Out of sight: Pushing the homeless off the city streets
richard mckergow, the varsity, university of toronto (canadian university press)

The scene of hundreds of homeless protestors being arrested at Allen Gardens in Toronto last summer is a sign of a widespread problem.

One issue at the forefront of the "safe park" demonstration was the city's crackdown on panhandling.

However, Toronto is not the only city to try to push the homeless problem out of sight.

Across Canada, and further afield in New York, punitive measures against homeless people are growing in popularity. For many local politicians, arrest and even banishment of the homeless provides a quick-fix solution that is more popular with voters than long-term answers.

In Toronto, the recent arrival of the provincial government's Safe Streets Act has left advocates for the homeless deeply concerned. The act, which makes panhandling and squeegeeing illegal, specifically targets homeless and economically marginalized people in Canada's largest city.

"Youth are particularly vulnerable, so it's particularly disturbing," said Beric German, founding member of the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee, a leading homeless advocacy organization.

He explained that an anti-squeegee crackdown in Montreal last year simply moved the problem from Montreal to Toronto.

"The crackdown had managed to drive people out of Montreal," German said. He pointed out that many of the homeless youth in Montreal came to Toronto as a result of the crackdown, and now are being forced to move elsewhere as a result of Toronto's new laws prohibiting panhandling.

He feels the policy will limit the already limited survival strategies of many homeless people.

"I don't think there are options for everyone. Some of the homeless will have to beg, and others will be driven out into more desperate circumstances," he said referring to a crackdown in Vancouver where people were driven out of town and into the surrounding bush.

He also feels that although cracking down on squeegee kids will stop them from squeegeeing, it will not stop them from trying to make money by other, possibly more illegal, means.

"Well, it's the same in the Third World," he said, referring to the desperate circumstances of the poor. "With no house and no shelter, people will try whatever means they can to get by. This can involve the drug trade or prostitution. These are people that are innovative and they will do what it takes to survive."

David Hulchanski, a professor of Social Work at the University of Toronto and another founding member of the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee, said Toronto has 15,000 homeless people. He said it is a myth that all homeless people have mental health or addiction issues.

"The young who are beaten in the suburbs like Oakville, and people who lose their jobs and get evicted, are most of the homeless out there," said Hulchanski.

"The reality is that about one third of homeless have some form of mental illness, from the most mild condition to something more severe. If this is the case, you have trouble keeping a job. There's about another one third who use some form of drugs."

Hulchanski said the concept of what is public space limits a homeless person's right to private space.

"People say that the parks belong to everyone, but what right do people have to sleep there?" he said.

"Everyone who has housing has private space," he added. Those who don't have this space are left out in the cold.

"There's lots of people who don't have private space. What the police and city council are doing is pushing people from public space, and into less noticeable public space," he continued, mentioning that parks and main arteries are considered more public than back streets. "It's just harassment of people who have no private space."

Critics say the inspiration for Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman's and Ontario Premier Mike Harris's crackdown comes from the birthplace of punitive public policy, Rudolph Giuliani's New York City.

New York is host to about 23,000 homeless, said Olga Beck, a senior policy analyst in the city's department of homeless services. In 1999, Giuliani passed a policy of arresting homeless people who police find on the streets and who refuse to go to a shelter or accept city services.

The policy has come under fire from many in recent months, including Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is running against Giulani in the New York Senate race, and United States Vice-President Al Gore.

However, Beck said that criticism is unwarranted.

"There was a misunderstanding. The reality is that people have gotten referrals toward housing, they haven't been arrested. They get arrested for sleeping in a public place that they are not supposed to be in, but there have been few arrests," she said.

"We have a shelter system that houses adults and families. In one night we average about 7,000 single adults and 5,000 families, which is about 16,000 family members."

New York's department of homeless services has a budget of $430-million per year, much of which is spent on contracts with private homeless service providers.

"These contractors provide rehabilitation, employment training, youth services, veteran services and a lot of others. It depends on what the client needs, and we provide 24-7 services," said Beck. "We don't have waiting lists at our shelters. We have to have beds for anyone who requires beds."

Beck listed the American Red Cross and Salvation Army among the organizations that hold contracts for the services. Beck said the city has programs designed to get people off the streets as well. City employees work with individuals to help them through the process of finding a home.

She said that in contrast to Toronto, where there is virtually no affordable housing, there are several government-funded housing programs in New York.

"There is a lot of permanent housing. Some of it is federally subsidized, and some locally. Section 8 housing is a federally-funded housing program," she said, explaining that some homeless are given a voucher for their rent, and they can use it to get an apartment wherever they can find a landlord who is willing to accept it as payment.

Beck doesn't know where a person's chances are best to find an apartment with this system.

In radical contrast to North America, London has a mere 620 homeless people, according to the London Times. This small number is a reflection of Britain's generous social housing programs.

The London Times reports that the government estimates that in England as a whole there were only 1,850 homeless people as of June 1998.

London is divided into 33 boroughs, each responsible for the local homeless population. Steve Pearce, press officer for the Association of London Governments, an umbrella association for the boroughs, said the homeless population is still in need of significant government assistance.

Prime Minister Tony Blair has provided a budget of £200-million (about $500-million CDN), with the objective of reducing homelessness by two thirds in three years. In January the government spent about £4-million ($10-million Can) on a befriending program set up to help the homeless.

However, Pearce estimated the number of homeless to be slightly higher than government counts. He said the amount of money needed to house them all is substantially higher than £200 million.

As in Canada, Pearce feels the best way to address the problem is to invest in affordable housing.

"The only answer is for the government to invest more money in new housing initiatives to get these people off the streets," he said, adding that such an undertaking would cost £1-billion ($2.5 billion Can).

"It's impossible to put a figure to the number who sleep rough, but it's about 1,000 a night in London," he said.

Pearce said that by law, the local authorities must house those who are considered vulnerable, such as families, the elderly and the sick.

The number of families that are accommodated by the government is about 40,000. Because they have shelter, they are not considered homeless, according to Pearce.

"There is no legal obligation to house single people without responsibilities, because of the financial burdens of the 33 councils," he explained, adding that there are emergency beds provided in the winter.

Pearce said although there are housing initiatives in London, rent is very expensive in the city.

"Most of the initiatives from the councils involve creating new affordable accommodation at a low-cost rent. The problem with that is that there is very little space to build that in London. Councils have to make use of empty rooms above shops and turn them into homes for the single homeless," he said.

Pearce said that some homeless do not want to be helped.

"Despite all the initiatives, there is a hard core number who seem to like their lifestyle, as crazy as that sounds. So you can never achieve an end to homelessness," he said.

It seems as though the British government is at least willing to try. In the long run, the British commitment to housing for all seems to be having much greater payoffs than a New York-style crackdown. Will Toronto politicians pay attention?

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