ISBN 978-1-77136-037-1 9 781771 360371 THE BEGINNING OF THE END The story of the Calgary Homeless Foundation and one community’s drive to end homelessness Susan Scott Copyright © 2012 Calgary Homeless Foundation All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without the permission of the Calgary Homeless Foundation PHOTOGRAPHY: BandiPhotoGraphy.com Gord Christie Greg Gerrard Mandy Joy Joanna Kostanecki Bonnie Laing Ken Richardson ISBN 978-1-77136-037-1 Printed in Canada Typeset in Book Antiqua and PMN Caecilia This book is dedicated to the memories of ART SMITH founder of the Calgary Homeless Foundation and MARK A. who might have lived had he had a home TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword .....................................................1 Calgary Homeless Foundation Mission Statement ..................4 Chapter 1: The Foundation ......................................5 Al .......................................................21 Chapter 2: Bricks and Mortar ...................................25 Doug ....................................................42 Chapter 3: What’s Going On?. 45 Tasha ....................................................62 Chapter 4: Turning the Titanic . 67 Kristy ....................................................80 Chapter 5: The Road to Damascus ..............................85 Maggie ...................................................97 Chapter 6: Boldly Going Where No Agency Has Gone Before .....101 Don ....................................................127 Michael .................................................129 Chapter 7: We Have a Plan. .133 Cindy ...................................................153 Chapter 8: The Alberta Advantage .............................157 Aaron ...................................................174 Chapter 9: A System, Not a Plan ...............................177 John and Mary ............................................201 Chapter 10: Coming Home ....................................205 Randy ...................................................219 Virginia .................................................221 Chapter 11: The Count Down ..................................225 Michael P. ...............................................232 Profile The Mustard Seed .........................................235 Calgary Homeless Foundation Board of Directors, 1998 ...........241 Calgary Homeless Foundation Board of Directors, 2012 ...........244 Acknowledgements ..........................................247 THE BEGINNING OF THE END FOREWORD The Beginning of the End tells the story of the Calgary Homeless Foundation and the first three years of our 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness. This story is interesting if for no other reason than we don’t yet know how it ends. The title assumes, and I believe, that the un-natural disaster of homelessness will end in Calgary. As I write this there are 5 years, 6 months, 25 days, 1 hour and 58 minutes left until our deadline of January 29, 2018. Homelessness in our city is down for the first time in 20 years, but we have a long road ahead before we can declare victory. There are signs our greatest challenges remain as emergency shelter use begins to creep up with the return of a booming economy. The title of this book is inspired by Winston Churchill’s famous 1942 quote: “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” Churchill said these words following Allied successes in North Africa after three long years of defeat. The successes Allied armies enjoyed in North Africa were a glimmer of hope for Britain and her allies, but Churchill knew the war was far from won. These words seem apt to me because after many long years of defeat, Calgary and other 10 Year Plan communities have turned the tide of homelessness and are seeing significant reductions, but this battle too is not yet won. In this book Susan Scott does a wonderful job of telling the story of the formation of the CHF, our early years, the creation of the 10 Year Plan and the successes and challenges we’ve had along the way. For those living it, homelessness is traumatic, sad, dark and — 1 — THE BEGINNING OF THE END desperate. As an issue in the public imagination, homelessness seems like a story of defeat, sadness, resignation and charity. What I hope the reader takes from this book is that an end to homelessness is not only possible, it’s within our reach. Our story is living proof that smart, relentless and focused ordinary citizens can move governments and turn the tide on one of the most intractable social issues our cities face. We began this project hoping to capture our history before it was lost to time, but also, hopefully, to inspire others to follow in our footsteps. Many other cities have gone before us and will come after with plans to end homelessness. Others have had and will have greater success. We share our story with the humility of learners who have benefited from the wisdom of others freely shared, and we offer our story to the growing body of knowledge. Thank you, Susan Scott, for