What started out as a single story about some residents concerned with what they see as an increase in crime in Sechelt, quickly became a three-part, then four-part series to ensure as many voices were heard from as possible.
This series examining a perceived rise in crime in Sechelt, barely scratches the surface of the complex issues surrounding poverty, a lack of affordable housing and mental health supports, and the toxic opioid crisis killing, which often contributes to desperate people committing desperate acts.
A public meeting held Aug. 21, to discuss the issues around crime and safety in Sechelt, took place after Coast Reporter’s press deadline, so look for a separate story on the results of that meeting to run next week with comments from some of the government agencies involved.
No judgment
Sitting in his office at Arrowhead Clubhouse on Dolphin Street, program lead Foye Hatton is surrounded by piles of miscellaneous “stuff” he’s keeping an eye on for several members.
Arrowhead Clubhouse, which falls under the umbrella of Sunshine Coast Community Services, is a place where people living with mental illness on the Sunshine Coast can go to learn skills, get support and build and rebuild relationships in a safe, stigma-free environment. Hatton says their no-judgement policy, combined with a strong support system have been key in the program’s success.
“This is actually someone's laundry they did today and now they're working in the kitchen,” Hatton says, pointing to one large bag. “We started a new program whereby people get paid to work in our kitchen. It’s a very good example of a positive solution. So, someone's working in the kitchen. They did their laundry this morning and they'll be able to take it home with them a bit later on. For that person, I think home is an RV in the woods.”
Hatton notes when it comes to living arrangements, some of the 350 members of the clubhouse live in their cars, in tents or RVs in the woods, supportive housing, couch surf, rent and or own their own place.
With a perceived rise in crime in Sechelt, many residents are placing blame on some of the homeless population living in the district. (Residents of Sechelt’s tent city interviewed by Coast Reporter, said they preferred to be called “homeless” rather than unhoused.)
The situation is described as “perceived,” because the actual RCMP stats don’t show any real spike in crime. What is not perceived though, is the fact the lack of affordable housing and mental health supports, combined with the ongoing toxic opioid crisis has created a situation through which the hard-to-house are falling further through the cracks.
Hatton admits there is no “easy, quick or cheap fix.”
“We're not going to fix this by changing one law or by throwing a small amount of money at it. We have some major problems and crises going on in our society, not just in on the Sunshine Coast, not just in B.C., but around across Canada and across North America,” says Hatton… “From my perspective, it has to start with housing. It's pretty hard to address your mental health and your addiction issues — and maybe you have one of those and not the other — but maybe you have both. Pretty hard to address those things if you're living in a tent, in an unsafe environment.”
He notes without housing, people can’t start to look after at their mental health, which means they can't look for work, which means they can't look at getting help for their addiction.
“So, it all starts with housing. There's this idea of housing first. It has to start with housing.”
Hatton adds members are facing homelessness and are struggling with addiction in increasing numbers, which is where Arrowhead comes in. Besides supplying essentials, such as dry socks and shoes, toiletries, sleeping bags and tents, the clubhouse serves 10,000 free meals a year, has a yoga group (which is in need of a new instructor), a drama group that meets every Thursday, art programs, gardening, help members gain access to dental care, has a member’s-only “thrift store,” and assists with vital paperwork. Sadly, due to the opioid crisis and poverty, grief workshops are also a regular occurrence.
“We also help people fill in a lot of forms. Those systems are not friendly,” says Hatton. “So, they can come here and ask a member of staff, ‘Hey, can you help me fill in this housing form? Or can you help me fill in this job form or this whatever form it is?’”
Along with that, the team will advocate on behalf of members when it comes to dealing with people in authority, such as landlords and employers.
Hatton says it’s vital to give people meaning and purpose through training and opportunities, which gives them a future that looks positive.
Working together
Arrowhead team member Jill Stones agrees. During a tour of the clubhouse, she explains the dining room/family room is the heart of the clubhouse and where meetings are held.
