David Busby Street Centre

The following is part of a profile series the Examiner is running regarding those who are linked to the David Busby Street Centre in Barrie.

"Ihad a Transformed Perception once I stepped Inside the David Busby Street Centre"

I have lived in Barrie since 1990 and watched it almost triple in size.

I built a business and raised a family here and participated as a volunteer in many non-profit organizations over the years. Whenever I was downtown I would notice small groups of people, mostly men, standing in front of Trinity Anglican Church on Collier Street.

Like many people, it always made me vaguely uncomfortable to think about the possibility of homeless people in Barrie but I always thought it was a big city problem.

I knew Yolanda Gallo as a fellow member of the Planned Giving Counsel of Simcoe County. She had recently taken the position of resource development co-ordinator at the David Busby Street Centre when she invited me to come over and check up on what she was doing.

I visited her and it was the first time I'd been in the centre. I was introduced to a former participant, who told me his story of how the centre had helped him become self sufficient after an illness deprived him of his career as a chef. He showed up at their door when he had exhausted his financial resources and had finally been robbed even of his identity papers.

They helped him apply for the Ontario Disability Assistance Program by getting his identity papers replaced. That was all he needed to become a donor eventually himself as well as joining the board of directors.

What I didn't know was that this drop-in centre wasn't just for men. I was surprised to see teens, women, children and the elderly all seeking help dealing with problems that left many of them feeling lost, hopeless and even, if temporarily, homeless.

I thought of something Mother Theresa had said about poverty: "In developed countries, real poverty is being insignificant." I knew what it was like to lose a job. I could imagine what it might feel like to lose my home. It was unthinkable to imagine losing my social status, my identity and possibly my dignity. Yet here were people, my neighbours, who had probably thought the same things, faced with the reality of this struggle in some degree.

It helped me face the reason for my discomfort, even fear, of really seeing how someone's life can unravel through illness, addiction, unemployment, accident or economic recession. I realized that this could happen to me.

After months of meeting staff and participants and listening to their stories and challenges and the passion of both staff and volunteers, I accepted a position as a volunteer chairperson for the communications committee.

I began to understand how important it was to tell the story of the David Busby Street Centre.

It was touching how many participants I met who were eager to tell their own stories.

A recovering drug addict told me how his best friend overdosed and died at his home when he took him in off the street.

I understood how much courage and caring it took for him to call the police, afraid that he might get in trouble himself because of his own drug history. Yet he did, and the police commended him for doing the right thing. He then went on to tell me how proud he was of his daughter who had bought her own home and was successful in the world and how much it meant to him to be rebuilding his relationship with her.

For a few minutes, I had a glimpse of life through his eyes, and realized that we had far more in common than we had differences. He never complained but told me how important the Busby Street Centre had been in his journey of recovery and it was clear that the best things they had given him were dignity and hope.

In its report, The Truth about Poverty in Simcoe County, the United Way addresses common myths about the standard of living in our community:

MYTH: People living in poverty do not have a job.

FACT: A contributor to homelessness in the region is the growing gap between housing expenditures and low-wage incomes.

MYTH: Full-time workers earn enough to support themselves and their families.

FACT: Less than half of all households cannot manage to own a home without putting pressure on other necessary expenditures such as food, clothing, and transportation.

MYTH: Poverty is only an issue for the poor.

FACT: Incomes also reduce the goods and services businesses can sell, reducing employment opportunities and detracting from the multiplier effect associated with a thriving economy.

FACT: Statistics Canada reports that 17% of the county population age 20-34 have not completed high school, yet improving income levels often requires obtaining education or trade skills which take time and money to acquire, and which many adults find difficult to access.

FACT: After years of struggling to make ends meet, many seniors must continue to work after reaching retirement age.

Statistics Canada's Low Income Cut-Off (LICO) defines a family as "poor" if it spends 63% of household income on basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter.

The David Busby Street Centre is a drop-in centre in downtown Barrie that provides a warm, safe environment for people like these, your neighbours.

Since its beginning in 1993, the Busby Centre has seen the number of visits increase each year to now reach an average of 170 participants a day or 38,000 a year.

They expect this need will increase as Simcoe County and Barrie in particular have been targeted by the provincial gove r n m e nt plan to double the population over the next 25 years. I realize now that everyone has a unique gift to offer others and that there are many ways to become involved.

David Busby Street Centre offers a volunteers program to fit anyone, they welcome donations of goods and services and cash to continue and encourage the growth of this essential service in our community.

The first step is to get connected by contacting them and asking how you can help. Anything, if only a word of encouragement and support, makes a difference.

How we treat our least advantaged neighbours defines us as a community. I think Barrie citizens are the caring and generous city we believe in.

Alan Atkins is president of NetWealth Consulting Inc. in Barrie and chairperson of the David Busby Street Centre communications committee.

For more information about the David Busby Street Centre, visit www.busbycentre.ca, or call 739-6916

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