Partners Needed for Self-Sustaining Garden Project
Looking for motivated hard-working individuals to help create and maintain a community garden, where shares will be divided equally as produce is harvested and/or preserved.
Sweat equity required. All skills welcome.
Please respond quickly, as the number of people required is limited to the productivity of the space available (either outdoor or in a greenhouse).
To R.S.V.P., please leave a comment with your contact information.
- AlexS
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Homeless in Calgary 6: Subsidized Accommodation
My early experiences with housing for homeless individuals was similar to an old "Perils of Pauline" melodrama.
I had made arrangements earlier in the day to move into a shared subsidized low-rent home, but did not arrive at the place until evening. I had not yet been provided a key, so I knocked on the door. There was no answer, even after repeated tries. One person in the dwelling later lied to the manager, stating that he was in the house at the time. But he did not explain why he did not answer the door. (In retrospect, it was probably better that I did not live there, as the house was used for drug dealing.) It was raining, and the rain got progressively worse. There was no roof over the outside of the entry, and I became wetter. Since I had no way to tell when the occupants would return home, I walked to a nearby hotel, drenched to the skin. As it was too expensive, I took a taxi to another hotel recommended by the first.
I was subsequently assigned to another house. Tenants included a "businessman" who tried to set up office in the common living room, for his business schemes. He had recently been hospitalized for a nervous breakdown. A construction worker and his girlfriend created a controversy after the couple broke up, as she behaved irrationally. The worker later brought home another woman, and they married each other. There was also a computer training graduate who was hired full-time after a practicum at a local store, but he later mysteriously disappeared. There was also a short-term stay from a person who had been in a mental institution, and he gave cause for concern about the safety of personal property in the residence.
When I moved to a building suite, the radiator had inexplicitly been removed. It was very cold in winter and at one point the open pipe for the radiator spewed rust and steam into the apartment. In the building, a furnace room door marked "Keep Closed" was propped open. There was also a storage room nearby, filled with cans of paints and solvents on shelves, rather than in required fireproof cabinets.
The landlord showed me another suite in another building. In the kitchen was a microwave oven but the metal cover had been removed and not properly replaced. A violation of Canada's safety standards, and a possible source of harmful microwave leakage if used.
Then I moved into the home that I was previously locked out of. One tenant monopolized the resources of the home, illegally obtained Internet access, broke into rooms, stole property from the rooms and yard, and invited the former liar resident to stay, against the residency rules. Another set of tenants were a drug addict (who was a thief to support his habit), his girlfriend, and their baby. He was supplied with methadone and watched videos all night. She was provided a place for her and her baby to stay, by one of her relatives. A couple occupied another room. The male threatened me with physical violence in the building, as well as in a government office that I regularly visited. After I reported the couple to the police, the police warned me that I could not stay in the house, for my own safety. A person offered me a place to stay while moving, rather than a stay in a homeless shelter dormitory. I stayed one night, and moved the next day.
The next home was half of a duplex, "super-insulated" the wrong way, so that it was infested with mold. I am unsure what the health consequences were from being exposed to that mold, which was air-borne. Another tenant was a woman suffering from asthma. Her son dated the former girlfriend of the construction worker. The three also invited an abusive female impersonator to stay, and I was physically assaulted by that person. (The police ignored me when I filed a complaint.) Another tenant in the building was a former prison inmate, and he did not choose to behave as if he had been rehabilitated in any way.
I applied to organizations that supplied subsidized residences, but was told that there were long waiting lists.
Even with rules in the contracts, shared accommodation residents frequently ignore and break those rules. While the government offers help in resolving disputes, I found that the agency is reluctant to actually do anything in response to complaints. I tried a mediation organization, but discovered that what I really needed was an arbitrator, not a mediator, as it is not always easy to logically reason with the other tenants.
Written by Anonymous45
I had made arrangements earlier in the day to move into a shared subsidized low-rent home, but did not arrive at the place until evening. I had not yet been provided a key, so I knocked on the door. There was no answer, even after repeated tries. One person in the dwelling later lied to the manager, stating that he was in the house at the time. But he did not explain why he did not answer the door. (In retrospect, it was probably better that I did not live there, as the house was used for drug dealing.) It was raining, and the rain got progressively worse. There was no roof over the outside of the entry, and I became wetter. Since I had no way to tell when the occupants would return home, I walked to a nearby hotel, drenched to the skin. As it was too expensive, I took a taxi to another hotel recommended by the first.
I was subsequently assigned to another house. Tenants included a "businessman" who tried to set up office in the common living room, for his business schemes. He had recently been hospitalized for a nervous breakdown. A construction worker and his girlfriend created a controversy after the couple broke up, as she behaved irrationally. The worker later brought home another woman, and they married each other. There was also a computer training graduate who was hired full-time after a practicum at a local store, but he later mysteriously disappeared. There was also a short-term stay from a person who had been in a mental institution, and he gave cause for concern about the safety of personal property in the residence.
When I moved to a building suite, the radiator had inexplicitly been removed. It was very cold in winter and at one point the open pipe for the radiator spewed rust and steam into the apartment. In the building, a furnace room door marked "Keep Closed" was propped open. There was also a storage room nearby, filled with cans of paints and solvents on shelves, rather than in required fireproof cabinets.
The landlord showed me another suite in another building. In the kitchen was a microwave oven but the metal cover had been removed and not properly replaced. A violation of Canada's safety standards, and a possible source of harmful microwave leakage if used.
Then I moved into the home that I was previously locked out of. One tenant monopolized the resources of the home, illegally obtained Internet access, broke into rooms, stole property from the rooms and yard, and invited the former liar resident to stay, against the residency rules. Another set of tenants were a drug addict (who was a thief to support his habit), his girlfriend, and their baby. He was supplied with methadone and watched videos all night. She was provided a place for her and her baby to stay, by one of her relatives. A couple occupied another room. The male threatened me with physical violence in the building, as well as in a government office that I regularly visited. After I reported the couple to the police, the police warned me that I could not stay in the house, for my own safety. A person offered me a place to stay while moving, rather than a stay in a homeless shelter dormitory. I stayed one night, and moved the next day.
The next home was half of a duplex, "super-insulated" the wrong way, so that it was infested with mold. I am unsure what the health consequences were from being exposed to that mold, which was air-borne. Another tenant was a woman suffering from asthma. Her son dated the former girlfriend of the construction worker. The three also invited an abusive female impersonator to stay, and I was physically assaulted by that person. (The police ignored me when I filed a complaint.) Another tenant in the building was a former prison inmate, and he did not choose to behave as if he had been rehabilitated in any way.
I applied to organizations that supplied subsidized residences, but was told that there were long waiting lists.
Even with rules in the contracts, shared accommodation residents frequently ignore and break those rules. While the government offers help in resolving disputes, I found that the agency is reluctant to actually do anything in response to complaints. I tried a mediation organization, but discovered that what I really needed was an arbitrator, not a mediator, as it is not always easy to logically reason with the other tenants.
