Drug War Survivors trying to bring homelessness further into spotlight

The Abbotsford Drug War Survivors, made up of some of Abbotsford’s homeless population, have launched an initiative to draw more attention to the homelessness problem.

Founder Barry Shantz says they’re inviting all of Canada’s MPs to come to Abbotsford to speak to members of the Drug War Survivors.

“There’s a federal election coming, we think it’s important to make this a federal issue. And the organizations that are part of the problem, we want to make sure they’re all identified, we want to get people out to talk about these things.”

The group has also sent notices to the Mennonite Central Committee and the Ministry of Social Development offices objecting to certain policies and actions.

Shantz says in one example in the case of the ministry the expectations for work are sometimes too high to be met, which just sets people up for failure.

“One of the most important things for someone struggling with mental health and addictions is to be stable and have enough self esteem that you can make a positive decision about yourself. So if the system from the very bottom is set up to set people up for failing, they’re actually part of the homeless problem.”

The notice to the MCC claims that homeless people have been evicted from MCC land without any provision for alternative shelter, and that some of their policies are discriminatory and exclusive.