“We very rarely make an important decision without the members’ input,” says Stones. “So, when we have a decision-making meeting, we have an agenda up on the board and we talk about things. We talk about the direction we want to take the clubhouse… Everything that involves the members and the running of the building is passed by them. That doesn't mean they make the final decision, because otherwise, we'd be raising alpacas.”
Stones says chores are also a big part of their daily discussions and a designated board on the wall lists each task.
“In the afternoon, before we serve lunch, we talk about who's going to help with the dishes. So, we work beside each other. We don't work with, we don't work for, we work together and do everything together.
In a nutshell, there's not much to it, except a whole lot of love. You know that term, put the fun in dysfunctional? That’s us.”
Building trust
Hatton says the team also helps with what he calls “the basics.”
“Training, resumes and work programs and showers and laundry. And those basics leave you in a place where you can actually start to piece your life back together,” says Hatton. “We need to put ourselves in in their shoes, people haven't got themselves into this mess because they wanted to. They've got into that mess because they were maybe unlucky or they maybe, made one or two bad decisions. And I'm pretty sure most of us have made one or two bad decisions in their life. It's just we're lucky they weren’t that bad and they didn’t lead us down a bad road.”
He notes, trauma and the accompanying PTSD are common among clubhouse members, which means staff and volunteers must come from a place of no judgement. He adds, there’s a sign at the opening to the clubhouse, which reads, “This is a judgment-free zone.” He says by showing members time and time again that they will not be judged, suspended or banned, even if they fall down, even if they make a mistake, eventually staff can start to gain their trust.
“Then you build a real relationship and then people will come to you and start to open up about what's happened to them. They'll tell you about their lives. They'll tell you about the terrible things that happened when they were four or when they were six, or whatever it is,” says Hatton. “And then they will start to talk about why they found themselves an addiction, which, for an amazing number of people, sadly, is through the painkillers prescribed after being in a car accident at some point or falling off a ladder, falling off a roof.”
He says there is a vital need for support and resources right here on the Sunshine Coast, not on the mainland, so immediate help and spaces in programs can be offered to people struggling. He says when a member finally asks for help, the response has got to be immediate.
“When they come to us and say, ‘I can't do this anymore. My body is breaking. My brain is breaking. Please help me.’ That's the point when we need services on the Coast, where people can go to instantly, not wait a month, because in that month everything changes. There needs to be services on the Coast that people can go to for rehabilitation, for detox, for all those things, there needs to be more than what there is now.”
It all comes down to housing
Again, Hatton says, it all comes down to housing, because even if someone manages to successfully complete a rehabilitation program, if they return to the Coast and end up homeless, all of their hard work is soon forgotten.
“So, they end up sleeping on a park bench or they end up sleeping on the beach within a very short period of time. It's pretty hard when you're that fresh into having reduced your substance use to then be living back on the street, back in a tent, back in the same world,” he says. “Then I see people a week later, and they're back where they were a year ago, and that's fairly depressing.”
Hatton adds, while Arrowhead is very lucky and grateful to have support and funding through generous donors, including BC Housing and Vancouver Coastal health, the dream is to be able to extend the clubhouse’s hours to include evenings and weekends.
“Members tell me, ‘My mental health doesn’t get any better on Saturdays and Sundays. My pain doesn’t lessen on Saturdays and Sundays.’”
Hatton says once members gain that trust with Arrowhead staff, they can begin to move forward — slowly. He reiterates, there’s no quick fix, but adds he’s witnessed first-hand the success that can happen with the right supports in place.
“I’ll see someone and think, wow, do you remember when they were living in a ditch under a tarp, struggling with addiction, no job, no relationship and now they're renting a house, they've reduced their substance use, they're managing to hold down a job. They're in a relationship with so and so, and things have turned around,” he says. “But it happens so slowly and it comes from no judgment, meeting people where they're at, giving them hope and providing a little bit of love.”