Written by Anonymous45
Homeless in Calgary 5: Shaking
A while after I first became homeless, I started experiencing involuntary shaking of my hands and arms. It became so severe at times that I would just have a few seconds to lower a cup of coffee to the ground, to prevent me from splashing it over me and the floor. A quick test by a doctor revealed that it was not Parkinson's Disease. When I suddenly had an episode of shaking in her office, and bent down to put my cup on the floor, an employment counsellor told me what it was. At first, I didn't believe her, but the explanation fit what I was experiencing.
I have permanent physical conditions including a visual-motor handicap. I was sent by one agency that assists handicapped persons, to a specialist for testing and it confirmed that I was permanently handicapped. That handicap qualified me to become a client of an employment counselling agency for disabled persons in Calgary. When I identified aids that I required, they did not help me obtain them. Other requests were refused because it was "not within their mandate". I was subsequently abused by the agency. Apparently, "abuse" and "discrimination" are within their mandate.
The shaking episodes still continue. I have difficulty picking up drinks or meals without spilling them, and cannot easily pick up small items of food from my plate. I also cannot easily thread a needle to do my own sewing.
For a long while, I wondered what the long-term impact of the cause that the employment counsellor had told me would be. I now know, for I recently aquired multiple physical ailments which I did not have before, and they are getting worse (even life-threatening). While physicians may not agree, I believe that there is a direct correlation between the long-term chronic persistence of the cause, and my current state of health.
Homelessness does have a long-term impact on a person's health, both physically and mentally. I believe that with early intervention, the effects can be reversed, as with other illnesses and disease.
Written by Anonymous45
I have permanent physical conditions including a visual-motor handicap. I was sent by one agency that assists handicapped persons, to a specialist for testing and it confirmed that I was permanently handicapped. That handicap qualified me to become a client of an employment counselling agency for disabled persons in Calgary. When I identified aids that I required, they did not help me obtain them. Other requests were refused because it was "not within their mandate". I was subsequently abused by the agency. Apparently, "abuse" and "discrimination" are within their mandate.
The shaking episodes still continue. I have difficulty picking up drinks or meals without spilling them, and cannot easily pick up small items of food from my plate. I also cannot easily thread a needle to do my own sewing.
For a long while, I wondered what the long-term impact of the cause that the employment counsellor had told me would be. I now know, for I recently aquired multiple physical ailments which I did not have before, and they are getting worse (even life-threatening). While physicians may not agree, I believe that there is a direct correlation between the long-term chronic persistence of the cause, and my current state of health.
Homelessness does have a long-term impact on a person's health, both physically and mentally. I believe that with early intervention, the effects can be reversed, as with other illnesses and disease.
Written by Anonymous45
Homeless in Calgary 4: "Give me Money, That's All I Want"
“I know at last what distinguishes man from animals; financial worries.”
-Romain Rolland
Financial Worries: When you are homeless or unemployed, banks and other financial institutions are very hesitant about dealing with you. The fact that you have dealt with them in the past (and helped to make them rich) while housed and employed means nothing --- you no longer exist to them. When you look at their annual earnings and reports, you will see that they care more about making obscene profits and paying their upper executives outrageous salaries than they care about serving the customers who provide them with their fortunes. What other company can put holds or delays on government pay cheques (which are supposed to be as good as cash), and get away with it?
For housing, you need money for either rent or mortgage. And the landlord or mortgage lender is quick to consequence you if you fail to pay on time. You can't get loans, credit is denied, and other alternatives which are magically available when you are housed and employed disappear from the table after the financial institution learns that you no longer qualify, if you are unemployed as well.
Government assistance is meagre at best, as they assume that you will join up with others in your plight and live in some communal arrangement, or in a chicken coop or dog house. (Maybe they find out what 1/10th of 1% of the population can live (exist) on, and assign that as the maximum payable allowance?)
Other financial institutions, such as financial service and insurance companies, as well as subsidiaries of foreign banks, are now offering the same services as banks. But with the same restrictions, in spite of their advertising claims.
There is a national store franchise chain that recently entered the financial business. They could not get a shorter company name because a business in Montreal already had it and refused to give it up. An individual has managed to set up a web site on the Internet with a shorter, derogatory version of their name, but the company has been unable to stop it. Next thing you know, the company will probably print up their own money!
A group in Ithica, New York, did print up their own money, and started using it for goods and services. The concept appealed to other poverty groups in Canada and the U.S. One drawback with such a system is when it is necessary to deal with a company that will only accept real money.
There have always been barter systems, for obtaining goods and services without money. But, these have generally been done on a small scale. Professionals such as dentists have participated in some cases. Government tax collectors have been trying to figure out how to collect taxes from barter transactions.
Years ago, the credit union movement was created as an alternative to the "usury" and other practices of the banking system. While credit unions still exist today, they are not as prevalent as they once were. This is probably due to the reduced savings and increased debt of citizens. (The big 6 may have also lobbied for regulations to restrict credit unions.) The credit unions rely on reserves from savings in order to be able to offer lower interest rates on loans and mortgages. International currency speculation and control has probably also affected them.
When companies put emphasis on profits and returns on financial investment over respect for human beings, it is difficult to find a simple solution to unemployment, poverty, and homelessness. Some enterprising individuals have tried to convince companies to include ethics in their vision, goals, and values statements. But ethics appears to be one of the first goals to be abandoned during a financial crisis or recession. And there is no place on financial statements for the fundamental rights of human beings, or for the consciences of financial and other company executives.
Until humanity is factored back into the Pro Forma equations, unemployment, poverty, and homelessness will continue.
Written by Anonymous45
-Romain Rolland
Financial Worries: When you are homeless or unemployed, banks and other financial institutions are very hesitant about dealing with you. The fact that you have dealt with them in the past (and helped to make them rich) while housed and employed means nothing --- you no longer exist to them. When you look at their annual earnings and reports, you will see that they care more about making obscene profits and paying their upper executives outrageous salaries than they care about serving the customers who provide them with their fortunes. What other company can put holds or delays on government pay cheques (which are supposed to be as good as cash), and get away with it?
For housing, you need money for either rent or mortgage. And the landlord or mortgage lender is quick to consequence you if you fail to pay on time. You can't get loans, credit is denied, and other alternatives which are magically available when you are housed and employed disappear from the table after the financial institution learns that you no longer qualify, if you are unemployed as well.
Government assistance is meagre at best, as they assume that you will join up with others in your plight and live in some communal arrangement, or in a chicken coop or dog house. (Maybe they find out what 1/10th of 1% of the population can live (exist) on, and assign that as the maximum payable allowance?)
Other financial institutions, such as financial service and insurance companies, as well as subsidiaries of foreign banks, are now offering the same services as banks. But with the same restrictions, in spite of their advertising claims.
