Tough Times, January-February, 2020
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EMAIL | [email protected] @toughtimestabloid • Find us online at ToughTimesTabloid.ca Vol. 9 No. 1/ JANUARY-FEBRUARY, 2020 Changing the world for homeless people athy Crowe is a nurse who action.” works on the streets of Toronto Then she sees it as “A call for help C helping women and men who – your help – in this national plight that are homeless. But she is more than sees so many people from so many a nurse. She campaigns for an end to walks of life without a safe place to homelessness and talks to politicians, sleep at night, a warm place to return to reporters, anybody who can help. each day, a means to find employment, She will talk about her work and or a place to cook food, care for their her latest book A Knapsack Full of health, and uphold their basic needs for Dreams at Knights Table, Brampton, love and belonging.” Peel’s only three-meals-a-day every- A home. Cathy Crowe, author, activist, on homeless and poverty issues. (Photo by Lisa MacIntosh) day-of-the-year soup kitchen. Crowe is writing about Toronto of Toronto, but local residents were homeless are from many different back- Knights Table is at 287 Glidden where she works. But the story is just as not sympathetic and neither were some grounds, including blue-collar workers, Road, Unit 4, Brampton (just east off true in Brampton and Mississauga. of the social agencies that could – but seniors, ex-military, professionals such Kennedy Road) and Crowe will be Shelters are overcrowded, there’s no didn’t – provide assistance. as nurses and teachers, people with de- there from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday, soup kitchen in Mississauga, health cen- Doctors used nurses to enable them velopmental disabilities. February 6, 2020. It’s a public meeting, tres are busy but far apart. to see more patients, giving the nurses A challenge for homeless people everybody is invited including men A Knapsack Full of Dreams, Memoirs of minor tasks like taking blood, phoning with health problems is “they had no and women who are homeless. It’s free a Street Nurse, describes Crowe’s experi- for specialist appointments, phoning bed to snuggle into, no chicken soup, no – no charge for admission. ences with homeless and other people pharmacists. medicine cupboard or first-aid supplies, Crowe’s book not only describes in need – the bag she carries with her Crowe eventually joined Street and for the most part, no caregivers.” her work providing health care to peo- on the street includes granola bars for Health, an organization providing Campaigning for improvement in ple having a devastatingly hard time, hungry people, as well as bandages for nursing for homeless people that was care of people who are homeless is but the political moves she makes to damaged bodies, clean needles for peo- independent of doctors or a hospital, Crowe’s mission. She talks to media, change a world that ignores the plight ple trapped in addictions. and where half the board members had writes books (Knapsack is her second), of homeless people Back in the 1990s, homelessness personal experience of homelessness. takes politicians, journalists, and others, She describes her book as “a call to was on the rise in the Regents Park area She notes that people who are See “Homeless”, page 2 Signs for a slowdown P2 Seniors need cash, dental care. INSIDE THIS ISSUE Tough Times re-organizes P3 Climate change P8 Serving The People P4 Green Party P9 Help for the hungry P5 Tales of two women P10 Changing the world P6 Homeless at the library P11 Animal skins P7 CREATING Homelessness issues in Peel FREE public meeting COMMUNITY Thursday, January 23, 2020 • 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Central Library, 301 Burnhamthorpe Road West, Mississauga CONFERENCE (at Confederation Parkway) Social work at Mississauga Library Register online at mississaugalibrary.ca/creating community 2 Tough Times – January-February, 2020 PEEL POVERTY Signs like these are ACTION GROUP Tough Times is published popping up all over Peel six times a year Next issue: March-April, 2020 Peel Poverty Action Group (PPAG) Deadline for ads and editorial: his one is at Ray Lawson February 1, 2020 is open to every individual and Blvd. and Cherrytree Drive in Phone 905-826-5041 or 416 579-0304 organization in Peel Region that Brampton, intended to warn cares about what poverty does T Volunteer writers, reporters, artists, fast drivers that cameras to be in- to people. It provides a safe place cartoonists, photographers, are where people who are cash-poor stalled in the area will snap speeders welcome at Tough Times. and those who try to help them in the act. Please email letters to: [email protected] are encouraged to speak out – Brampton’s news release said noth- and Tough Times is part of that ing about fines or fees for speeders, but Produced by: safe place. PPAG’s mandate is to once the cameras are in place, you could Peel Poverty Action Group (PPAG) advocate for people in need and to be pushing your luck when you push Editorial