Thank you, and I'll say amen to that. It's part of my job. Thanks for having me, and thanks for all your hard work and for continuing in this current economic situation. That's a good thing to do.
I'm national director of homeless and prison ministries for the Evangelical Christian Church in Canada. My experience is with people who have been on the streets, in jails, and in hospitals. I have worked with many types of helping agencies for 15 years. Some had rental homes; some used Out of the Cold in winter and parks in summer. Many went through the Barrie Jail or the Penetang superjail. We worked at the Penetang jail when it was first established, and we set up a support system for inmates and former inmates, which resulted in a suicide-free jail for the first five years.
In the country of France, they expect 19 suicides per 10,000 inmates. Penetang has 6,000 to 8,000 inmates per year, so you can do the math. Elimination of suicides can occur with continued human care and contact. Many of these inmates have addictions. Others have mental health problems, and they share characteristics with those living under the poverty line. These limitations are found all over the world. I studied in areas where there has been a great deal of success in poverty reduction. In England, they completed a 10-year plan with local bylaws, sharply reducing street-sleeping. Making resources available according to need, they provided buildings as well as staff to guide individuals. During my time in London, England, I saw a mild nighttime disturbance calmly cleared up before it could escalate, in less than three minutes This was in stark contrast to what was happening seven or eight years earlier.
In Barrie, Ontario, I participated in a local street centre. It had a staff that could direct people living on the streets to find shelter, according to availability and need. They liaised with the Salvation Army, the Women and Children's Shelter, and Out of the Cold. The centre is open during regular office hours and provides a social networking system of staff, who assist people with such things as retrieving lost ID. This is a common problem. I know because they often asked me to sign the form that stated they were who they said they were. That's another of level of upset for people already needy. In the centre they could get help, medical attention. There was a nurse practitioner on staff; there was addiction counselling assistance and family housing.
The country of Finland reduced homelessness by 25% in 2006 over a period of five years. In 2006 Finland participated, along with many other countries in Europe, in the European Union's first conference on housing rights in 2006, which I was invited to attend. I was hopeful and pleased to hear that their goal was to respect the right, protect the right, and fulfill the right to housing for all.
In Ontario, the city of Cambridge has a permanent community-built centre founded by the government and the local community. It has reduced street living for the poor and mentally challenged and increased care for people by networking with established social agencies.
The mechanisms of success in place in Ontario, Europe, and England are not the same, and adjustments to our Canadian organizations need to be made. These changes can be made by those who know how our organizations work and understand the thinking of people who live in poverty. This will further reduce and eliminate poverty and homelessness. Our government and all of us have the key that can end poverty—because we care, because we have the initiative and the imagination, and because we have resources that so many other countries do not have.
As a start, current government funding could be used to establish centres that liaise with at least four other groups: first, hospitals, dentists, and social agencies; second, housing providers; third, community officers and detention centres; and fourth, fundraisers in the communities, and then large cities and small would experience even more success in poverty reduction. With fundraisers brought in during the early stages, such centres could become self-supporting, with perhaps some assistance as required by the specific community and services.
We have some good examples in Ontario cities, Toronto included. It would be a matter of fine tuning them with what is known to work to the particular needs and thinking of the people under the poverty line.
It has been enjoyable to see so many challenged people get the strength they need from staff who understand their needs and have the means to take them to the next step. I enjoy the work I do.