There is a national store franchise chain that recently entered the financial business. They could not get a shorter company name because a business in Montreal already had it and refused to give it up. An individual has managed to set up a web site on the Internet with a shorter, derogatory version of their name, but the company has been unable to stop it. Next thing you know, the company will probably print up their own money!
A group in Ithica, New York, did print up their own money, and started using it for goods and services. The concept appealed to other poverty groups in Canada and the U.S. One drawback with such a system is when it is necessary to deal with a company that will only accept real money.
There have always been barter systems, for obtaining goods and services without money. But, these have generally been done on a small scale. Professionals such as dentists have participated in some cases. Government tax collectors have been trying to figure out how to collect taxes from barter transactions.
Years ago, the credit union movement was created as an alternative to the "usury" and other practices of the banking system. While credit unions still exist today, they are not as prevalent as they once were. This is probably due to the reduced savings and increased debt of citizens. (The big 6 may have also lobbied for regulations to restrict credit unions.) The credit unions rely on reserves from savings in order to be able to offer lower interest rates on loans and mortgages. International currency speculation and control has probably also affected them.
When companies put emphasis on profits and returns on financial investment over respect for human beings, it is difficult to find a simple solution to unemployment, poverty, and homelessness. Some enterprising individuals have tried to convince companies to include ethics in their vision, goals, and values statements. But ethics appears to be one of the first goals to be abandoned during a financial crisis or recession. And there is no place on financial statements for the fundamental rights of human beings, or for the consciences of financial and other company executives.
Until humanity is factored back into the Pro Forma equations, unemployment, poverty, and homelessness will continue.
Written by Anonymous45
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Delivering the Message!
In the course of any given year, there are almost 2 million homeless within Canada and the United States. The basic necessities of a roof over your head and food to eat are not luxuries, these are necessities! And just the idea that almost 1 in 5 are children just breaks my heart. We dont have to wait for a cure or take hope that a scientist will some day find a cure. This is happening right now in our countries and we could easily end this with a snap of the finger! I am sure there are a lot of good people out there who would like to make a difference and sometimes we all need to deliver the message. Its about time that we set an example for the world to follow. C'mon Calgary, lets show them that we can end this homeless problem and the whole world will follow in our footsteps.
Lend a hand(this message is to those who care- and I know your out there.)
Tim Barber,
Homeless but not without HOPE
Lend a hand(this message is to those who care- and I know your out there.)
Tim Barber,
Homeless but not without HOPE
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
The Garden Project
Since my last blog I have been able to move into my own apartment in a seniors complex. Now, looking at things with a fresh perspective, I am finding that it is easier to look beyond homelessness and toward building a more satisfying life in a community where I feel accepted.
The ingredients for my ideal community already exist within a very short distance from where I am living in Calgary’s East village. The amenities that are most important to me would include access to a community garden, including greenhouse space and the ability to preserve, can and freeze our own produce. The end result, I hope, would also include regular access to a community kitchen.
The ingredients for my ideal community already exist within a very short distance from where I am living in Calgary’s East village. The amenities that are most important to me would include access to a community garden, including greenhouse space and the ability to preserve, can and freeze our own produce. The end result, I hope, would also include regular access to a community kitchen.
Nicknames
When I reached the coffee station in the cafeteria where I live, a
young man replied to my request for tea. "Tea? Fit for a King.
The man who would be King." I told him that I would probably
only get to be a court jester. So, to him, I am "The Tea Jester."
I have been fascinated by the large numbers of ducks which
land in a park beside my residence. They are all mallards, and
come to eat bread thrown to them by other residents. The
ducks scramble for the chunks. After one grabs one in his bill,
another runs in at his side to grab what is visible and runs away
with it. If the first duck opens his bill to protest, another duck
will grab the morsel from inside it. If the duck is still upset, it
reaches around and nips the closest duck on the hindquarters.
I joked with another resident that the cooks would gather some
ducks and that we would find that one of the frequent Chef's
Special meals would feature mallard. The other resident, also
a writer, gave me the nickname, "Mallard."
Recently, while I was feeding the ducks some bread, three ofthe males walked toward me and sat down in front of me, one directly in front and one to each side, in a V formation.
I offered bread to the duck closest to me. He grabbed it, then
tossed it over his back. Other ducks further back rushed to
grab it and another feeding frenzy pageant unfolded.
The closest duck looked up at me, opened it's bill, and made
a sound. It was not a "quack".
I was puzzled by their unusual behaviour. Since I was not
familiar with their social customs and language, and did not
have my Berlitz "Mallard-English" dictionary with me, I left them.
Later, I pondered why they had met in front of me.
It finally occurred to me --- they had made me their "Duck King."
I could see myself dressed in a down robe, bright green on the
top, with a white band around the neck and black, grey and white below, with
my bright orange webbed running shoes. I held a bullrush
scepter with a dark brown hot dog on top, on a green staff.
I wore a duck crown, as I sat on a large water lily leaf, while
drinking "The King" tea from a yellow butter cup.
So, now I am "Mallard, the Duck King Jester." Unfortunately, it
doesn't sound quite so complimentary when it is called out in
drinking establishments. "My Lord, it's the (f--ing) Jester!"
It is quite amazing what one must endure, just to have
tea and quackers.
young man replied to my request for tea. "Tea? Fit for a King.
The man who would be King." I told him that I would probably
only get to be a court jester. So, to him, I am "The Tea Jester."
I have been fascinated by the large numbers of ducks which
land in a park beside my residence. They are all mallards, and
come to eat bread thrown to them by other residents. The
ducks scramble for the chunks. After one grabs one in his bill,
another runs in at his side to grab what is visible and runs away
with it. If the first duck opens his bill to protest, another duck
will grab the morsel from inside it. If the duck is still upset, it
reaches around and nips the closest duck on the hindquarters.
I joked with another resident that the cooks would gather some
ducks and that we would find that one of the frequent Chef's
Special meals would feature mallard. The other resident, also
a writer, gave me the nickname, "Mallard."
Recently, while I was feeding the ducks some bread, three ofthe males walked toward me and sat down in front of me, one directly in front and one to each side, in a V formation.
I offered bread to the duck closest to me. He grabbed it, then
tossed it over his back. Other ducks further back rushed to
grab it and another feeding frenzy pageant unfolded.
The closest duck looked up at me, opened it's bill, and made
a sound. It was not a "quack".
I was puzzled by their unusual behaviour. Since I was not
familiar with their social customs and language, and did not
have my Berlitz "Mallard-English" dictionary with me, I left them.
Later, I pondered why they had met in front of me.
It finally occurred to me --- they had made me their "Duck King."
I could see myself dressed in a down robe, bright green on the
top, with a white band around the neck and black, grey and white below, with
my bright orange webbed running shoes. I held a bullrush
scepter with a dark brown hot dog on top, on a green staff.
I wore a duck crown, as I sat on a large water lily leaf, while
drinking "The King" tea from a yellow butter cup.
