– Kabir Jivraj, chairman FOCUS Humanitarian Assistance Canada & chairman United Way of Calgary and Area
– Nashir Samanani, H.H. Aga Khan Council for the Prairies & President and CEO Elluminate Inc
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CEOs promise homeless solution
Committee to present ideas in 18 months
Calgary Herald
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Convinced the exponential growth in the city’s homeless population is no longer acceptable, a group of high-powered Calgarians — including the CEOs of TransAlta, Suncor, Imperial Oil and the Calgary Flames — have banded together to permanently solve the problem, promising ideas within 18 months.
“The status quo is not working,” said TransAlta CEO Steve Snyder, who is chairing the Calgary Committee to End Homelessness. “The situation is at a critical juncture.
“This is a significant shift from managing homelessness to a community-wide effort to end it.”
The move comes after a count pegged the number of homeless at more than 3,400, a cold snap drove thousands to shelters and there was controversy over opening a temporary emergency facility.
“It’s a lovely sentiment,” John Harris, a homeless man who’s been living at the Calgary Drop-In Centre for the past four years, said of the committee of heavy hitters.
But the articulate 61-year-old was unsure whether the problem can truly be eradicated, pointing to the length of time homeless agencies in the city have been serving the population.
“It’s not just one thing causing people to be homeless,” said Harris, who is a musician with a gambling problem, listing addiction and mental health issues as sources. “It’s not just lazy.”
Mayor Dave Bronconnier said homelessness is a complex problem that will require solutions ranging from support for those with mental illness and addictions to affordable and transitional housing, as well as skills training.
“It’s important to ask people who are big thinkers to look at the challenges facing our community,” Bronconnier said.
Surrounded by some members of the committee — representatives of business, government and social agencies — Snyder said the plan will be modelled on 10-year programs put in place in American cities.
It has been used in cities such as Chicago, Denver, New York and Singapore, but would be modified to address Calgary’s specific challenges. Ald. Druh Farrell said some cities have been able to decrease the number of shelter beds.
Snyder and others acknowledge eliminating homelessness is an ambitious goal, but believe aiming high is the only way to attack the problem.
“It’s a goal, no question,” Allan Norris, president of Carma Developers, said. “But if you don’t set a challenge, you’ll never accomplish anything.”
Snyder agreed it’s a daunting task.
“But I believe we’ll actually achieve it and we should know in 18 months whether that faith is supported or not,” he added.
While all three levels of government are represented on the committee, Norris said its strength will be its ability to create ideas first and worry about who’s responsible later.
“Hopefully, we’ll come up with something and not worry about the different levels of government,” he said. “We’ll come up with a set of recommendations ignoring the bureaucracy and government issues.”
The city has often chastised the other levels of government for not contributing to the homeless and affordable housing challenges it faces, specifically with respect to funding.
“It’s time to end the blame game and start looking at long-term solutions,” Bronconnier said.
Premier Ed Stelmach has established an affordable housing task force and a member of the Calgary committee will be part of that.
Snyder said the committee’s work will begin with detailed research, trying to nail down exactly what problems Calgary faces before it tries to address them.
Dermot Baldwin, executive director of the Drop-In Centre, said the committee’s timelines are reasonable and preferable to the “short-term ones that have come up and gone.”
Often a critic of the city’s approach to helping the homeless, Baldwin said a committee made up of Calgary leaders will have the clout to remove red tape.
“You put all of those people together in one room and you’ll come up with decisions and the immense power to take out obstacles we struggle with every day,” he said. “It’s encouraging, I think.”
kguttormson@theherald.canwest.com
Calgary Committee to End Homelessness
– Steve Snyder, CEO TransAlta, chairman
– Rick George, CEO Suncor Energy
– Fred Green, CEO Canadian Pacific
– Tim Hearn, CEO Imperial Oil
– Ken King, CEO Calgary Flames
– Sam Kolias, president Boardwalk
– Allan Norris, president Carma
– Mayor Dave Bronconnier
– Ald. Druh Farrell
– Ald. Madeleine King
– Erica Hargesheimer, general manager community and protective services
– Steve Allan, president Calgary Stampede
– Sharon Carry, CEO Bow Valley College
– Stephen Clark, chairman Canadian Mental Health Association
– Ross McNichol, chairman Calgary Foundation
– Bishop Fred Henry, Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary
– Jim Hume, CEO Kahanoff Foundation
– Kabir Jivraj, chairman United Way of Calgary and Area
– Brain O’Leary, chairman Calgary Homeless Foundation
– Barbara Ross, chairwoman Inn From the Cold
– Nashir Samanani, H.H. Aga Khan Council for the Prairies
– Wayne Stewart, CEO Calgary Homeless Foundat
Source: Calgary Herald
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