From: Eric Fawcett (fawcett@physics.utoronto.ca)
Date: Mon Sep 14, 2:08pm
Subject: Homelessness in Canada: Appeal by the Toronto Disaster Relief
Cttee
To: s4p all lists ,
s4pont@physics.utoronto.ca,
s4potht@physics.utoronto.ca, s4ptor@physics.utoronto.ca
cc: Cathy Crowe
The Co-Chairs of the Science for Peace Working Group on Human Rights,
Phyllis Creighton and Eric Fawcett, are forwarding this Appeal for
Endorsement from the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee, followed by the
Declaration of a State of Emergency to Science for Peace members and to
other e-mail lists. Please forward these messages to friends and
colleagues.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Friends,
The Toronto Disaster Relief Committee is asking you to endorse our call
to have all levels of government declare homelessness a NATIONAL
DISASTER, which requires immediate, emergency, humanitarian relief.
We are a group made up of housing experts, academics, business people,
health care workers, social workers, anti-poverty activists, and the
faith community. We have worked with homeless people, studied
homelessness, and have watched the homeless crisis worsen daily. We have
bandaged the injuries caused by being homeless and have attended the
funerals of many homeless people.
We have asked ourselves these questions:
Why is this crisis not dealt with like the ice storm in Eastern Canada,
or like the flooding in Manitoba?
Why are governments not responding to the hundreds of homeless people's
deaths?
Why are they ignoring the threat of diseases such as tuberculosis,
HIV/AIDs, and hepatitis which are related to people's homelessness?
Why is it that common sense doesn't dictate that this is one of the
largest and most serious national disasters that Canada has ever faced?
Our answer has been to come together and to draw up a call for Disaster
Relief. The most basic human rights of a section of our community are
being violated. We cannot sit idly by and let this misery and death
continue: the time to act is now. We need massive and immediate
government intervention.
We appeal to you to endorse our call for action, join our committee,
and/or to set up your own committee and send out a similar call. Attached
is a form we are asking you to sign. Please send it back to us as soon as
possible.
Sincerely,
Cathy Crowe RN, on behalf of the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee,
(members of the Committee are listed at the end of the Declaration).
Please act now--we plan to release our Report on October 8 at the Holy
Trinity Church in Toronto.
****************************************************************************
Call For National Disaster Relief for Homelessness
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I (name) ___________________________,
[on behalf of (organization} if applicable]___________________________,
endorse the call made by the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee to have
all levels of government declare homelessness a national disaster and to
respond with immediate short and long term humanitarian relief.
Signed by ______________________________
Address ______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
tel ______________________________
fax ______________________________
e-mail ______________________________
SEND TO: Toronto Disaster Relief Committee
c/o Cathy Crowe, 168 Bathurst St. Toronto, ON, M5V 2R4
OR e-mail: [Cc. address in the header]
OR fax: 416-703-6190
OR tel: Cathy Crowe, 416-703-8482 (117)
Beric German, 416-964-2459
**********************************************************************
DECLARATION of STATE of EMERGENCY: Homelessness--A National Disaster
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
by the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee
We call on all levels of government to declare homelessness a national
disaster requiring emergency humanitarian relief. We urge that they
immediately develop and implement a National Homelessness Relief and
Prevention Strategy using disaster relief funds both to provide the
homeless with immediate health protection and housing and to prevent
further homelessness.
Canada has signed the International Covenant of Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights guaranteeing everyone's right to "an adequate standard of
living, including adequate food, clothing and housing." Homeless people
have no decent standard of living; our governments are violating this
agreement by neglecting them.
Despite Canada's reputation for providing relief to people made
temporarily homeless by natural disasters, our governments are
unwilling to help the scores of thousands of people in Canada condemned
to homelessness. Morally, economically, socially, and legally, we
cannot allow homelessness to become "normal" in Canadian life.