So, now I am "Mallard, the Duck King Jester." Unfortunately, it
doesn't sound quite so complimentary when it is called out in
drinking establishments. "My Lord, it's the (f--ing) Jester!"
It is quite amazing what one must endure, just to have
tea and quackers.
Homeless in Calgary Part 3
Can education help solve the recurring problem of additions in the homeless people?
ADDICTIONS are a common occurrence among homeless people. For some, it is a contributing cause to their homeless state. For all, it is an escape from reality. But what they use for that escape generally offers only short-term effectiveness followed by long-term after-effects.
The truth is that none of these addictions allow the person to escape from themselves, nor does it rescue them from an undesirable state such as homelessness or poverty.
I am going to review some of the common addictions, but this list is by no means complete.
Tobacco- I am not sure what kind of high state smokers get from nicotine, but I do know that it is addictive and is a difficult drug to stop using, for most people. Part of the reason for smoking is the myth portrayed by advertising and shows, that the person's self-esteem and lifestyle will be enriched by using it. The truth is that the only ones who get rich are tobacco companies.
Alcohol- Ethanol is a poison, and many of the flavour ingredients in alcoholic beverages are toxic chemicals. When ingested, alcohol first heightens perception and the senses, but that effect only lasts a few short minutes. A hangover follows, as the chemical affects the brain, and the liver attempts to filter it from the blood stream. Heavy use can damage the body chemistry.
Drugs- Most drugs taken by those with addictions affects the brain chemistry. Like alcohol, the user will experience a "high" state for a short while, followed by a hangover state of "withdrawal" as the body tries to correct the chemical inbalance. Generally, increases in dosage are needed to get the same effect, until the level of dosage causes permanent damage to the brain or other organs. All of the above assumes that the users are taking pharmacy-grade versions of the drug chemicals. Sadly, that is rarely the case with street drugs.
The real danger is in the distribution system. To get more profit, the distributor adds other ingredients when they subdivide (or "cut") the original drug that they have received. Some added chemicals may be harmless, such as powdered milk, corn starch, icing sugar, or talcum powder. But the distributor could use any chemical available at hand, and some may be poisonous. If the distributor creates the product in a crude chemistry lab, how can the users be certain that the correct proportions of ingredients were used? Or whether or not the distributor added another chemical as a catalyst to speed up the production reaction? (Such as adding benzene to create overproof alcohol.) And has the distributor only a high school chemistry education instead of a university one, or did he get the recipe and instructions from other distributors or the Internet?
There is no guarantee of what buyers are really getting for their money, unless they have a chemistry lab of their own to test the product.
Therefore, the practice of buying illicit drugs on the street is still referred to in the same way that it was many years ago. Dope- what the buyer is putting his trust in and buying from a stranger, or Dope- what the buyer really is for purchasing drugs from other than a pharmacist at a drug store.
Other addictions: an excessive involvement in, to the exclusion of everything else:
gambling, Internet, video/arcade games, role-playing games, sports, movies, sex trade
The first thing to go into these addictions is the rent money (or credit rating). Those who are addicted revert to crime to feed their habit, generally getting ten cents on a dollar value for whatever they steal. And the increased amount that they need to get the same effects increases their involvement in crime. Because their health can be adversely affected, they are prone to illnesses and can have permanent damage to their bodies.
So, the big challenge is, how do we educate the persons who are prone to seek addictions to fill the empty parts of their lives? How do we convince them that none of the addictions really fulfill their needs or expectations; that none of them are worth the expense and risk to health and finances; that they are all illusions of the real thing that they pretend to be?
ADDICTIONS are a common occurrence among homeless people. For some, it is a contributing cause to their homeless state. For all, it is an escape from reality. But what they use for that escape generally offers only short-term effectiveness followed by long-term after-effects.
The truth is that none of these addictions allow the person to escape from themselves, nor does it rescue them from an undesirable state such as homelessness or poverty.
I am going to review some of the common addictions, but this list is by no means complete.
Tobacco- I am not sure what kind of high state smokers get from nicotine, but I do know that it is addictive and is a difficult drug to stop using, for most people. Part of the reason for smoking is the myth portrayed by advertising and shows, that the person's self-esteem and lifestyle will be enriched by using it. The truth is that the only ones who get rich are tobacco companies.
Alcohol- Ethanol is a poison, and many of the flavour ingredients in alcoholic beverages are toxic chemicals. When ingested, alcohol first heightens perception and the senses, but that effect only lasts a few short minutes. A hangover follows, as the chemical affects the brain, and the liver attempts to filter it from the blood stream. Heavy use can damage the body chemistry.
Drugs- Most drugs taken by those with addictions affects the brain chemistry. Like alcohol, the user will experience a "high" state for a short while, followed by a hangover state of "withdrawal" as the body tries to correct the chemical inbalance. Generally, increases in dosage are needed to get the same effect, until the level of dosage causes permanent damage to the brain or other organs. All of the above assumes that the users are taking pharmacy-grade versions of the drug chemicals. Sadly, that is rarely the case with street drugs.
The real danger is in the distribution system. To get more profit, the distributor adds other ingredients when they subdivide (or "cut") the original drug that they have received. Some added chemicals may be harmless, such as powdered milk, corn starch, icing sugar, or talcum powder. But the distributor could use any chemical available at hand, and some may be poisonous. If the distributor creates the product in a crude chemistry lab, how can the users be certain that the correct proportions of ingredients were used? Or whether or not the distributor added another chemical as a catalyst to speed up the production reaction? (Such as adding benzene to create overproof alcohol.) And has the distributor only a high school chemistry education instead of a university one, or did he get the recipe and instructions from other distributors or the Internet?
There is no guarantee of what buyers are really getting for their money, unless they have a chemistry lab of their own to test the product.
Therefore, the practice of buying illicit drugs on the street is still referred to in the same way that it was many years ago. Dope- what the buyer is putting his trust in and buying from a stranger, or Dope- what the buyer really is for purchasing drugs from other than a pharmacist at a drug store.
Other addictions: an excessive involvement in, to the exclusion of everything else:
gambling, Internet, video/arcade games, role-playing games, sports, movies, sex trade
The first thing to go into these addictions is the rent money (or credit rating). Those who are addicted revert to crime to feed their habit, generally getting ten cents on a dollar value for whatever they steal. And the increased amount that they need to get the same effects increases their involvement in crime. Because their health can be adversely affected, they are prone to illnesses and can have permanent damage to their bodies.
So, the big challenge is, how do we educate the persons who are prone to seek addictions to fill the empty parts of their lives? How do we convince them that none of the addictions really fulfill their needs or expectations; that none of them are worth the expense and risk to health and finances; that they are all illusions of the real thing that they pretend to be?
