness. As the president and CEO of energy giant TransAlta Corporation and director of CIBC, Snyder doesn’t have to worry about becoming homeless himself (unless the market really falls), but that doesn’t mean he’s not worried about Calgary’s homeless. Among the many points he made (including the importance of dedicated leadership, measurable successes, emergency prevention, speedy action, longterm decentralized affordable housing and the need to galvanize the entire country on this issue) was that “the homeless were causing hopelessness in others.” In other words, beyond cash, accountability and effective leadership, people needed hope.

As you walk past the panhandlers, as you cycle by the Galloping Goose campers, as you glance askance at the tarps and shopping buggies and backpacks tucked into the nooks and crannies of our city’s parks, ask yourself if you see any hope. Then ask why not. Then start making it happen. Because we really do need hope in this homeless world. M