Lighthouse answers community’s questions about homelessness
This is the 31st 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.
Do you ever wonder about homelessness? It’s a topic that has gained more media attention in the past few years as homelessness becomes more prevalent in communities across the country, but for anyone who has not experienced homelessness themselves or who isn’t familiar with social services in the community, homelessness is often an unknown.
This summer, The Lighthouse is committed to answering the questions we frequently are asked about homelessness and our services. We have started answering these questions, and you can find them on our social media channels (Facebook, Instagram), and we will continue to add to them. If you have questions you would like answered, you can reach out to dale@orillialighthouse.ca and we will work to incorporate them into our ‘Did you know?’ series.
When talking about homelessness, it’s important to remember every person who experiences homelessness has a story. Homelessness is multifaceted, and the responses to homelessness must therefore also be multifaceted. As we work toward a thriving community where everyone has hope, home and a future, we strive to promote each person’s dignity and well-being.
Who experiences homelessness?
There are a number of reasons people experience homelessness. No one grows up with the dream of having an addiction or becoming homeless. For some people, there are factors of generational poverty and a history of addictions. Growing up with addictions around you can lead to a difficult path. A lack of affordable housing is also a factor, since people who are working are also sometimes unable to afford safe housing. The simple answer to the question of who experiences homelessness is that it could be any of us.
How many staff work at The Lighthouse?
The Lighthouse’s staff team is made of 80 people who fill full-time, part-time and casual roles as shelter workers, cooks, facilities staff, supportive housing workers, outreach workers, fundraisers, supervisors and more. Staff is the largest expense in our budget because it is critical to have trained, knowledgeable people to support participants in their housing journeys. In addition to our staff, The Lighthouse has more than 100 volunteers who support our day-to-day operations on site, and another 50 who volunteer on committees such as the board, event and special project committees.
What services are offered by The Lighthouse?
The Lighthouse offers homelessness services that can be broken down into 13 areas. These include emergency shelter for adults, emergency shelter for youth, the motel voucher program for families, supportive housing, adult outreach, youth outreach, the medical clinic, mental health services, spiritual support, the warming centre, community daytime services, shelter food services, and the community meal program. This list encompasses a variety of services that address diverse needs. We offer holistic services in order to ensure people’s basic needs are met and that they become connected in the community. The goal is to set them up well to be able to secure and maintain housing.
These are a few of the answers to questions we are frequently asked. What are you still wondering about? We want to know. Email dale@orillialighthouse.ca and we will work toward answering as many questions on Facebook and Instagram as possible. At the end of the summer, we will also be creating an FAQ page on our website that you can visit at any time to learn more about homelessness and The Lighthouse’s services.
Linda Goodall is the former executive director at The Lighthouse. for further information contact Dale Rowe, Executive Director at Dale@orillialighthouse.ca
Rosemary Petersen is the managing director at The Lighthouse and can be reached at rosemary@orillialighthouse.ca.