Homeless in Calgary Part 2
I discovered that Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs explained what happened during homelessness. Although psychologists are horrified that very young people are trying to take the model too literally, I found it to be relevant. The lower levels of the hierarchy include Food, Shelter, and Security. Most of a person's energy is needed for survival tasks whenever any of those lower levels are affected. The tasks include fitting in with the shelter's rules, fixed meal and residence schedules, and finding places where you are welcome to stay during the day, during inclement weather or holidays. This leaves less energy and resources to spend on higher levels in the hierarchy.
I was encouraged to develop a plan to get out of the shelter, but found a high plateau that I had to overcome to do that. Limited welfare support payments, higher than normal rents and transportation costs, and higher meal costs keep people locked into the system. Government sponsored agencies cannot supply all of the needs, as they claim that it is not within their mandate. Most of the agencies are the same, including those that are part of government and those private ones.
I was frequently confused about when to submit the welfare report card, whether to hold it until month-end just in case an employer hired, or to send it in earlier. Government case workers were too quick to close the case file, and there was a waiting or delay period to get it reopened. Some intake workers refused to accept the situation the client was in, stating that there were plenty of jobs. Many of the jobs advertised pay too low to afford rent, and a lot of them are duplicates of the same position rather than separate jobs. Many demanded qualification papers which I do not have, even though I am capable of doing the work. (One government employee gave me a very derogatory response when I told him I could do the work without going through a trades apprenticeship program, as he had done.)
Several months later, after attending numerous courses on resume writing, interviews, and job applications, I was informed that Calgary is a networking city when it comes to employment. Who you know is more important than what you know. Which is all very well for some personality types, but not for this INTP.
I wished to re-enter and continue in the computer career that I have been in for 30 years. But I found that it was an uphill battle convincing government support agencies that I needed upgrade training. After I finally got approval for training, I was held off for another 9-10 months because the educational institution had "insufficient enrollment" for the program. There is a problem that educational institutions do not offer what is needed at the time that it is needed. Plus those agencies that do offer training at the right time, only offer training for entry-level positions, which is not a suitable match for persons with previous experience.
Although I am able to learn the information that is offered in courses on my own, potential emloyers will not accept that. They want to see the wallpaper from educational institutions, even if it not worth the paper that it is printed on.
The government-subsidized apartment allowed me to follow a plan to upgrade my education and get re-employed. However, an over-controlling landlord and her equally ignorant supervisor interrupted my occupancy by refusing to renew my lease. This in turn interrupted the employment recovery plan, and left me in a very vulnerable hardship situation during a recession that was not of my doing.
Therefore, lower levels of Maslow's Heirarchy were not met, I became homeless again, with uncertainty of where I can live. Everything in life other than basic survival is on hold again. I am uncertain about the future, and the economy and recession and cheap employers do not help.
Additionally, while I was declared to be as physically fit as a 20-year-old 3 years ago, my health has now degraded to the point where I have Diabetes type 2, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. When I was referred to a nutritionist for diet information, I realized that it would cost me 4 times what I was paying for my previous diet, and that does not include the price for medications. So maybe that is the solution to my problem, a drastically shortened life span, with no medical plan to support me.
I was encouraged to develop a plan to get out of the shelter, but found a high plateau that I had to overcome to do that. Limited welfare support payments, higher than normal rents and transportation costs, and higher meal costs keep people locked into the system. Government sponsored agencies cannot supply all of the needs, as they claim that it is not within their mandate. Most of the agencies are the same, including those that are part of government and those private ones.
I was frequently confused about when to submit the welfare report card, whether to hold it until month-end just in case an employer hired, or to send it in earlier. Government case workers were too quick to close the case file, and there was a waiting or delay period to get it reopened. Some intake workers refused to accept the situation the client was in, stating that there were plenty of jobs. Many of the jobs advertised pay too low to afford rent, and a lot of them are duplicates of the same position rather than separate jobs. Many demanded qualification papers which I do not have, even though I am capable of doing the work. (One government employee gave me a very derogatory response when I told him I could do the work without going through a trades apprenticeship program, as he had done.)
Several months later, after attending numerous courses on resume writing, interviews, and job applications, I was informed that Calgary is a networking city when it comes to employment. Who you know is more important than what you know. Which is all very well for some personality types, but not for this INTP.
I wished to re-enter and continue in the computer career that I have been in for 30 years. But I found that it was an uphill battle convincing government support agencies that I needed upgrade training. After I finally got approval for training, I was held off for another 9-10 months because the educational institution had "insufficient enrollment" for the program. There is a problem that educational institutions do not offer what is needed at the time that it is needed. Plus those agencies that do offer training at the right time, only offer training for entry-level positions, which is not a suitable match for persons with previous experience.
Although I am able to learn the information that is offered in courses on my own, potential emloyers will not accept that. They want to see the wallpaper from educational institutions, even if it not worth the paper that it is printed on.
The government-subsidized apartment allowed me to follow a plan to upgrade my education and get re-employed. However, an over-controlling landlord and her equally ignorant supervisor interrupted my occupancy by refusing to renew my lease. This in turn interrupted the employment recovery plan, and left me in a very vulnerable hardship situation during a recession that was not of my doing.
Therefore, lower levels of Maslow's Heirarchy were not met, I became homeless again, with uncertainty of where I can live. Everything in life other than basic survival is on hold again. I am uncertain about the future, and the economy and recession and cheap employers do not help.
Additionally, while I was declared to be as physically fit as a 20-year-old 3 years ago, my health has now degraded to the point where I have Diabetes type 2, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. When I was referred to a nutritionist for diet information, I realized that it would cost me 4 times what I was paying for my previous diet, and that does not include the price for medications. So maybe that is the solution to my problem, a drastically shortened life span, with no medical plan to support me.
Homeless in Calgary Part 1
As I walked along the sidewalk to downtown, I felt as if a floor had been pulled out from under me. A few months earlier, I had a full-time job, until my position was outsourced. Two part-time survival jobs I obtained ended abruptly. With the loss of income, and a meager support from Employment Insurance, my savings were depleted rapidly. I could no longer afford to pay rent, received an eviction notice, had to move out. A church group helped me secure my belongings, many of which are impossible to reaquire. I had applied for jobs, but received no offers.
My "home" was gone, although with all the moves during my life, I no longer know what a real home is like. All I had was a few bags that I could carry.
I have never been able to live like some of the street people, finding abandoned buildings, living in parks with makeshift shelters, sleeping under bridges or trees. The closest I have come is tenting out in almost-wilderness, but then I had a tent, camp-stove, sleeping bag, and a car to retreat in when weather was too nasty. And only during a few days of vacation. Sharing the outdoors with a bear and stampeding free-range cattle was less threatening than being in close proximity to some of the more anti-social and overly-aggressive street persons in Calgary.
I was alone on the street, with nowhere to live, and no-one in my social network was able to provide short-term accommodation. I was homeless, within a city that had such visible signs of prosperity that homelessness should be impossible. I was anxious, worried about where my next meal would come from, or how long I could survive in this hardship condition.
