https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/62030/archive/files/6c12285a9f2c850bbeffc8e5a16c9a8e.pdf?Expires=1785369600&Signature=Xm33ocGgDAbkWv27ujOGFU-vDEOED-VGHKKCiNIVs8D4Z4FX0OctOGIgNX5pbPsxxSyUHVaBaYg2eCd3RuE4zba3pUf1FtJ%7ELDBPKDsF6z94OBvWAGqX2HLkJ4saoAiwwLTmY5Qxt%7E0q6pGRmeMejjb6NRdGtj8cY0X04IJVoxhiv703HWgy-agq0wsipFvUapTLoLlXR-QLhBZZyG5VjqSoUZCSIG30da%7E61ly-S4PNdwJ0q%7E9768yqyJ-dbNVCedQfcHTxn4SBoaMQRKR0oIcRtFpjZg1TT2zAFXmEi0x%7EbukkmEeRs1clas76xudBTq3bapLw2WmxGgcBbX-Nkg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 1ce5e0031eebc62d03c2e99c941203fb PDF Text Text 4 News The McGill Daily, Thursday, January 15, 2009 Refused homeless get new beds Program likely to end in the spring when funding dries up Hayley Lapalme McGill Daily H omeless people who are routinely refused from shelters because of cited misconduct will now have a place to sleep. The City of Montreal will offer a new bed service at select locations to keep the homeless from braving the cold overnight. Initiated on December 15, 2008, the service, known as the respite program, provides a small, private room to guests refused elsewhere for a period of 72 hours in an effort to reintegrate them back into the general shelter system. The urgency of such a program is marked by the death of André Gagnon, who died on a park bench from sub-zero temperatures in late December, days after the program began. The Réseau d’aide aux personnes seules et itinérantes de Montréal (RAPSIM), a coalition that defends homeless rights, hopes that the inclusive nature of the respite program will attract those who previously avoided city services. “The minimum is to offer a place where they can spend the night out of the cold…and to help them to take more long term steps,” explained RAPSIM member Patricia Viannay. While emergency mechanisms have existed since 2003 to guarantee a bed to anyone who requests one, according to Cyril Morgan, Director of the Welcome Home Mission – an organization that reaches out to the homeless – many still choose to sleep outside or are refused access to shelters. “We found that many times, men get turned away because they were not received properly or because ONLINE Check out the audio version of this story at mcgilldaily.com and broadcast on CKUT in the coming days. they have trouble getting their story across. They need somebody who will sit down with them and will say, ‘look, what’s your problem, how can we help you, and where will we go from here?’” Morgan said. While intoxication, violence, disorderly behaviour, and drug use are often-cited reasons for refused access, RAPSIM suggested that the homeless are often refused for reasons more complicated than these labels suggest. “[Refusal] is related to a combination of problems: substance abuse issues are mixed with mental health issues,” explained Viannay, adding that compound problems complicate the shelter’s response to their case. Morgan explained that the respite program aims to improve the allocation of city beds, since most nights they are left empty as Montrealers prefer to sleep on the street. “I don’t know of anybody who has requested a bed in Montreal, and [for whom] none were found,” Morgan said. To date, the respite program has seen the Pavillion Patricia MacKenzie add two beds for women and Welcome Hall add four more for men to provide the respite service. Roughly a dozen people have used the service so far. Jacques Bertrand, also of RAPSIM, regretted that economic constraints have prevented the creation of a new location catering Rachel Wine / The McGill Daily While beds are almost always available to Montreal homeless, many still sleep on the street. specifically to the needs of respite guests, thus requiring an intensification of existing infrastructures instead. “What we did was less spectacular. The work was done quickly,” he said, adding that city institutions consulted only briefly before taking action. According to Viannay, there are few real alternatives to shelters in Montreal. Inadequate fallbacks include cafés, open stairways, bus shelters, park benches, garbage dumpsters, heating vents, or the underside of sandwich boards. There exists no legal way to force the homeless into shelters if they decline. The city seeks to catch part of the population neglected by the shelter system with the respite program. Rejent, a man living on the street since his wife died six years ago, expressed no desire to seek shelter in a city institution, describing them as depressing. He was not convinced that the public is concerned with the circumstances of the homeless. “We die like flies, and the world doesn’t care. We are a disposable community,” he said. Funding for the respite program – provided by the province and the city – will expire at the end of the winter, but Matthey Pearce of the Old Brewery Mission, a shelter in Old Montreal, stressed the need for it to be extended indefinitely. “While it may be true that you won’t die of the cold on the streets of Montreal