Board: educate the public about poverty the accelerator. Michelle Bilek, Annie Bynoe, Chris Fotos, issues. Membership is free. PPAG The sign is part of an Automated Jerry Jarosz, Rosemary Keenan, Edna Toth meets at 9:30 a.m. to noon, usually Speed Enforcement (ASE) plan for Graphic Designer: Patti Moran the second Thursday of every month Brampton, to encourage drivers to slow Contributors: (except July and August) alternately down in areas such as school zones and Huda Abbas, Richard Antonio, Alisha Arora, Navi in Mississauga and Brampton. Aujla, Kay Bajaj, Samina Bangash, Michelle Bilek, community safety zones. Laura Bilyea, Dr. Simon Black, Coun. Jeff Bowman, ASE captures and records images of Jaspal Brar, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, Taodhg Meetings in January and Burns, Coun. George Carlson, Shaila Kibria Carter, February, 2020: vehicles travelling over the posted limit. Brampton Coun. Jeff Bowman Surabhi Das, Dr. Paula De Coito, Nikki Clarke, Patricia Then what? comments: Chrisjohn, Doris Cooper, Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Mississauga: Newcomer Centre of Peel, Crombie, Bob Delaney, Merle Feltham, Jack Fleming, 165 Dundas St. W., Slow down and you may never find “There is nowhere worth travelling to Moushumi Hakrabarti, Linda Hochstetler, Jack Jack- (at Confederation Parkway); out, except by reading the ASE imple- that’s worth risking the safety of others son, Jerry Jarosz, Sylvia Jones, MPP; Laura Kaminker, Thursday, January 9 at 9.30 a.m. Rosemary Keenan, Shalini Konanur, Deb Kuipers, mentation plan expected early this year. by speeding. Brampton’s new Automated David Laing, Stephen Lay, Michael Lomas, Alexandra Brampton: First Baptist Church, The ASE Program aims to increase Speed Enforcement will serve as a help- MacGregor, Harinder Malhi, Julia Margetiak, Pat 2 Wellington Street East road safety through changes to road ful reminder to residents to slow down, McGrail, Archana Medhekar, Brenda Murdoch, Thursday, February 13 at 9.30 a.m. Varsha Naik, Audrey Nichols, Norma Nicholson, To be confirmed design, maintenance and operation, and obey the rules of the road, and respect Kimberly Northcote, Maria Pangilinan, Karen Ras, increased public awareness. those sharing the space.” Christianne Reyna, Monica Riutort, Marina Rosas, Ruby Sahota, MP, Lea Salameh, Farina Salahuddin, Liisa Schofield, Chris Sensicle, Subash Sharma, Sara Singh, MPP; Bret Sheppard, Coun. Ron Starr, Susan Stewart, Anna Sycz, Chelsea Tao, Pauline Thornham, Advertising HOMELESS, CONT. FROM PAGE 1 Rozeeta Torbram-Jarvis, Martin Tsvetanov, Edesiri Udoh, Kaukab Usman, Kate Vinokurov, Suraiya Wajih, on tours of places where homeless peo- important as medicare.” Jessica Wang, Grazyna Wiercinska, Emily Wiles, Coun. Rates Charmaine Williams, John Wilson, Rod Woolridge, ple hang out. Canada now has such a program, Cheryl Yarek, staff members of the Region of Peel. Tough Times distributes 10,000 She gathers teams, sometimes which aims to re-house 530,000 fami- Printed by: Atlantic Web Printers copies, throughout Peel Region. crowds, to petition for a better deal for lies within 10 years, cut chronic home- people who are homeless. lessness in half “and change the face of Target audience is people experiencing homelessness, using Time passes and she finds that cam- housing in Canada forever,” according food banks and soup kitchens, paigning is becoming ever harder work. to the Government website at https:// people who are struggling, She fixes the date at the late 1990s and www.placetocallhome.ca/ Homeless: plus faith groups, social service a Conservativer provincial govern- Cost is $55+ billion, paying for new agencies, trades unions, business ment. “Managers attempted to muzzle housing, modernizing existing housing, people, and the general public. me, prohibiting me from speaking out support for housing providers, and in- The Video To advertise in Tough Times: about what I saw. Even worse were novation and research. Spaces and Places: Uncovering Email: the intentional efforts to prohibit my The goal, says the Canada Mortgage Homelessness in the Region of Peel [email protected] actual work on certain health issues … and Housing Corporation, is “By 2030, is a 15-minute video in which Phone: 905 826-5041 preventable homeless deaths … SARS, everyone in Canada has a home that they homeless people describe their experiences. A team from PPAG, Mail address: 4-287 Glidden Road H1N1, bedbugs.” can afford and that meets their needs.” including a once-homeless person, Brampton, ON L6W 1H9, Canada Then the Atkinson Charitable will show the video to a group on Advertising rates: (colour included) Foundation gave her their Economic Author Cathy Crowe talks about her request. There is no charge. Business card: $105 Justice Fellowship for two years, to book and her campaigns to get help To book a showing contact 1/16 page: $125 work on a homeless nursing outreach for homeless people [email protected] 1/8 page: $190 Knights Table, Allow about 45 minutes for the program – providing money to live, ex- video and discussion.