Another church staff person suggested the Booth Centre. I visited it, but was refused accommodation. Later in the evening, I went to the Drop-In Centre. They sent me in a bus to Sundance. I had no idea where it was, and was thankful that there was a bus to return me to the DI in the morning. I discovered they had Internet stations, but when I finally got to use one, they told me that it was too late. No email access to contact other people.
I had to juggle my daily schedule around the available mealtimes at DI (and later at Booth). This made the time available for job search shorter, and errands took longer. At one meal, I met a person who I knew previously in another city. She was on her way to Lethbridge, but was familiar with the DI. She told me about a line-up after supper for a ticket to sleep on the 3rd floor, so I stayed there overnight.
The person who suggested Booth phoned them to prearrange accommodation, so when I enquired again, I was accepted.
I stayed in a room with 9 other tenants. They had us leave the shelter during the day, unless we got special permission. Two young men must have managed that permission, for they stayed in the room during the day and went through other persons' belongings to see what they could steal. Before I could purchase a lock for my locker, two bags were stolen, containing my cellphone charger and personal papers. Without a charger, my phone became unusable, and employers could no longer contact me. (I later bought another cellphone and charger. During a rainstorm where I was soaked to the skin, my cellphone got wet and made beeping noises. After I dried it out, it would no longer charge the battery. I had to use the second phone to recharge the battery.)
I was stressed out, and frequently harassed and intimidated by the other clients there. The security people present were no help. In fact, one of the guards was visually impaired, so I wondered how he could be at all effective in his job. One evening, someone was repeatedly throwing a large knife into the ground in front of the entrance. I had to pass the group he was with to enter the building. I also found the blades from jackknives and steak knives on the washroom floor, as well as some kind of brass knuckle type weapon made by bending a long-tined dinner fork to make four blades. I found it difficult to sleep during that time, but made sure that I was in the Centre before bed-check time, so that I would not lose my residency.
I had made friends with a restaurant owner, so I had an alternate place for meals. It also helped me maintain social contact with people other than the shelter inhabitants or staff.
I tried to get computer access through DI, after seeing ads, but their staff was not helpful in arranging it. I had to depend on other places that were farther away, to keep up with job ads and mail.
I got a membership in Calgary Public Library, and spent a lot of time there. I reread old classics, as well as new books suggested by the Library. I researched Jane Jacob after I read her obituary in the newspapers. There were restrictions on what could be borrowed while I was living in the shelter.
I tried to conform to the Booth Centre rules, so made a plan, and tried to leave as soon as I could. I found that I qualified for a Government rent subsidy, and succeeded in finding an apartment that offered it. So, I only stayed in Booth for a month.
I needed a bed when I moved, and received a letter from Booth for a free set, but there was too much competition when a church member drove me to the distribution building, so I didn't get one. Instead, I received a spare mattress set from another friend.
My "home" was gone, although with all the moves during my life, I no longer know what a real home is like. All I had was a few bags that I could carry.
I have never been able to live like some of the street people, finding abandoned buildings, living in parks with makeshift shelters, sleeping under bridges or trees. The closest I have come is tenting out in almost-wilderness, but then I had a tent, camp-stove, sleeping bag, and a car to retreat in when weather was too nasty. And only during a few days of vacation. Sharing the outdoors with a bear and stampeding free-range cattle was less threatening than being in close proximity to some of the more anti-social and overly-aggressive street persons in Calgary.
I was alone on the street, with nowhere to live, and no-one in my social network was able to provide short-term accommodation. I was homeless, within a city that had such visible signs of prosperity that homelessness should be impossible. I was anxious, worried about where my next meal would come from, or how long I could survive in this hardship condition.
Another church staff person suggested the Booth Centre. I visited it, but was refused accommodation. Later in the evening, I went to the Drop-In Centre. They sent me in a bus to Sundance. I had no idea where it was, and was thankful that there was a bus to return me to the DI in the morning. I discovered they had Internet stations, but when I finally got to use one, they told me that it was too late. No email access to contact other people.
I had to juggle my daily schedule around the available mealtimes at DI (and later at Booth). This made the time available for job search shorter, and errands took longer. At one meal, I met a person who I knew previously in another city. She was on her way to Lethbridge, but was familiar with the DI. She told me about a line-up after supper for a ticket to sleep on the 3rd floor, so I stayed there overnight.
The person who suggested Booth phoned them to prearrange accommodation, so when I enquired again, I was accepted.
I stayed in a room with 9 other tenants. They had us leave the shelter during the day, unless we got special permission. Two young men must have managed that permission, for they stayed in the room during the day and went through other persons' belongings to see what they could steal. Before I could purchase a lock for my locker, two bags were stolen, containing my cellphone charger and personal papers. Without a charger, my phone became unusable, and employers could no longer contact me. (I later bought another cellphone and charger. During a rainstorm where I was soaked to the skin, my cellphone got wet and made beeping noises. After I dried it out, it would no longer charge the battery. I had to use the second phone to recharge the battery.)
I was stressed out, and frequently harassed and intimidated by the other clients there. The security people present were no help. In fact, one of the guards was visually impaired, so I wondered how he could be at all effective in his job. One evening, someone was repeatedly throwing a large knife into the ground in front of the entrance. I had to pass the group he was with to enter the building. I also found the blades from jackknives and steak knives on the washroom floor, as well as some kind of brass knuckle type weapon made by bending a long-tined dinner fork to make four blades. I found it difficult to sleep during that time, but made sure that I was in the Centre before bed-check time, so that I would not lose my residency.
I had made friends with a restaurant owner, so I had an alternate place for meals. It also helped me maintain social contact with people other than the shelter inhabitants or staff.
I tried to get computer access through DI, after seeing ads, but their staff was not helpful in arranging it. I had to depend on other places that were farther away, to keep up with job ads and mail.
I got a membership in Calgary Public Library, and spent a lot of time there. I reread old classics, as well as new books suggested by the Library. I researched Jane Jacob after I read her obituary in the newspapers. There were restrictions on what could be borrowed while I was living in the shelter.
I tried to conform to the Booth Centre rules, so made a plan, and tried to leave as soon as I could. I found that I qualified for a Government rent subsidy, and succeeded in finding an apartment that offered it. So, I only stayed in Booth for a month.
I needed a bed when I moved, and received a letter from Booth for a free set, but there was too much competition when a church member drove me to the distribution building, so I didn't get one. Instead, I received a spare mattress set from another friend.
Save the Planet
First, I would like to say thanks once again to all shelters for feeding the homeless. I hope you will continue to help those that are less fortunate. Shelters provide 3 meals a day to over 4000 that are either on the street or in the shelter system. It is very wonderful that you are doing this and continue to do so. However there is one change that is needed to save this earth, PLEASE stop using Styrofoam plates, bowls and cups, as well as plastic cutlery. You are not doing any good for the environment. I think it is about time you reconsidered this practice that is in place. Do you realize how long it takes to dispose of Styrofoam and plastic? I do believe it takes many years and it is very harmful to the environment! Please, if you don’t agree I would be happy to hear your comments!! Again, PLEASE stop killing our planet and let’s get back to real dishes already!
