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Starting a conversation

I grew up calling homeless and low-income people my friends, having volunteered from a young age at a soup kitchen and resource centre in Edmonton's inner city with my mom.

I grew up calling homeless and low-income people my friends, having volunteered from a young age at a soup kitchen and resource centre in Edmonton's inner city with my mom.

My mother then went on staff when I was a teenager, and I would often go to work with her to play cribbage with my friends or help in the coffee bar. When I graduated from high school, I got hired on as a street level worker.

It was a passion of mine, working to aid those living in poverty - it continues to be.

All of this to say, I guess I take it for granted, my knowledge of those who are homeless and how they become so.

For the past few weeks I've been researching a feature on homelessness in Athabasca, which you can find in this edition. I came to two important realizations about rural homelessness through researching this article.

First, rural homelessness is a huge issue, and no one is really talking about it. As interviewees said, the issue is “hidden. ” In small towns, the shame factor prevents people from sleeping downtown and begging for money on the streets. More often, people are likely hidden in the forest, or couch surfing with friends and family.

Second, and maybe I am na;ve to have come to this realization, but just how deep a sense of disdain for the homeless runs in seemingly every community.

In Lac La Biche, a major petition - which ultimately failed - attempted to prevent a homeless shelter society from purchasing a house where they could permanently give the needy a mat to sleep on. They also hardly get donations from the community, because as the co-ordinator told me, people think it is the homeless person's fault for being homeless, or they are working the system.

In my experience, and as I was told repeatedly in interviews, you could be homeless tomorrow. Your brother, sister, friend, mother or father could be homeless tomorrow.

In the majority of cases, it is not a choice nor one's fault; rather, family conflict, medical issues, addiction, steep rental prices, mental health, discrimination or the economy forces people out of their homes.

There are homeless people in Athabasca right now, whether they are in a tent in the forest, or bumping from couch to couch. These are our neighbours and family members, and right now there are no specific supports to address their homeless situation.

This needs to change. As Monica Rosborough said, “we need to have this conversation ” about how homelessness in Athabasca can be addressed.

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