A discussion and film presentation held by Columbia River-Revelstoke MLA Norm Macdonald and NDP Opposition Critic for Homelessness and Mental Health David Chudnovsky drew a number of Revelstoke residents.
The Monday, March 10 meeting centred around a film, “The Way Home,” which documents Chudnovsky’s travels across B.C. while meeting both advocates for the homeless and the homeless themselves.
Both Macdonald and Chudnovsky spoke on the issue of homelessness, with former beginning the discussion by saying, “This is something that is not complex, it is something that can be done properly.”
Chudnovsky said that after travelling the province, he came to three conclusions about homelessness in B.C. His first conclusion was that “There are upwards of 15,000 people in B.C. who are homeless.”
Secondly, stated Chudnovsky, “We often think about the crisis of homelessness in B.C. as a Vancouver problem ... but the crisis of homelessness is province wide.”
As for his last conclusion, Chudnovsky called for compassion and understanding regarding the homeless, saying, “Homeless people are not an alien species from another planet—they are us.”
After a rough cut of “The Way Home” was shown to the audience of about 25, Chudnovsky entered into a dialogue with the audience about homelessness and housing.
“We sometimes get causes and effects mixed up,” said Chudnovsky about the inter-realated nature of the problems of housing, substance abuse and homelessness. Chudnovsky pointed out that it is often difficult to determine whether an individual has substance abuse problems because they are homeless, or whether they are homeless because they have substance abuse problems.
Both the film and Chudnovsky highlighted a “housing first” approach to managing the homeless and those with substance abuse problems. Instead of attempting to treat addictions and then place individual into housing, the “housing first” approach focuses on first providing the homeless with housing, and then treating their substance abuse and mental health problems.
“Housing first ... It says housing is a right, and that the issue of homelessness and housing is not a sequential one,” Chudnovsky said.
In response to a statement by a self-described homeless person in the audience, Chudnovsky stated that the community, not the homeless, should be ashamed of the current situation.
“It’s about the will of the community,” said Chudnovsky. “So far, we haven’t been willing. It’s a tragedy.”
Local MLA Norm Macdonald pointed out that Revelstoke has its own unique set of housing problems, such as “huge stocks of housing that sit empty for nine-tenths of the year.”
Chudnovsky argued that the B.C. Liberals have a fund with over $250 million dollars set aside for homelessness, and, he claimed, they currently only spend the interest from that fund.
“We say,” stated Chudnovsky, “’There’s a crisis here. Take that $250 million out of the bank and start building.”
Chudnovsky closed the meeting by noting that there are as many homeless individuals in B.C. as there are residents of Williams Lake. If something disastrous happened to Williams Lake, said Chudnovsky, we as a province would do something about it: “It’s a question of political will.”