Volume LXVIII: Simple Solutions Saturday Special; Ending Homelessness in Ottawa

Hello world, thank You for being here and welcome to the Good News Journal’s Simple Saturday Solutions Special Edition.  In My last couple of Posts I was Venting a little about E-Vents in My Microcosm – today’s the day for Putting all the Pieces together and Presenting the Solutions.  I had considered Writing a Post about the kind of things I can Imagine happening in the city of Ottawa that might put an end to homelessness, and realized it was Saturday, My ‘Simple Solutions’ Edition.  Kismet.  When I log into WordPress to Write, I learn that My audience is reading about My first proposal to end homelessness in the city of Ottawa.  No coincidences.

At the time, I had suggested that Ottawa’s city mayor was dis-Honourable for allowing the city to spend more taxpayer dollars on shelters than they do on getting People into housing.  The Truth is it’s a lot more complicated than that.  I know this, and I knew it at the time.  One would be thing King it should be easy to persuade [city] council to stop investing in shelters and get People into housing.  I make blanket statements like I did in My previous Post because it should be that simple, there is no ‘Good’ excuse for it not to be.  The problem is the shelters are a business.  Really, that’s the long and short of it.  When the shelters close down, big businesses like the Salvation Army Will be forced to close their doors in Ottawa.

Next ‘Lucky’ Wednesday, June 26th, city council Will be revisiting the Salvation Army Mega Shelter proposal, and Mathieu Fleury says he Wishes to see it Voted down.  Let it be Done.  Although ‘The Tower’ Card deals with a much Grander Idea than the Salvation Army’s proposed 350 bed mega-shelter complex, the Microcosm reflects the Macrocosm, the Salvation Army is like another version of ‘The Tower’ Card, a Sign from the Universe.  This is True Magic.  The Tower Card of Our recent Tarot Read Signified the Central Focus of events as they Will Play out naturally.  It seems only ‘natural’ that Voting down the Salvation Army’s shelter proposal is a reflection of this Card in My Microcosm.  In Truth, it represents big change on a much Grander Scale (think Music, Harmony, Uni-Verse (One-Song)).

Voting down the proposed mega shelter Will not only increase the pressure to find alternative solutions for Ottawa’s homelessness crisis, it Will also provide the city with an additional fifteen million dollars a year to invest in subsidies and/or develop new [dignified] low income, single occupancy housing units to complement the effort.  Keep in Mind that I am a man who does not believe in coincidences, and I moved to Ottawa with the specific objective of ending homelessness, only to find out that it was Mayor Jim Watson’s Wish, too.  Fleury announced recently that he was wanting a new one percent tax or something to finance low income housing developments and this would potentially provide at least some of those funds without burdening the taxpayer.

Fifteen million dollars is a lot of money for the city to Play with.  $15,000,000.00.  Just for effect.  That’s per year, by the Way!  Imagine what the Mayor might do with that if he Wishes to achieve his Goal to end homelessness in Ottawa by…  Was it 2023?  I don’t know, it was ten years and I could look it up but I don’t really care, so long as it gets done; preferably sooner than later.

This is happening.  The mega shelter getting Voted down next Wednesday is so Good it is a Miracle of sorts.  I’m not the only One who doesn’t Wish to see a Salvation Army mega shelter, it has long been controversial and unpopular with the People (and for Good reason).  The thing is, stopping the mega shelter has never been My main Focus; in fact, it hasn’t been My Focus at all.  I’m concerned with how the city of Ottawa’s shelters are treating the homeless dependent on them now; Voting down the mega shelter is just really Good News.  One of the main things I am thing King People tend to forget with a proposal like the mega-shelter is that a 350 bed shelter Will require 350 homeless to fill those beds.  It couldn’t possibly hope to pay the rent without most of those beds full.  Not only does a mega shelter not put an end to homelessness, it creates the industry need for it.  Corporations don’t have a moral compass, the live or die dependent exclusively on profits.  And these are very much the ‘false profits’ the Bible is actually referring to. 😉

The other reason this proposal getting Voted down Will be Good for Me, is that it takes a little pressure off Me in My Microcosm.  Some of My Friends had big Plans about how I should use My current complaint with the Salvation Army to convince council to overturn their decision with respect to the new shelter proposal, and that Issue appears to be taking care of itself.

Once the mega shelter is Voted down, the life-span of the current shelter Will be extremely limited.  The building should really be demolished, and I’m not exaggerating or embellishing at all.  They should tear it down and rebuild new single occupancy, low income, dignified, housing.  Frankly, I also think that Ottawa should consider the minimum basic income project I was tall King about previously, though the Housing First model used in Medicine Hat isn’t a bad Way to start…  One thing at a time, right?

There are other possibilities here, too, depending on how I choose to proceed with the city.  An element of the entire legal fiasco that I haven’t specifically pointed out, relates to liability.  I mentioned that ‘the city’ is liable to the People for injury caused by a city service provider.  I explained that in My Case, ‘the city’ is responsible for the harm done to Me by the Salvation Army.  Well, ‘the city’ also appears to be ‘Housing Services’ which is another corporate division essentially ‘Acting’ as its own corporation.  I don’t have a copy of Housing Services liability insurance agreement, but I’m Willing to bet they are liable for harm done to Ottawa’s People as a result of their negligence (or service providers they are ‘responsible’ for supervising, like the Salvation Army).  Now again, I Wish to remind My audience I am no expert in Man’s commercial fiction of Laws, I’m just making some observations.  I’m not entirely sure this is the case at all, but if it is, then everything that’s taking place in My Microcosm makes a lot more sense.

If Housing Services are responsible and liable for the harm done to Me by the Salvation Army, then they have a clear motive to try to brush off My complaint, suggest that the shelter is fully in compliance, insist that all Issues have since been resolved, negate (ignore) the harm done to Me in their negligence (to save financial compensation) and finally attack My Character unwarranted, rather than concede I was unlawfully barred from the facility without cause.  Otherwise, what motive would Housing Services have to attack My Character?

What if the mayor, Jim Watson, Chair Deans and members of council, had suspected that Shelley VanBuskirk had been lying to them in her memo’s and reports about the shelters?  What if all they needed was proof that Housing Services was covering for them?

I have said that this Blog is a Common Law court, and it is.  Shelley VanBuskirk can say what she likes, but the Truth always comes out in the end.  The same goes for Jason Prevost.  The Tower is falling, Lords and Ladies, Queens and Kings.

Thank You for joining Me this fabulous Saturday, isn’t it Fun to Fantasize?  Who says ‘F’ Words are bad? 😉

Love and Blessings,