What is homelessness? Part 1 – The Drop-In Center

Homelessness.

My perspective on this social issue continues to change and broaden as time goes on. I feel like for a long time, I’ve been close-minded about it and to some extent, this still holds true today. That’s why I’m writing this post, to better educate myself and to inform readers about the complexities that surround this topic. The hope is that the more we know, the more understanding and empathetic we can be. Individuals who face homelessness are already experiencing tough times. So it makes no sense for us to marginalize them even more through assumptions and stereotypes about how they are.

What inspired me to write this article? About a week ago, I got a chance to volunteer at the Drop-In Center (DI), which is a homeless shelter located in downtown Calgary. While I have volunteered there a few times before, this was the first time I got a tour of the whole building. It really shed light on the vital services that they provide for people in-need, but also the ups and downs that homeless people face on a daily basis. Even though the homeless situation in this city seems bleak, I left with a sense of hope that a lot was already being done. At the same time, this hope was tempered with the feeling of that a lot still needed to be done. So this is my contribution to tackling this important issue.

Tour of the Drop-In Center

(Disclaimer: I take full responsibility for any inaccuracies with the information presented. Any information that couldn’t be fact-checked by research, I just had to go off by memory. However, steps have been taken to keep these inaccuracies to a minimum.)

(Photo courtesy of Christina + Nathan Photography)

We had a lovely staff member escort us to the 6th floor of the building and slowly work our way down, explaining what the purpose of each floor was. The 6th floor included a number of offices and notably, an Employment Services Training (EST) Center. There, low-income and homeless Calgarians are able to enroll in a free 3-week program where they’re equipped with the skills and certifications to find employment in today’s workforce.

One of the sobering facts that our tour guide told us was that one of their previous graduates from the program only had Grade 7 education. Possibly due to an abusive home environment and a ton of other problems stacked on top of them, that student had to stop going to school and eventually wound up at the DI years later. He reminded us of the importance of getting a good education, because those who don’t finish high school have a significantly harder time in the rest of their lives.

Another interesting part of this floor was the boardroom. It was furnished with a luxurious table that stretched across the room as well as an assortment of finely crafted wooden cabinetry and smooth marble countertops lining the wall. The reason I’m describing the furniture with so much detail is because residents at the DI built all of them.

Through their WoodWorks program, at-risk youth are provided with the opportunity to 12 weeks of hands-on experience in the woodworking trade. Our tour guide gestured to the cabinets and explained that it was made by exotic wood that was donated from a sponsor. That meant if they messed up during the construction, they couldn’t get more wood. However, they trusted them to make it, and here was beautiful proof of what placing their trust in someone could do.

Long and Short Term Shelter

The 4th and 5th floors provided long and short term assisted living. The floor layout was as follows: a number of rooms with bunkbeds topped with comfy pillows and blankets, a spacious common area with a kitchen and cabinetry (also furnished by the WoodWorks program), a widescreen TV, bookshelves, art hung on the walls, couches, and last but not least, a gorgeous view of the city. Residents are allowed to stay as long as they need. Sounds like a nice place to stay, doesn’t it? However, there are some rules that residents have to follow in exchange for being able to live there. 

There was not a single resident to be found while we were on those floors, which is one of the conditions they have to follow. Wake-up call is at 5:30 a.m. (yes, let me just emphasize again, 5:30 a.m.) which is signaled with a turning on of all the lights. All residents are expected to vacate the floor by 7 a.m., which means that by the time we were there, they were already out and about. The purpose of this is so that the residents can be productive with their day.

Some of the other conditions included no violence on the property. There are cameras all around the floors to monitor the residents and if someone gets into a conflict, they can be removed from the assisted living program. They also have to be completely sober, meaning that the residents can’t have or bring any alcohol and drugs to the premises. This is because that are some recovering addicts living there and they want to create a safe space where they can be rehabilitated. Lastly, they must volunteer a minimum of 5 hours a week, which can be in the DI or out in the community.

This last rule in particular resonated with me. It was the cycle of volunteering. Countless staff, volunteers and sponsors help homeless people at the DI, and in turn, they can help themselves and help others. An example of this was their Community Garden Project. Clients from the DI teamed up with children from local daycares to build a community garden on 3rd Street between 5th and 6th Avenue S.W. downtown.

(Photo courtesy of Christina + Nathan Photography)

You may be asking yourself, isn’t it dangerous for a homeless person to be around children? No. I feel like we have the tendency to think of homeless people as less than human, as if they’re some kind of dangerous monster. They’re not. They’re not cold-hearted people who blindly lash out at others. Here, they’re being given the opportunity to give back to the community and make a difference. It’s affecting their lives for the better and dispelling myths about the homeless population.

“Jorge Canpusano, internal volunteer co-ordinator at the DI, says gardening is an opportunity for clients to find meaning and fulfilment by giving back to their community. “They’re responsible for something, they’re taking initiative in other areas of their lives. You can see the impact,” says Canpusano.”

(http://www.thedi.ca/downtown-calgary-community-garden-creates-sense-of-place-and-community/)

Our tour guide explained to us that by not having to worry about finding a place to sleep and finding food to eat, homeless people can focus on more positive aspects of their life. This is just one of the many examples that embodies that philosophy.

