At Shepherds of Good Hope, we work with people who live with complex trauma, poor mental health and substance use disorders. There’s a reason we talk about trauma first. It is the contributing factor that affects mental and physical health, as well as the compulsion to mask pain and suffering through substance use. It is a rare occasion to meet a person experiencing chronic homelessness who has not endured a level of trauma that is unfathomable to most of us. Consider intergenerational trauma, childhood abuse and neglect, intimate partner violence, war, sexual violence and the on-going traumas associated with the day-to-day life of people who don’t have the basic human right of a home to call their own. They are much more than resilient. Most are resistant to accepting life on the streets as the last stop on their journey. I admire that.
The events of the past few years have forced me to think about trauma from many angles. Ottawa’s downtown neighborhoods have borne the brunt of societal pressures that we might not have imagined even a few short years ago. We have lost countless community members to the toxic drug supply that is ravaging our neighbourhoods and neighbourhoods around the world. The current Ottawa housing crisis places home ownership and affordable rents out of reach for many, thereby increasing the number of people who are unhoused.
The Covid-19 pandemic has created traumas related to job and housing losses, debilitating illnesses, lack of access to services and a loss of social connections. Only a few short months ago, we found ourselves in the middle of the Freedom Convoy occupation which resulted in people feeling unsafe walking in their communities. Businesses were shut down just as they were re-opening after pandemic closures. People experienced racism and physical violence. Then our city experienced a severe windstorm that damaged homes and businesses and left a trail of destruction that was worse than 1998’s ice storm and 2018’s tornados.
This city needs a break and time to heal. Healing is different for everyone. At SGH, we have implemented many strategies to support people who need shelter services, residents in supportive housing, our staff, volunteers and community partners.
Now we as a community must take action on our housing and homelessness crisis. It’s why we’re building supportive housing residences across Ottawa from Kanata, to Carlington, to Lowertown and Rideau-Rockliffe.
Many of us have the safety of a home and a community to retreat to in times of crisis. It’s crucial that we act swiftly to ensure that those who don’t, are worthy of the same. Without a collective effort, the 12-year wait list for affordable housing will only grow. People needing emergency shelters will increase. Trauma will increase. Healing may feel out of reach.
A safe place to live offers us a place to heal. Housing – the most basic of human rights should be the very least we do to answer the call to end chronic homelessness in our great city. We can do this together.
Deirdre Freiheit is President & CEO of Shepherds of Good Hope and Shepherds of Good Hope Foundation and Chair of the Alliance to End Homelessness. Deirdre has been a leader in the not-for-profit sector for almost 30 years.