'No us and them': Barrie march brings awareness to homelessness crisis

The group of people gathered Saturday at Barrie’s Spirit Catcher may have been small, but their voices were mighty as they set out chanting on a march to bring awareness to the local homelessness crisis.

The local event, noted organizer Christine Nayler, was one of five Ontario communities taking place simultaneously and served as a provincial day of action to end homelessness.

“We are marching to bring awareness in our community and also to hold all levels of the government to account for their inaction (on) the housing and homelessness crisis. The government had a plan that they were going to address and end homelessness, and they are failing miserably,” she said. “The federal housing advocate released a report to call on all levels of government to take specific actions, so those are our calls for action — her recommendations, which she has given governments until Aug. 31 to respond to and to enact a plan.”

Nayler, who is the founder of Ryan’s Hope — a local charitable organization that advocates for and supports people living with mental illness, substance use issues and experiencing homelessness — told BarrieToday the goal is to make people in the community aware of the crisis and how they can make a difference.

Seeing the group of people that gathered with her to join in the march, she said, meant a lot to her, but she noted it means even more to those who are homeless to know they have the support of the community.

“Our local leaders here do a terrible job of bringing the community together. They divide people based on fear and stigma. That’s not a way to make anyone in our community feel safer,” she said. “There is no us and them. There’s only us, so that’s what this is about.”

Careena Schneider and her six-year-old daughter, Payton, were among those who came out Saturday morning. Schneider told BarrieToday she had a particularly important reason to join the march.

“Both of my parents were homeless for about three years. Unfortunately, my father lost his life on the street. It means a lot to me to be out here and it means a lot to me to educate my children in this situation,” she said. “This is something we can’t get rid of. This is something that’s not going to change unless we educate the future. They need to know what is going on to be able to keep making a difference, or it’s just going to stay where it is.”

Following the march — which started at the Spirit Catcher in downtown Barrie before making its way up Mulcaster Street and through the downtown before finishing at Heritage Park — the plan was for everyone to share a meal together, which Nayler said would serve as an opportunity to help remove the stigma associated with homelessness.

“We are trying to combat the fear and say that they are not (people to be feared). My granddaughter participated last year, when we camped out at city hall … and I would trust her with my homeless friends,” she said.