Emergency Shelter

As we headed down to the 3rd floor, the layout changed drastically. This floor was filled with rows and rows of bunkbeds all crammed into one large room. On first glance, we could tell that it was distinctly less comfortable than the floors above. Only a single mat was laid over the bunkbeds and there was no common area. This floor was for emergency shelter. They are accessed on a first-come, first-serve basis starting at 5:00 p.m. each night.

Also different than the upper floors is that residents are allowed to have a few sips of alcohol on this floor, as the DI believes they are adults and they have the right to legally drink. The only condition is that they can’t be full-out drunk, otherwise, they have to move down to the lower floors. The 1st and 2nd floors also provide emergency shelter, but for those who are intoxicated or under the influence of drugs.

(Photo courtesy of Christina + Nathan Photography)

The DI would much rather allow a place indoors for homeless people to stay rather than passed out in some alley or sidewalk. That’s what our tour guide explained to us as we headed down to the 2nd floor. He lead us into a room filled with homeless people laying on the bare floor, some with blankets and pillows, some not. All of them were drunk or high. Although the DI does have mats, they can’t lay them out during the day because they would have to clean them again. They have to ensure all the mats from the night before are properly cleaned because of sanitary reasons and that’s already a monumental task. Therefore, residents on those floors have to bring whatever they can on their own.

Still, this was safer than allowing them to tough it out on the streets, especially if they’re under the influence. The DI tries to make the most of their space. They have a nightly housing capacity of 1100, which can be accessed 365 days a year. Despite this, it’s an unfortunate fact that there are still people that they have to turn away since it’s a first-come, first-serve basis. However, there are a number of services that the DI provide beyond shelter.

Health Care, Counselling and Hygiene

Although we didn’t visit the rooms, we were informed that the DI also provides health care, counselling and hygiene services. Many homeless individuals face mental illness, addictions or physical problems, so it’s essential that they are able to access these services. They have a number of nurses and counselors on-site to address their needs and improving their well-being. As for hygiene, they have showers, a laundromat, and a barber. Residents are also able to obtain free clothing that has been generously donated. Just as some interesting stats: “In 2011, nearly 140,000 articles of clothing were given to over 25,000 individuals” (http://www.thedi.ca/live/clothing/)

Food and Entertainment

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Food is the fuel for life. Food is one of those things that we don’t know how valuable it is until we don’t have it. If you’re going about your day on an empty stomach, it can be hard to focus on other things. It can leave you lethargic and bitter. Perhaps one of the biggest jobs that the DI has to do is serve hundreds of guests each day. They serve three meals a day: breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks in between. For those who can’t be there during meal service, they can bring a brown-bagged lunch that comes with sandwiches and a granola bar. This is what we were preparing while we were volunteering here.

Have you ever heard of a professional whistler? Me neither, not until our tour guide told us about it. Every so often, they try to bring in entertainment. There was this one time they brought in a professional whistler, who is apparently ranked as 2nd best whistler in the nation. He held a 45-minute concert, which not everyone was a big fan of, but I still found it amusing. Another time, they had a band from Sled Island come in to put on a free concert. It’s small things like these that can make a large impact – it’s a chance for them to just sit back, forget about their problems, and just enjoy a show.

“We see the humanity behind homelessness.”

Whenever I pass by the DI, I always see these big bolded words on the banner posted outside. Although not in the same words, this is the philosophy that our tour guide kept emphasizing. Besides wanting us to know more about the facility, the main thing he wanted us to leave with a more open-mind. Look a little deeper, he said. There’s a human there, just like you and me. It doesn’t matter if they’re in tattered clothing, if their face is weather-worn, look past that. That’s the same philosophy that I want to impart on you too.

Homelessness is not just the state of not having a physical home, but also not having an emotional home. An emotional home in the sense of not having a place where they feel part of a community and unconditionally loved. If we ever needed help with our problems, we would go to our support network wouldn’t we? This would be our family, friends, adults, teachers and so on. Our tour guide chatted with some residents in the past and asked why they didn’t turn to their support network. Their response was that they didn’t have anyone to turn to. It’s tragic to hear. It’s no wonder that a lot of the residents there battle with loneliness and low self-esteem due to their circumstances.

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That’s why the DI works so hard to create an environment where people can feel safe and loved – a physical and emotional home. Despite all the staff and volunteers that work tirelessly each day to provide these services, I believe it’s fair for me to say that more help is always appreciated. Among some of the ways you can get more involved is serving a meal, go with your school as a field trip, donating clothing and appliances, and of course, booking a tour of the building. It’s a step in the right direction to read this post, but it’s a different experience to see it first-hand.

I also want to take the time to say that this article was not sponsored and that it was my personal choice to write about the DI because of my volunteer experience there. Hopefully you’re leaving with a better understand of the important work that the DI is doing and what you can do to help. This is only Part 1 of me examining the issue of homelessness. There are still other organizations out there I want to highlight and I want to delve deeper into my personal experience with homelessness.

Thanks for sticking around for this somewhat lengthy article and I hope to see you next time! Also check out this article that I discovered from a few years ago: https://youthareawesome.com/volunteering-at-the-drop-in-centre/

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