Gregor Robertson's quest to end street homelessness is being weighed down by the Province's attempts to make up for lost time.
Mayor of Gregor Robertson can be accused of many things (rightly or wrongly), but indifference towards the plight of the homeless can never be a part of that list.
He centred his entire political campaign to get to the dance on the issue, and made a bold promise to eliminate street homelessness in Vancouver by 2015 – a commitment that hinges his credibility on serving at least one more term in office.
But to me, the Mayor’s sincerity, progress and future plans for his quest to take a leadership role on homelessness from the vantage point of a cash-starved municipality is only cheapened by the Downside Eastside Connect press conference led by Rich Coleman a few days back.
Miro Cernetig is spot on in his analysis of how the event came across to both casual and well-versed observers.
First, while the Province deserves full credit for its contributions to break ground on shelters and other housing projects, they also must be condemned for kicking in the cash far too late to be promoted as a tangible accomplishment by the time the Games open:
“Perhaps it’s that staged, glossy photo at the door of the politicians…smiling as they dig shovels into the ground to symbolize the construction of 14 social housing shelters. The caption carefully leaves out the fact these projects were started too late to be ready for the Olympics and are years away from completion.”
He is also spot on in his analysis of how using homeless people as living props for the exhibit comes across as more of a sideshow than a unique way of giving voices to those who most often have none:
“Where things get totally strange, though, is at the back of the one-room pavilion. A large placard informs you a new library has been created at a nearby location for the Olympics.
But this is not a library of books. Rather what you get to check out, for 30 minutes at a time, is a real, live human being, one of many in a collection, from the Downtown Eastside. These “human books,” paid an honorarium for their services, will recite their stories about life in Vancouver’s ghetto.
It’s well-intentioned, I guess. It’s certainly preferable to putting the homeless into red tents during the Games, an exploitative stunt to get press dreamt up by the Pivot Legal Society.”
I of course said the exact same thing aboutt the the red tent campaign last week, the latest stunt by Pivot designed to draw attention to themselves the plight of those living on the streets.
I suppose that Gregor somehow feels obligated to go out and defend the kiosk considering that it is a joint City of Vancouver/Province of British Columbia initiative.
He really shouldn’t. He only got into the job in December, 2008, and is far better off participating in utterances and activities that demonstrate that the Mayor isn’t interested in spin, but just solutions that can secure shelter for people.
Calling for a homeless count independent of the region and done in a more direct fashion by city staff working to make the Mayor’s pledge a reality is a good start.
Getting up on the same stage with one of the Olympics and the City of Vancouver’s most virulent critics (one that took the City to court) about how to leverage the Olympics’ “creativity, energy and commitment” to address the challenges of addiction and poverty is also gutsy, worthwhile and potentially unifying in rallying the troops in unity in the fight against homelessness.
Like Charlie Smith says most eloquently in an above-linked column:
“Some of the most amazing political achievements have occurred because someone has set a grand goal.”
Absolutely correct. But with the ensuing list that Smith provides, each and every visionary had to tackle the problems head on with courage, with tenacity, and most importantly with an open and honest intent.
On homelessness, Robertson has these in spades…he just doesn’t need the huge chip on the shoulder of the provincial government regarding poverty, mental illness and addition treatment services to weigh him down in his fight.