in July, there are other reasons why you might be victimized and assaulted, and at risk in the summer. So we think this service should be yearlong,” he said. The city resurrected the model for the respite project from L’Echelle, a pilot project run by the Old Brewery Mission a few years ago. L’Echelle ran out of funds and closed operations at the end the end of the winter, and the respite program will likely go the same way. Pro-life club hosts controversial event during interim McGill students divided on Choose Life’s pictures of fetuses at crossroads Josh Nobleman News Writer P ro-life group Choose Life could push for full club status by month’s end, provided that the club’s interim activities are not considered unacceptable by SSMU’s Equity Committee. At the October 28 Council meeting, Choose Life was granted threemonth interim club status in a 21-totwo vote, amidst concerns voiced by students from the Quebec Public Interest Research Group-McGill and the Union for Gender Empowerment (UGE) about incendiary anti-abortion tactics used by similar groups. Preceding the vote, Choose Life president Natalie Fohl assured students and councillors that the club would not condone “using graphic pictures or circulating literature that could be construed as hateful.” SSMU VP External Devin Alfaro assured Council in October that definite consequences would follow if Choose Life were to circulate any such material, and Choose Life was granted the right to free speech and regular assembly. On November 24, at one of the club’s first events, Choose Life tabled at the McGill crossroads with displays of images of fetuses – an event Fohl hoped would bring the issue into public focus. The club established a voting booth and comment station asking when a fetus should legally be considered a person, “We wanted the voting to spark discussion, encourage people to reflect on the question, and voice their opinion,” said Fohl. Displayed on the table were to- scale images of a fetus developing from conception. Each month of pregnancy contained different facts about foetal development, and each fetus “said” something in the photo caption, with the seventh-month fetus saying, “I can look around!” On the table, in a binder, lay similar illustrations photocopied from a biology textbook, “Human Development.” Diagonally across from Choose Life, a group of students organized an informal counter-protest on the corner of the crossroads, handing out pieces of cloth reading “my body, my rules.” Other protesting students’ signs matched those displayed by the UGE at the October Council meeting: “Legalize abortion” and “fight gender oppression.” U3 Sociology student Sarah Golightly, a member of the UGE who took part in counter-protest, was concerned with the philosophy Choose Life was promoting. “[They’re] portraying people who have had abortions as immoral,” said Golightly. “I’m most concerned about the effect this could have on students [with] what I consider to be propaganda.” The UGE is due to publish a reproductive rights zine in February. However, U2 Philosophy Honours Trevor Bant did not react as strongly to the group’s event. “I see no problem as long as they say things in a respectful and tolerant manner,” Bant said. “But I don’t know how many McGill students would be sympathetic to their cause.” Fohl maintained that no pamphlets were actively handed out, and those available for circulation contained no inflammatory or graphic material, despite certain students’ charges that the club distributed hateful material. Complaints from individual students can be made through the SSMU Equity Committee; the Judicial Board hears grievances between clubs. According to SSMU VP Clubs & Services Samantha Cook, some student complaints have been taken up with the Equity Committee, but SSMU will not necessarily reopen the Choose Life debate at Council, as equity officers may decide the issue independently or defer it to a separate committee. To date, the Judicial Board has received no complaints. Choose Life’s next planned event is a talk on Monday by Mary Meehan, a veteran pro-life speaker urging liberals and feminists to defend the unborn. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Coverage from The McGill Daily Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data PDF Volume 98 Issue 27 Page Number(s) 4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Pro-Life club holds controversial event during interim Description An account of the resource Discussion of a controversial event in which Choose Life asked McGill students whether they believed a fetus should legally be considered a person. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Josh Nobleman Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The McGill Daily Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2009/01/15 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Choose Life reproductive health reproductive justice SSMU SSMU Equity Committee Union for Gender Empowerment (UGE)