No More Tears gets incorporated, hopes to expand services
Christian Gammon-Roy
Tribune
The homelessness situation in West Nipissing has evolved somewhat since the beginning of the new year. With extreme cold weather now upon us, encampments have been abandoned, and most of the homeless are finding other, albeit temporary, places to stay according to the volunteers from No More Tears West Nipissing Society. The new year could also bring changes for this volunteer outreach group, as they were granted status as a non-profit entity on December 21st. While there is still no permanent solution on the horizon, it seems things are stable for the time being.
As of last count, Josée Rainville, chair of No More Tears, estimates that only two of the 36 homeless people in West Nipissing remain consistently unsheltered. She says that 7 people are currently sheltered in trailers, 4 have been roomed at a local motel, and two are in makeshift shelters such as a shed and a treehouse. Adding the two that are unsheltered, that leaves approximately 21 people who are currently couch-surfing for overnight shelter.
Rainville adds that some of the people couch surfing may actually be victims of opportunistic drug dealers. “The word on the street is that if you have money to do drugs, you have a couch to sleep on. If you don’t have money, you sleep outside,” describes Rainville of what she’s heard from some of her clients. She adds that she is unable to confirm if that’s the case for sure without seeing it firsthand, but still calls it a “pretty sad” situation.
With regard to those still wandering the streets at night, things are difficult as one of those people has recently started working, but the lack of proper sleep is having an obvious effect on their job performance. “It’s sad because we even had a letter from his employer saying that he’s willing to work with him, but he’s nodding off because he doesn’t sleep at night because he doesn’t have a place,” deplores Rainville. No More Tears is hoping to get these last two people roomed as well, but according to Rainville, they’ve been told by LIPI (Low Income People Involvement of Nipissing) that there’s no more room in the budget for additional motel rooms.
While the District of Nipissing Social Services Administration Board (DNSSAB) handles the distribution of funds, it’s LIPI that puts in the request. “We fund the placement through LIPI. They’re actually put up at the Paradis Motel, so the Paradis Motel receives funding directly through LIPI that’s provided by DNSSAB,” clarifies Mark King, DNSSAB chair. When asked about the budget issues to house the remaining two people, King said that he wasn’t specifically aware of this issue.
The rooming arrangement is also just temporary, guaranteed only until April 1st, according to Rainville. This is clearly a winter-weather-only solution. However, with the winter season being unpredictable, King was asked if there is room for adjustment on the April 1st deadline. “Absolutely no question about that. That adjustment takes place all the time, it’s not necessarily a hard and fast rule. Staff have budgets that they have to meet, but at the same time if there’s adjustments needed to be made [they’ll be made]. They wouldn’t be kicked out,” he assures.
With the change in the homelessness landscape this winter, the way that No More Tears is going about their outreach is also changing. Recently, the volunteers have been busier doing cleanup of abandoned encampments rather than delivering supplies to them. They’re also delivering a different level of support to homeless people now that many of them are sheltered in some way. “We’re still very, very busy. You can’t just take someone from the street, put them in a place, and just leave them to be. Unfortunately, they need support, so we’re still very involved with the ones that are in the motel. We’re often called to try and assist, we go there 4 days per week to remind them to clean up, not smoke in the rooms, things like that. We assist and bring them to their medical appointments, their mental health [appointments],” describes Rainville. She adds that most of their clients now have clothing and can dress warmly, so the volunteers don’t have to carry around quite as much heavy materials during outreach. Overall, the burden of work isn’t any lower, it’s just different.
Another important difference for the group is their newly acquired status as a not-for-profit entity. As of December 21st, the group has become the No More Tears West Nipissing Society, an important step towards their longer-term goals. Rainville says this change allows them to have proper liability insurance for their volunteers, and to apply for funding in order to do more. “We’ll be applying for funding; we have a business plan of what we want our services [to look like] and what we’re going to be providing,” she explains.
Near the top of her list is to get an office for the organization, which would serve as a hub to provide in-person help, but eventually offer things like workshops for general learning and skills training. “That’s our long-term goal to be able to do that. We can’t just expect to take them off the streets and put them somewhere but not give them the skills that they need. […] Our office is also a place we want them to feel comfortable coming in and us connecting them with the proper services,” she describes. For some of her clients, Rainville explains that it’s intimidating to go to government offices, or to hospitals and clinics for their needs or appointments, so an office with people that they already trust is beneficial. Furthermore, it would provide a much-needed address for service providers to send mail to people who do not have the simple luxury of a fixed address.
The group also hopes that with their more official status, they can begin to take on partnerships with the municipality and other organizations, namely DNSSAB. “It’s in the works. I’m going to be reaching out to Mark King just to inform him that we’re at least now registered as non-profit, and we do have liability insurance, to see how better we can all work together to get the clients what they need. It’s all about that, it’s about getting the services that they need, and No More Tears, we’re here to fill in the gaps,” describes Rainville.
When asked about the possibility of collaboration with No More Tears, King expresses willingness. “I can tell you honestly, in my discussions with senior staff, that organization has been mentioned a number of times, and the fact that they were considered to be very competent. I would suggest that there would be on-going collaboration with them. I would say for sure that’s going to take place,” he states.