Tim Barber
Homeless but not without HOPE
Tim Barber
Homeless but not without HOPE
Cheese With Your Whine 2
Yes, I've heard it on the gripe-vine:
"It's Shake-It-To-Me Time": Safeway offers a shelter "Nutritional Shake plus calories", 360 calories per 237ml bottle, lactose and gluten free. A young man screams that the best-before date has expired, so the cafeteria manager tries to explain that it is a shelter, and not a restaurant. Another young man yells loudly, "I won't drink this, it contains 33% iron." If he examined that nutrition table and added all of the percentages up, he should know he is wrong when the total is greater than 100%. If the iron content was that high, the container could be picked up by a powerful magnet. Well, it can be picked up by the magnet, as there is a steel disk in the lid... The bottle top says "Shake well". Because of the shape of the bottle and the way that it was filled in the factory, not everything gets mixed together unless vigorously shaken for several minutes. Some people interpret the lumps that pour out as a sign of spoilage. The bottle resembles that which contains the "Ensure" product.
Many shelter residents are anti-social and selfish. They are disrespectful of other's rights or space, jump lines when they feel like it, utter scandalous, defamatory, or derogatory remarks and threats at other residents. They should be in remote bush camps, not a civilized city. From the frequent unhealthy and unsafe state of the washrooms, many were never toilet-trained.
Something happens to those persons who are smokers. Their distance perception is impaired, so that they never obey the bylaw that states they are to smoke 5 meters away from the building. They leave their butts for others to walk indoors on their soles. And some smoke in the washrooms rather than go outside, which is a violation of fire and health regulations, in addition to city bylaws. (Maybe their consciences are replaced by nicotine addiction?)
"Internal clients" are discriminated against, as some services and items such as bread and food hampers are only offered to external clients. The fact that internal clients may depend on these because of their financial situation is ignored. Some of the fortunate "external clients" that receive large quantities of free bread are flocks of Mallard ducks and Canada Geese that decided to stay in the city for winter instead of migrate. I guess they are homeless, too...
The food services only offers clients consideration for their health and diet needs only if they are registered in a meal plan. Others cannot obtain alternate meals, saved meals, takeout containers, or even respect from servers in exchange for their cash to buy meal tickets. The posted menu only partly agrees with what is actually served, and contains mystery "Chef's Special" meals for several meals (which makes it difficult for non-plan clients to plan ahead for where they will dine). And there are armed, uniformed, arrogant, and intimidating security guards present to discourage those who attempt to protest about the meal service practices.
To access rooms in the shelter, magnetic stripe identity cards are employed. These frequently stop working, occasionally at embarassing times such as when someone returns from the shower. The card must be taken to the main floor counter to be reprogrammed, showing off the holder's physique or scant state of dress to all those loiterers who inhabit the lobby area. Staff offer excuses, such as being near magnetic fields. (This client's bank card has been exposed to the same "fields" and has never had to be reinitialized during his stay.)
The room is frequently very cold, with no heat, and with only a small blanket for comfort. Perhaps a person in another room with the thermostat is a fresh air fiend, or maybe he is just keeping his beer chilled. It is also not possible to heat water in the room, with the only hot water being available from the cafeteria during mealtimes.
The front staff desk is frequently understaffed, resulting in abnormally long waits for simple transactions. And there are numerous "Mom notes", telling that they will not refund meal tickets without a "team leader's" approval, for example. At no time have they explained exactly which team leader is responsible for each client, or what their functions are (other than to harass residents). The staff also seem to be undertrained and uninformed, perhaps part of an internal policy that states that they are to make residents feel unwelcome there at all times, that those who are homeless are an encumbrance to their operation.
Which brings us back to those numerous posters hung on the walls, which proclaim what services the shelters offer to the clients. More often candidates for "fictitious advertising" awards than for honest, truthful descriptions of what really happens within those shelters. But why should they be any different? The Provincial Government displays equally deceptive posters and advertising of what they offer to homeless and unemployed persons. Pro-business but not pro-ethics, nor respect for basic human rights.
As stated in one of Firesign Theatre's albums, "The humiliation and total degradation of ...You, the Little Guy".
Written by Anonymous45
"It's Shake-It-To-Me Time": Safeway offers a shelter "Nutritional Shake plus calories", 360 calories per 237ml bottle, lactose and gluten free. A young man screams that the best-before date has expired, so the cafeteria manager tries to explain that it is a shelter, and not a restaurant. Another young man yells loudly, "I won't drink this, it contains 33% iron." If he examined that nutrition table and added all of the percentages up, he should know he is wrong when the total is greater than 100%. If the iron content was that high, the container could be picked up by a powerful magnet. Well, it can be picked up by the magnet, as there is a steel disk in the lid... The bottle top says "Shake well". Because of the shape of the bottle and the way that it was filled in the factory, not everything gets mixed together unless vigorously shaken for several minutes. Some people interpret the lumps that pour out as a sign of spoilage. The bottle resembles that which contains the "Ensure" product.
Many shelter residents are anti-social and selfish. They are disrespectful of other's rights or space, jump lines when they feel like it, utter scandalous, defamatory, or derogatory remarks and threats at other residents. They should be in remote bush camps, not a civilized city. From the frequent unhealthy and unsafe state of the washrooms, many were never toilet-trained.
Something happens to those persons who are smokers. Their distance perception is impaired, so that they never obey the bylaw that states they are to smoke 5 meters away from the building. They leave their butts for others to walk indoors on their soles. And some smoke in the washrooms rather than go outside, which is a violation of fire and health regulations, in addition to city bylaws. (Maybe their consciences are replaced by nicotine addiction?)
"Internal clients" are discriminated against, as some services and items such as bread and food hampers are only offered to external clients. The fact that internal clients may depend on these because of their financial situation is ignored. Some of the fortunate "external clients" that receive large quantities of free bread are flocks of Mallard ducks and Canada Geese that decided to stay in the city for winter instead of migrate. I guess they are homeless, too...
The food services only offers clients consideration for their health and diet needs only if they are registered in a meal plan. Others cannot obtain alternate meals, saved meals, takeout containers, or even respect from servers in exchange for their cash to buy meal tickets. The posted menu only partly agrees with what is actually served, and contains mystery "Chef's Special" meals for several meals (which makes it difficult for non-plan clients to plan ahead for where they will dine). And there are armed, uniformed, arrogant, and intimidating security guards present to discourage those who attempt to protest about the meal service practices.
To access rooms in the shelter, magnetic stripe identity cards are employed. These frequently stop working, occasionally at embarassing times such as when someone returns from the shower. The card must be taken to the main floor counter to be reprogrammed, showing off the holder's physique or scant state of dress to all those loiterers who inhabit the lobby area. Staff offer excuses, such as being near magnetic fields. (This client's bank card has been exposed to the same "fields" and has never had to be reinitialized during his stay.)
