Education and awareness of Barrie's homelessness issue is a key first step in finding successful ways on how to best move forward to create actual change, say organizers behind an upcoming symposium.
That is the goal of an upcoming event being hosted at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Barrie, which will be bringing together speakers from the County of Simcoe, Barrie Homelessness and Housing Justice Network, Busby Centre, St. Mary’s Parish and St. Vincent de Paul in an effort to educate people concerned about homelessness in the community, the lack of affordable housing and the shelter system.
“It’s not a symposium to solve homelessness, but rather to educate the people in the pew, people in the neighbourhood and people in our community about the issues around homelessness, about housing and how it’s determined … and all the different factors so that people will be more informed when it comes time to put pressure on governments and agencies to respond to the crisis that we have now,” said Father Larry Léger, the pastor of the Amelia Street parish in Barrie.
The hope is that bringing together the different agencies and levels of government in one place will give those who attend a more fulsome perspective of the issues and how the system works as a whole, added Alistair MacLeod, a member of the church’s justice and advocacy committee.
One part of the group’s mandate is to work together to find ways to change the system, they say.
“In our Christian social justice teaching, we think of two feet. One working on charity and providing immediate needs to people, but the other looking at how to make changes to systems,” said Léger.
The committee, which has been meeting for the last 18 months or so, has gathered information as a committee, but it’s now time to inform the larger parish, they say. Eventually, they hope to be able to exert political pressure for real change.
“There are three Catholic parishes in the city (and) there are innumerable Christian churches that have a similar theological perspective on how we have to not just provide charitable, momentary relief, but we also need to advocate for changes in our structures and in our society,” said Léger.
“Changes in society only come about because people are informed and then press for them," he added.
“We all know (the homeless) are out there," said MacLeod. "We all know that they are a part of the community. We are looking at ‘where do we start’? Everybody knows that something has to be done. There’s an answer here and an answer there … and those are all excellent, but how do we bring it around and make it work in Simcoe and in Barrie?”
By offering a forum that brings together a variety of different agencies and levels of government, as well as members of the community, they say a successful path forward for Barrie can one day be achieved by working together, rather than apart.
“We can do much more and we can be better when we are together," said Léger. "The problem is that our right brain thinks we have to have everything right in order so we assign responsibilities and financial obligations to certain sectors or groups within our political structure and then they only stay within their playing field.
“I think that’s one of the pressure points we can bring about, so Barrie may be a more compassionate home for those who don’t have a home," the pastor added. "Our goal is education that will lead to transformation of people’s understanding and the way they can be an active part of the political process to bring about the change that’s needed to address these issues.”
The event is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 23 from 7-9 p.m. at St. Mary’s Parish, located at 65 Amelia St. The event is open to everyone.
