Idris Hudson is appalled with the living conditions and lack of support he91裸聊视频檚 seen at Penticton91裸聊视频檚 homeless shelters.
An activist from Penticton who has faced homelessness himself, Hudson is now calling on local and provincial politicians and policy-makers to improve the conditions and support services at local homeless shelters.
Hudson, 44, currently provides solo outreach work in Penticton to people on the street.
After a two-week stint living at a local shelter in October, Hudson has been speaking out about the harsh realities faced by people living on the street and in shelters in Penticton.
Many people in Penticton choose to live on the street over shelters to avoid the drug-fueled environment, Hudson said. According to Hudson, the lack of support at shelters is adding more barriers to recovery for people experiencing homelessness.
91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檝e taken kids there (to shelters) and then I91裸聊视频檝e seen them on the street two days later and they91裸聊视频檙e like 91裸聊视频榓re you kidding? I can91裸聊视频檛 be there, I91裸聊视频檓 trying to get away from those drugs,91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频� Hudson said.
91裸聊视频淧eople like BC Housing are just pounding these people into bedrooms and then not doing anything with them. I think BC Housing is wonderful for stepping up and taking it on but there91裸聊视频檚 a level of care that needs to be added.91裸聊视频�
Hudson would like to see the provincial government increase funding for homeless shelters. According to Hudson, the road to recovery would be more viable for drug addicted individuals if shelters employed medical professionals and addictions counselors.
Tony Laing, executive director of Penticton and District Society for Community Living (PDSCL), agrees that there should be more support from trained professionals at shelters and supportive housing units. PDSCL oversees multiple shelters and supportive housing facilities in Penticton.
However, shelters can91裸聊视频檛 control what kind of health care services they are able, or unable, to provide. Laing would like to see the health care system 91裸聊视频渟tep up91裸聊视频� and provide more support.
91裸聊视频淚 would agree that we could use higher professional level support with health care professionals but that would be an Interior Health issue, not a shelter issue really,91裸聊视频� Laing said.
91裸聊视频淚 think everybody agrees that more supports are required but it91裸聊视频檚 not just BC Housing that can provide those. BC Housing is not a health care provider91裸聊视频� everybody wants better health care whether you91裸聊视频檙e homeless or not.91裸聊视频�
PDSCL is funded by BC Housing.
Penticton city council has voiced their own concerns about how BC Housing has handled the handful of homeless shelters and supportive housing facilities in Penticton.
Council recently asked for an audit of three BC Housing supportive housing units in Penticton. The properties council wants audited include Compass Court on Main Street, Burdock House on Winnipeg Street, and Fairhaven on Skaha Lake Road.
Council would like to see the audit completed before any new BC Housing projects come to Penticton, including the supportive housing project on Skaha Lake Rd.
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Hudson said it91裸聊视频檚 much more challenging to be homeless in Penticton now compared to his experience with homelessness in Vancouver in the late 2000s.
91裸聊视频淲hen I was on the street, there was a path to treatment. It wasn91裸聊视频檛 just throwing me into a building where there91裸聊视频檚 fentanyl dealers and letting me have at it,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淕ranted, we didn91裸聊视频檛 have fentanyl back then. If people were doing drugs they were just doing drugs. They weren91裸聊视频檛 overdosing and dying everywhere.91裸聊视频�
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In addition to better medical support, Hudson would also like to see shelters find space for people who are sleeping outside through life-threateningly cold nights. Currently all of Penticton91裸聊视频檚 shelters are at capacity as they have been forced to limit space under COVID-19 guidelines.
Hudson recently came across a homeless man 91裸聊视频渘early frozen to death91裸聊视频� sleeping underneath a blanket outside of Compass Court. The man had been denied a room at the full shelter, Hudson said.
91裸聊视频淗e was looking at me and his lip was quivering and he couldn91裸聊视频檛 move91裸聊视频� that91裸聊视频檚 a frozen, dying human body underneath spotlights and cameras outside a homeless shelter,91裸聊视频� he said.
| Hudson took this photo of a man he encountered "freezing to death" outside one of Penticton's homeless shelters. (Contributed) |
The man was just one of many Hudson said he has seen on the verge of 91裸聊视频渇reezing to death91裸聊视频� turned away from local shelters.
With temperatures reaching the lowest point of the year in recent weeks, PDSCL opened an emergency winter shelter with 20 beds at the Penticton Church of the Nazarene on Jermyn Avenue. The church was the only building that came forward to offer shelter space after PDSCL approached the 91裸聊视频渆ntire community and city,91裸聊视频� Laing said.
91裸聊视频淭hey (current staff) can91裸聊视频檛 do this alone. They need help.91裸聊视频� Hudson said.
91裸聊视频淚 got off the street because nobody gave up on me, people kept at me, they kept being compassionate, they kept telling me I was worth it, and I got up off the street and I went to treatment91裸聊视频� that91裸聊视频檚 all it takes.91裸聊视频�
| Hudson has been campaigning at local homeless shelters in an effort to get them to improve their services to vulnerable populations. (Jesse Day - Western News) |
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jesse.day@pentictonwesternnews.com
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