“There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets
in” ~ Leonard Cohen
In April 2007 a homeless Edmonton man died after the
Riverbend Square recycling bin he had sought a warm night’s sleep in was raised
to be dumped into a city truck and he fell over 6 metres to his death. It was
not a good death. The driver of the truck was deeply shaken but not at fault. I
can find no record of his name; never could. He was just another broken
throw-away man.
Flash forward to just a few days ago; a friend shared this
photograph with me.
Someone(s) spray painted this on a church presumably in
response to the church’s leasing some property to a Housing First project
through the Province, Homeward Trust, and Jasper Place Health and Wellness
Centre to build housing for homeless men who are ready (emphasis on READY) to
leave homelessness behind them. I have ached for days over this photograph and
even more over the comments I have read over and over on the various FB groups
and articles on the subject. I have agonized over what to say and have
ultimately decided that I could probably never change any of your minds, but
maybe, just maybe, I can change your hearts and perhaps that is the point of
all this is the first place.
There is a crack in everything. Even in broken people.
That’s how the light
Gets
in.
I am atheist but I believe it is very important to try to be
good. I try to live my life by a few simple rules. If I can’t make the world a
little better each day, I can at least not make it worse. There are a number of
people who have been very quick to judge, assume, hypothesize, and alarm but
have spent very little time listening, learning, or considering the truth and
reasoning behind the project. The scope and goal of the project is very clearly
expressed on the JPHAWC website and I see nothing that causes me alarm.
That said, the land is zoned for such projects and no
community, nor the people in it, should assume they have a right to exclude
others. Ever. Human beings have a long and sad history of exclusion and
segregation …… it never ends well; it never achieves good, it never makes the
world better. Yet the hateful comments flow like water: “HIV”, “degenerates”,
“useless”, “crime”, on and on the stereotypes go. The people behind the words
are so filled with fear they can’t rest until they convince everyone there is a
looming tragedy waiting to befall our hapless community once the multi-unit
men’s housing opens its doors. What they have failed to recognize, what they
refuse to understand, is that we’re all just a little broken. There are cracks
in everyone … that’s where the light gets in. The reasons for homelessness are
as varied and complicated as human beings themselves but fundamentally the
difference between someone who is homeless and someone who is homed is a HOME.
Simple. The men who will qualify for these homes will be ready for a home. Most
of the men who move in will have never hurt anyone more than themselves, and
will each have a unique history and set of circumstances they have survived.
All will have reached a place where trained professionals have determined that
they are ready for this step and each man, more importantly, will have made the
amazing decision to try. It takes a tremendous amount of courage. Once they
have made that choice are YOU to be the one to tell them they can’t try to fit
the broken pieces of their life together here? Maybe somewhere else, but not
HERE? Really?!?! Because if you are going to say that then you might as well
just throw them in that recycling dumpster right now and save them the
humiliation of being told they are unworthy of THIS place. Just another
throw-away man.
BUT! There’s always a but, isn’t there. It’s for their own
good that they not be here; the amenities and services just aren’t here.
Counselling, food banks, literacy programming, good transit options, etc.
aren’t pre-existing in Riverbend. BUT they SHOULD be, because “Ghettoizing” the
disenfranchised isn’t the answer. Sorry, but it isn’t ok to lump impoverished
people together in one place so they know their place. And no feeling, logical
human being should believe otherwise. If we (as a community) spent a fraction
of the time it would take to block this housing unit, to support it then we
would make it as successful as it could humanly be. In any city the services
follow the populations and the will of the communities determine the success of
the populations. Food hampers can be raised through churches, schools, and
retailers. A lending library of books could be assembled. Welcome packages can
be created. Houseplants supplied, and “suspended coffees” purchased (google
it). Supplies and tools for a community garden on the grounds could be
collected. I am tearing up at all the beautiful, creative possibilities; there
is no end to what we can do. Professional services for the impoverished have
been very lacking in the greater Riverbend area despite the fact we are home to
one of the city’s largest tracks of social housing because this is an expensive
area to live in and an invisible segregation exists even if only socio-economic.
Ending this “gated community” mentality will benefit us as human beings, not
hurt us. Giving them a chance, a nice place to live, and an encouraging and
inclusive community will give them the best odds possible. Isn’t that what we
all would want? An opportunity to
belong, to live justly and well, a second chance at a good life?
Over 2300 years ago, Aristotle wrote “educating the mind
without educating the heart is no education at all” and I believe that is truer
today than ever. There is a lesson here and it is that attitude is everything
and IF you muster the courage to overcome challenges and endeavour to right
wrongs, then someone with a kind heart and helpful hands will be there to
support you. What better message to teach our children? Or ourselves? For me,
it breaks my heart that someone could claim to be protecting their children
when they are, in fact, teaching their children to exclude, to fear, and most
of all that if life breaks you, you won’t be worth fixing ….. even when the
light is pouring in through the cracks, and you’ve mustered all your strength
and bravery to try. And I think that’s a tragedy.