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By Mosha Folger
Mosha Folger is a writer based in Ottawa
Homelessness is a strange word. Even in the Arctic we often think of it narrowly, in terms of people on the street, beggars, panhandlers, old ladies pushing shopping carts full of bric-a-brac down dingy alleys in Toronto, Vancouver, or New York. But in the Arctic we don't see that kind of homelessness. It's too cold, for one thing. And secondly, most anyone who might find themselves pushing a shopping cart around, say, Ring Road in Iqaluit, knows someone with a spare mattress, extra floor space, or at the very least a porch with a door to keep the elements at bay. And, in Iqaluit, there is the final recourse, a homeless shelter, with limited bed space.
This community togetherness, this level of charity from neighbours, doesn't make the homelessness disappear, though. These people still don't have a home. What results is a hidden homelessness. How many people do you know who are "living with my cousin and her kids"? "Staying at a friends place for now"? "At my brother's until I can find my own place"? There are staggering numbers of people living in limited space, with limited privacy. 54 percent of lnuit live in this kind of over-crowded condition. And there are few escape options.
Larry (not his real name) last lived in an Arctic community about a year ago, with a brother and his family. After much frustration with the housing situation-housing crisis-in the Arctic, Larry took a route most people would not like to go down. He has ended up in Ottawa, living on the street, sleeping in shelters, his hand out begging for change. His hidden homelessness in the Arctic has become a very visible homelessness in Ottawa.
When Larry went to utilize the homeless shelter in Iqaluit, he often found that, with its limited space, it was at capacity. In Ottawa Larry has three options, and he can always find a bed. Larry utilizes the services of three shelters: the Mission; the Salvation Army, or Sally; and the Shepherds of Good Hope. The Mission and Salvation Army don't accept individuals under the influence of alcohol or drugs, so when Larry is intoxicated he heads to the Shepherds of...