Congregant
Housing ---by Cathy
Crouse
“Everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid.”
Micah 4:4
The November 2 edition of The Chronicle Herald contained a stark photo of the burnt-out ruin of the Provincial Poor Asylum. “On November 6, 1882, thirty-one people out of 343 residents perished within the six-story brick edifice. …The Asylum was the primary institution for the care of the elderly, the mentally ill and the poor.”
Large congregate institutions have until recently been the dominant model for the provision of housing to people with special needs or inadequate income. Within Nova Scotia a landmark legal case was recently won to entrench the right of people with intellectual disabilities to be supported to live integrated lives within their communities. The case was launched against the Provincial Government by the Disability Rights Coalition and it took eight years to be resolved. As a result, all of the current institutions in the province will be closed. People who require supports will be able to make individual choices about where they live and how they will receive supports.
The current visibility of people who are “living rough” shows us that congregate care in homeless shelters does not solve the problem of lack of access to affordable housing. People who have now moved into recently provided pallet shelters or mini homes are telling us how essential it is to feel safe and secure. And that having a coordinated array of supports is necessary to chart a path toward permanent housing integrated within the community.
If you have an elderly adult in your family who requires care, or a young person wishing to eventually be able to live on their own, you know about the current challenges in obtaining appropriate and affordable housing. Our systems that support the development and maintenance of housing are built on investment and profit. We need to collectively build equitable housing models that provide security of tenure, safety, supports, and community. That is what will transform housing into homes.
Let us pray that everyone
can have a home, where they feel safe and secure, and are supported to
contribute their gifts to their community. And let us commit to supporting this
goal in whatever way that we can. Amen
agreed!
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