My Proposal To Curb Homelessness.

To Whom It May Concern,

This is my proposal to help curb homelessness, and possibly rid the city of Calgary’s homeless situation.

My idea is to start a 3 Phase system, each requiring the building of supportive apartment-type dwellings.

There will be 3 buildings in all, possibly more depending on other ideas made available. I suggest (remember this is just a rough idea) the first building have at least 12 floors with 15 Units (apartments) on each floor. In each of these Units will have 5 private rooms with a shared kitchen and bathroom set-up. Each private room will have a bed, dresser, closet, mini-fridge, a T.V, and a phone. This first building will be what I call Phase “A” of my idea. Phase “B” and “C” are similar buildings, except that the units in these other 2 buildings will have less private rooms per kitchen/bathroom area. I recommend that we go from 5 private rooms (Phase “A”) to 3 private rooms (Phase “B”) to 1 or 2 private rooms in Phase “C” of my proposal.

Phase (A):1 Unit - 5 Private Rooms

Each individual will have his/her own key for a room that is equipped with a bed, dresser, closet, mini-fridge, a T.V, and a telephone. The 5 separate rooms will be adjoined by the full kitchen area, as well as a full bathroom. This area is for the use of the occupants of this 1 unit only. For example, if we had 15 units per floor, we could call the unit apartment 101-115, with each private room having an A-E format.

Example:
· Mr. Smith may live at #116E-123 street S.E, Calgary, AB
· Mr. Smith can only use the kitchen and bath area in unit 116/ not in any other unit. I.e. unit 117 or 118

Every private room if possible should have cable hook up, and the T.V should be protected from vandalism and theft. The phone is provided only for local calls only. Any long distance phone calls will be granted by the Resource Counselor on site (I will explain further on this matter shortly). The whole purpose of having a private room is to give a person his/her own space, and a place to call home. (Other suggestions are welcome)

Phase ‘B’:

Phase ‘B’ is similar for the fact each private room will have the same things as the rooms in Phase “A”.

Phase ‘C’:

Phase “C” differs slightly due to the fact that some of the units will be a self contained bachelor suite in which they will not have to share kitchen and bathroom facilities. However they will be downsized accordingly. In Phase “C” there are also going to be units that have 2 private rooms in each, again they will be downsized according to fewer people. Phase “C” will also be accessible to those with children, as well as couples who are homeless.

Supportive Services in all Phases

The first thing is talking to all the staff at different shelters to find out who they think would be good to go into each Phase of this proposal. We also need to build 3 buildings side by side, and there should be different resources made available for those requiring different needs. I am going to list things I feel would be useful for this proposal to work. (Mandatory things are marked with *)
*Medical Center
*Security
*Police Mini Station
*1 Restaurant
*Staff
*Resource Room, for employment purposes etc….
- Convenience Store
- Gym
-Lounge (possibly like a games room, library, etc….)

To sum up my proposal I would like to speak freely on some things that I know are probably going to come up when discussing this proposal. First of all, in my opinion I think it we talked with some of the companies that may take part in the building of my proposal, I would hope they would be willing to take on a handful of homeless in these dwellings to work with them and even train new people, give the homeless a chance to build a better future for all. Also I know the biggest problem is going to be with those drinking or drugging, and as we are well aware its probably the concern with the drugs then the drinking that is of the biggest concern, and I agree. However if we do this proposal right , we are giving people a chance to better there lives and we are putting into place the security and police presence. However I know it will still continue, as it does now in the shelter system, my whole point is the fact that when a person gets caught doing these things in a shelter, they get barred making them live on the street, and I don’t think that’s right. I don’t think a person having a couple of beer after work is such a big deal. However if you have even 1 beer and get caught at a Salvation Army Shelter, you get thrown out. Some shelters are a little lenient, but the whole point is that if a person had there own space it would mean less criminal activity in the community. Not to mention the fact that every shelter kicks you out in the morning and doesn’t allow you back till late in the day. This would relieve some of the homeless from being on the streets all day. Thus creating a much happier environment for people of all walks of life.

Just my Idea,
Tim Barber