The room is frequently very cold, with no heat, and with only a small blanket for comfort. Perhaps a person in another room with the thermostat is a fresh air fiend, or maybe he is just keeping his beer chilled. It is also not possible to heat water in the room, with the only hot water being available from the cafeteria during mealtimes.
The front staff desk is frequently understaffed, resulting in abnormally long waits for simple transactions. And there are numerous "Mom notes", telling that they will not refund meal tickets without a "team leader's" approval, for example. At no time have they explained exactly which team leader is responsible for each client, or what their functions are (other than to harass residents). The staff also seem to be undertrained and uninformed, perhaps part of an internal policy that states that they are to make residents feel unwelcome there at all times, that those who are homeless are an encumbrance to their operation.
Which brings us back to those numerous posters hung on the walls, which proclaim what services the shelters offer to the clients. More often candidates for "fictitious advertising" awards than for honest, truthful descriptions of what really happens within those shelters. But why should they be any different? The Provincial Government displays equally deceptive posters and advertising of what they offer to homeless and unemployed persons. Pro-business but not pro-ethics, nor respect for basic human rights.
As stated in one of Firesign Theatre's albums, "The humiliation and total degradation of ...You, the Little Guy".
Written by Anonymous45
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Life Events that Flow from My Biography and A Rationale Against Manufacturing Homelessness
The biographical events and experiences that we pass through as oftentimes intelligent, sensitive and creative human persons have an immense influence upon those interests, attitudes and capacities that we acquire, change and practise during our long careers as members of the planet Earth and of a particular home community. Clearly, these encounters are ones that intersubjectively confront us as persons in the social, emotional, physical and spiritual 'passages' of a long lifetime. We all know that such a personal history has an immense and deeply formative impact upon what we identify, take, and 'attune' ourselves to as ever-changing 'time warriors' living in a world of permanence and change. So, I have not been any different from most of you, when growing up, in being unable to avoid such deep-seated outcomes for how I see the social world. I will mention some of these events in the writing that follows and sketch out their importance for reproducing both homelessness and deep social inequality and the`shunting off``of human potential and the de-legitimation of most forms of actual human dignity.
I was originally a native of the United Kingdom. But as a very young infant my parents and myself became an immigrant family, the only ones amongst any of our relatives, even to this day, who moved to a new country in what the Chinese sometimes call 'Gold Mountain'; that is North America. So, my formative years were spent in eastern Canada and Quebec, growing up in a culturally diverse milieu. Since that time, I have managed to reside in more than 5 countries reaching across Europe, North America and Asia, so far. Presently, I hold citizenship in two nations. My early primary and secondary schooling took place entirely within Canadian public schools. My tertiary schooling features formal and professional training in both social science and education. Later I pursued post-graduate degrees in sociology of education, curriculum theory and educational methods. Unable to stop myself, I further specialized in motivational social psychology, intercultural addictions planning and intervention and, second language acquisition.
As a teacher, writer, CEO and, sometime student of the world I have held a long-term interest in describing, explaining, understanding and 'steering' many of the different social and economic problems as they link with the emergence and personal experience of everyday life and organizational design in post-modern, 'first world' society. In the case of this particular project, I and the other writers of the circle present, discuss and reveal , in our own unique perspectives, many different structural and experiential aspects related to the social problem of 'homelessness'.
As I've shared with you earlier, within my 'BIO' section, it was the better part of a year before I made the wrenching decision to leave my adopted Asian country, which had grown to become a major part of my life, and return to my own country. Through the relative good fortune of available social 'safety nets' in Canada I was able to find a more safe and secure existence in a homeless shelter, along with hundreds of other men and women, some of whom had endured much worse circumstances than had I. Still, for most of the men residents, the shelter was only a shorter or longer stopping place on their journey of privation in which typically only their basic needs could be routinely met.
Because of the diversity or mix of my particular set of interests, skills, capacities and biographical experiences my focus as a blog writer of 'homelessness' will tend, in its early stages, to highlight the institutions and facilities which identify and 'mediate' this chronic social problem within those economically 'advanced' western societies considered by 'global experts' as members of the 'first world'. But the accent of my presentations and discussions may shift in its/their portrayal of 'homelessness' when I make reference and illustrate the patterns and collective responses made by other nations which may be distinctly or qualitatively different in their social, economic, cultural, ethical and historical conceptions, interventions and overall development as related to 'homelessness' phenomena found within their borders. The 'focal length' of my illustrations, and possibly the work of some of the other writers in the project circle, will likely change as `we try to portray the differences in 'treatment' of 'homelessness' as found within those nations more commonly identified as 'developing' and 'lesser developed' societies and economies of the 'second' and 'third' worlds, by the work of 'global experts', once again. As a result, I will try to portray and explain further the common and distinct patterns and functions of 'homelessness' evident within the non-western nations to the extent that I am, as an author, conceptually familiar with or, have had 'grounded experience' or, undergone face-to-face encounters with the phenomena of public and personal expressions of 'homelessness', in these other societies. I will try to use examples that are legitimately observable images or practices which have been accurately described or rationally characterized, and part of a sanctioned wider world system of social and political inequality, endemic neglect and patterned domestic and international repression of identifiable social classes of marginalized 'homeless' persons; who are oftentimes ethnically marked and stigmatized .
Despite the vivid personal experiences and 'rebrutalization' practices, emergent as state sanctioned de-facto homelessness, immediately witnessed and endured by the author, while under different domestic socio-political regimes, over a sustained period of time, and whether such practices were situated in a 'first' or a 'third' world nation it is clear these days that the quality of social space and objective circumstances of this writer are not so perilous as during his previous 12 month period. Certainly the logic of the facility environment surrounding him has become more supportive and yet, at the same time, it has also become more complex, more vigilant and, filled with a greater density of formal expectations and enforced contingencies regarding his and others` conduct. So, even today, the writer you know as Viscount, is still 'perched' relatively close to the harsh realties of homelessness and all its attendant possibilities of destitution and deep demoralization. It is now less clear than ever that the systematic and cynical delivery of homeless facility practices or, the presence of a sustained climate of sinister neglect of persons which demeans, debases and erodes the self-concept, self-esteem, ego collapse and devalidation of individual effectiveness and chronic personal erosion of inherent capacities are the monopoly of only a few totalitarian regimes around our world.....maybe it`s the work of a global or world system of contempt, social control whose purpose is the reproduction of a global system of social inequality.
Viscount currently lives, works and is learning to thrive, once more, in the city of Calgary, Alberta, western Canada, but he plans on dividing his future personal and professional time between different urban centres in Canada, China and elsewhere in exotic Asia. He is the parent of two precious children: one rebellious adult son and one charming adult daughter. They both have taught their father a great deal about good living.
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