IBAAW
I'm Aisling. I'm a "dorkerella," on the never ending quest to be the world's greatest know-it-all. This is my story.07 November 2006
A bit about the 'homeless situation.'
Last night Meggerz spent the night as a homeless person. Because she is in college, and that is what they do. (They do it here too, because I remember when I was volunteering at The Mustard Seed, one of many times last year, we made a bit of extra food for a group from the U of C). Anyway, I got to sprouting things about homeless people and the situation here, which I thought I would re-post, mainly for Lissa, because of how much has changed since she left this summer.
I hope you had fun as a homeless person! Well, not fun, but... learned a lot in a cool way. The amount of homeless people here is unbelievable! Because we have a HUGE job boom, as in, every company needs workers, but there is absolutely no housing, because they can't build it fast enough. Also, the average house increases in value by 1000$/day! Our minimum wage is 7$/hr, but practically nobody pays lower than 10$/hr. I mean, I'm a cashier making 10$/hr! When I was 16 the min wage was 6.50$/hr and I made 7$!!! Anyway, it's extra hard for the homeless here, because at night the temperature drops drastically. And it's already pretty cold to begin with! It's freezing here already, and winter hasn't even started! And of course, there's the snow! And it gets dark at 6pm! So, they're (as in, the relief organizations around here) are trying their best to get accomendations. They're turning the old Brick (furniture store) building into a temporary shelter (it's sceduled for demolition in the Spring to expand the highway). And everyone in the community (Crescent Heights, where my former high school, and my brothers current high school are) is all angry because they dont believe bussing homeless people between downtown and Crescent will work. Then they're trying to convert a school downtown into a shelter for families. Because there are SO many families that came out here because it's a goldmine (as in, everyone from Canada thinks they can just show up and become rich, but they can't because of the obvious lack of housing). In the fall they had all sorts of stories about families living in trailers sort of temporarily, but they can't get houses, and it is impossible to live in a trailer during the winter here! Oh, and there's no rent control here, so landlords are upping rent by 300-500$ a month, without any notice!
So, yeah, isn't that awful?
I hope you had fun as a homeless person! Well, not fun, but... learned a lot in a cool way. The amount of homeless people here is unbelievable! Because we have a HUGE job boom, as in, every company needs workers, but there is absolutely no housing, because they can't build it fast enough. Also, the average house increases in value by 1000$/day! Our minimum wage is 7$/hr, but practically nobody pays lower than 10$/hr. I mean, I'm a cashier making 10$/hr! When I was 16 the min wage was 6.50$/hr and I made 7$!!! Anyway, it's extra hard for the homeless here, because at night the temperature drops drastically. And it's already pretty cold to begin with! It's freezing here already, and winter hasn't even started! And of course, there's the snow! And it gets dark at 6pm! So, they're (as in, the relief organizations around here) are trying their best to get accomendations. They're turning the old Brick (furniture store) building into a temporary shelter (it's sceduled for demolition in the Spring to expand the highway). And everyone in the community (Crescent Heights, where my former high school, and my brothers current high school are) is all angry because they dont believe bussing homeless people between downtown and Crescent will work. Then they're trying to convert a school downtown into a shelter for families. Because there are SO many families that came out here because it's a goldmine (as in, everyone from Canada thinks they can just show up and become rich, but they can't because of the obvious lack of housing). In the fall they had all sorts of stories about families living in trailers sort of temporarily, but they can't get houses, and it is impossible to live in a trailer during the winter here! Oh, and there's no rent control here, so landlords are upping rent by 300-500$ a month, without any notice!
So, yeah, isn't that awful?
Labels: Journal
posted by Aisling # 8:31 a.m. 
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'Because there are SO many families that came out here because it's a goldmine (as in, everyone from Canada thinks they can just show up and become rich, but they can't because of the obvious lack of housing). In the fall they had all sorts of stories about families living in trailers sort of temporarily, but they can't get houses, and it is impossible to live in a trailer during the winter here! Oh, and there's no rent control here, so landlords are upping rent by 300-500$ a month, without any notice!'
That sounds WAY TOO MUCH like Alberta is California in the
1930's.
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That sounds WAY TOO MUCH like Alberta is California in the
1930's.
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