telling our story in such a clear and accessible way. Over the years I’ve come to know Susan as not only a wonderful storyteller, but a particularly effective advocate for poor and marginalized women who has moved mountains with words and transformed lives. She is a gift. You will read about many of the incredible people behind the Calgary Homeless Foundation and Calgary’s 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness in the pages of this book. Thank you to all of them and the thousands of people over the years who have volunteered, worked, donated or otherwise contributed to our success. It is not possible to name or acknowledge all of you, but please know your contribution is appreciated. Special thank-you to Premier Ed Stelmach for the courage to end homelessness in Alberta. Your foresight and leadership is saving lives every day and will be felt by thousands of Albertans for decades to come. And to Steve Snyder for putting your reputation on the line. By unselfishly offering your leadership, time and considerable talent you have blazed a trail for your peers and are transforming how our city, province and country respond to homelessness. To the people we serve – you are doing the hard work of ending homelessness yourselves. I wish we had homes for all of you today, but we don’t. What we do have is the resolve to get there as fast as we can. And we won’t stop trying until we do. — 2 — FOREWORD Finally, the success of the Calgary Homeless Foundation is a living memorial to our founder, the late Arthur Smith. I think Mr. Smith, a veteran of the Second World War, channelled Winston Churchill throughout his lifetime of community service. When he saw homelessness afflicting so many of his fellow citizens he acted without hesitation. His focus, relentlessness and tenacity are hardwired into the DNA of the foundation he established and will see us achieve our mission. Onwards. Tim Richter President & CEO Calgary Homeless Foundation July 2012 — 3 — THE BEGINNING OF THE END MISSION STATEMENT Tabled at second Calgary Homeless Foundation meeting, June 1998 The Calgary Homeless Foundation will: (i) Search for short and long-term affordable housing to accommodate the homeless. (ii) Promote public understanding of the many dimensions of the homeless problem in our city. (iii) Serve as a complementary force to the many organizations engaged in the daily work with the homeless. (iv) Assist in the implementation of the Community Action Plan (CAP). (v) Provide synergy amongst government, business, community interests, service providers and faith communities. (vi) Raise such funds as may be necessary to achieve the objectives of the CAP recommendations. (vii) In recognition that the homeless problem is not short term, to establish a foundation, in place permanently, until the problem is resolved. — 4 — THE FOUNDATION t was a cold night, -30ºC to be precise, early in 1998. Art Smith Iwas driving home. Inside the car it was warm and the freezing temperatures outside hardly affected him. He had just received an award from the Calgary Economic Development Authority (CEDA) and all was apparently very well with the world. To keep himself company, Smith turned on QR77. Then he felt a sudden chill invade his vehicle. Major Reg Newbury from the Salvation Army was speaking and it is what he had to say that cooled Smith’s mood. “People are going to die on the streets tonight because it is so cold and the shelters are bursting at the seams,” said Newbury, explaining that Calgary couldn’t accommodate all those people who had poured into town because of the heated economy and the resulting availability of work. Their wages were not enough for a damage deposit. “Impossible,” thought Smith as he turned into his driveway. “Not in my town.” In the morning, Smith phoned Newbury to see if his ears had really heard what he thought they had heard. “Tell me what you said on the radio is not true,” said Smith. “No, I’m telling the truth,” replied Newbury. It was at that point Smith, a war hero, politician, entrepreneur, mentor, husband and father, became a powerful advocate for the homeless. He phoned other agencies to check that they were also experiencing the avalanche and to get a better grasp of the situation. “He was like a knight in shining armour on a dashing white charger,” says one commentator with scarcely a note of irony. What Smith set in motion was to lead to big changes, changes in the way — 5 — THE BEGINNING OF THE END we think about poverty and homelessness and changes in the way we deliver help to the city’s most marginalized people. His wife, Betty Ann, says over the years she has heard many versions of this story and that undoubtedly there is a central truth to it. She knows for sure that he visited a shelter and was very touched by the despair he witnessed. “When he became aware of the homeless situation, he wanted to do something about it. That was his nature, the way he was,” she says. “He was so anxious for families to be housed, to keep families together so that they could get ahead in life and get out of despair.