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.