Participants share experience of journey from shelter to permanent housing.
This is the 24th in a series of columns written by staff from The Lighthouse to help the community better understand people experiencing homelessness and those who support them. This column appears every other Monday.
The stories of the people who stay at The Lighthouse are diverse, so when we are asked why people are homeless, there are no simple answers.
Homelessness is often caused by a combination of factors, including a lack of affordable housing, physical ailments, mental health challenges, unhealthy coping mechanisms, and job loss. One often overlooked factor is connection with others.
As they do for any of us, relationships play a crucial role in the lives of people who are experiencing homelessness. For some, unhealthy relationships have led to people cutting ties or needing to move out, leaving them with nowhere to go. Even those with strong connections may find themselves without a place to stay due to limited space or resources among their social network.
When people stay at a shelter like The Lighthouse, they often form bonds with others facing similar situations. These friendships may be born out of circumstance, but they may also lead to lasting connections.
Staff at The Lighthouse assist individuals in finding permanent housing and success in the community. While we don’t always get to know the parts of people’s stories that happen after they have moved on from The Lighthouse, we celebrate every time we learn a former participant continues to be housed.
Today, I’d like to introduce you to two people who accessed The Lighthouse’s emergency shelter about two years ago. Meet Randall and Sharon, two resilient people who together moved into housing and are now thriving in our community.
When asked what brought them to Orillia, Randall and Sharon each shared that they came to The Lighthouse looking for a fresh start.
“I was staying at a shelter in Barrie,” Randall says. “I was looking for a change.”
At age 60, it was Randall’s first time experiencing homelessness. He had been a construction worker, but his back couldn’t take it anymore. He was evicted, and he had nowhere to go.
“It was scary. I’ve always had everything, but for the first time, I had nothing,” he says.
Sharon shares that she moved from Vancouver to Ontario. She had been working as a home care worker out West, but the contract changed and she found herself without work. She started looking on job boards and applied for work across the country. She found a job in Toronto and moved there, but the job didn’t end up working out, and she lost her housing.
“I had nowhere to go, but the police helped me get into a shelter,” she says.
While Randall and Sharon came to The Lighthouse on their own, they soon formed a connection. They started having lunch together in the cafeteria, listening to music, and talking.
“We whittled canes together, too,” Randall says. “We sanded and painted them. We were selling them to make some money.”
“The cooks made some nice meals, too,” Sharon says. “But having to stay there every night was hard.”
Even while staying at the shelter, both Randall and Sharon described it as being in survival mode.
“In a setting with a lot of people, having a break is important,” Randall says.
Most days, Sharon and Randall would leave The Lighthouse shortly after breakfast and return just in time for supper. They had a tent set up in Orillia where they would spend the day, and they kept the location private for safety.
For about a month that February, Sharon and Randall lived in the tent full time.
“I’m really experienced when it comes to the bush,” says Randall. “We tapped trees and made syrup. It was a lot of work, but it gave us something to do. We set up a stove for heat in the tent and put up tarps to keep it waterproof.”
During their time at the shelter, Sharon and Randall worked with The Lighthouse’s staff on their housing goals. Staff supported them with referrals and ensured they had the necessary documentation to be able to secure housing, assisted them in accessing health care and dental services, and offered support with technology.
Randall and Sharon were prioritized for the Housing First program through the County of Simcoe’s Co-ordinated Access system. The Housing First program is offered through Empower Simcoe and focuses on supporting people to move into permanent housing with supports that vary according to the individual’s needs. Thanks to a rent subsidy available to them through this program, Randall and Sharon were able to secure housing in Orillia.
They moved into a small apartment, where they lived for about a year.
“It was a big relief, even though the apartment was tiny,” says Randall. “You have to start somewhere, so we made the best of it.”
Following that, they moved into a larger apartment with almost double the living space. One of the local churches donated some furniture that really allowed them to make their apartment a home.
“The No. 1 thing is to find a place with a grocery store nearby. We watch for sales. And with our own place, we’re able to cook,” says Sharon. “We have fun.”
While securing housing is a significant milestone, it is not the end of the journey. People need connection. Randall and Sharon are grateful to have each other, and they highlight the importance of strong connections and community support.
“Doing it together made it better,” Randall says. “I’m pretty happy.”
Rosemary Petersen is the assistant director at The Lighthouse and can be reached at rosemary@orillialighthouse.ca