Inaction betrays many thousands of us to a miserable existence and
harms our society for years to come.
WHY DECLARE AN EMERGENCY?
Disaster Now Crisis facilities are already overcrowded. People are
ending up in the streets, parks, and alleyways. Youth and families with
children are the fastest growing population in shelters. Major cities
search far beyond their boundaries for temporary housing for
homeless families. Homeless people face poverty, hunger, malnutrition,
and increased risk of violence, communicable diseases and compulsive
drug use. Homelessness causes psychological and emotional pain that can
exacerbate or precipitate agonizing deterioration of mental health.
Prolonged homelessness permanently harms people; ultimately, it can kill
them by exposure, illness, violence or suicide. Homelessness prevents
people from maintaining their health, finding and keeping work, attending
school and exercising their rights as citizen. Conservative estimates
concur that about 200,000 Canadians are homeless.
WORSE TO COME
Shelters and other temporary measures provide at best a stopgap.
Crowding,
insecurity and the risk of disease or violence means prolonged stays harm
people. Homelessness is contributing to a developing toxic brew of
disease
including HIV/AIDs, tuberculosis, hepatitis, sexually transmitted
diseases,
and other communicable infections. Prolonged homelessness for children
harms them for life. Twenty years of research has shown a continual rise
in homelessness, linked to unemployment, reductions to social assistance,
cuts to public housing and inadequate tenant protection. Repeated
government task forces, other studies, inquests and recommendations
have produced little action, though documenting that the situation
worsens yearly.
DECLARING AN EMERGENCY
We urge all levels of government to declare homelessness a national
disaster now, as a first step in implementing a National Homelessness
Relief and Prevention Strategy, both short- and long-term.
Immediate Short-Term Measures include:
-- Governments should reopen and maintain services for the homeless;
-- All governments should immediately reinstate or establish adequate
social assistance benefits;
-- All governments should make suitable public buildings available as
emergency shelters or hostels; even parks can serve as temporary
refuges with mobile homes, tents, bath houses and toilets;
-- Governments should concertedly provide emergency medical relief,
including clinics, outreach, infirmaries, screening and immunization,
and public nutrition and hygiene programs;
-- Health strategies should especially treat the relationship between
homelessness and severe infectious or communicable diseases such as
HIV/AIDs, tuberculosis, and hepatitis
-- Governments should grant immediate emergency funding to
non-governmental
organizations (churches, charities, non-profit groups, etc.)
Long-Term Measures (but to be implemented NOW) include:
-- Governments should implement a "1 per cent solution": All levels of
government now spend an average 1 per cent of their total budgets on
housing. Adding another 1 per cent, and henceforth devoting the total
2%
to long-term housing, would take the single largest step towards
eliminating homelessness;
-- Governments should maintain and fund social benefits and services on
a stable, long-term basis;
-- Crisis shelters and aid agencies should receive stable, long-term
funding
until the homeless are housed
MEMBERSHIP of the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee includes:
David Hulchanski-Professor of Housing U of T,
Trevor Gray AIDS ACTION NOW,
Brent Patterson-AIDS activist,
Beric German-Street, Health AIDS outreach,
Maurice Adongo & Paula Dolezal-Street Health, mental health outreach,
Peter Rosenthal-lawyer for TCAH in 1996 freezing death Inquest,
John Andras-co-founder Project Warmth-Vice-President Research Capital
Corp,
Cathy Crowe, RN-Queen West CHC street outreach nurse,
Rev. Don (Dan) Heap (Anglican)-former MP Trinity Spadina,
Jeannie Loughrey-Anglican priest Diocese of Toronto,
Frank Showler-Member of Board of St. Clair's Inter-faith Housing,
David Walsh-President Realco Property Ltd,
Sherrie Golden-OCAP,
Sue Osborne-Housing Support Worker Cornerstone Women's Residence
"In the deserts of the heart,
Let the healing fountain start"
W.H. Auden