Peacock Papers Chamberlain is a Champion February/2 10

Linda Chamberlain delivers direct services to her peers at the food bank she runs

from her home at a Mainstay Supportive Housing complex.  This being just one of

her many projects, Linda says her work keeps her healthy, “keeps me going”.

homeless2home is a community action guide co-authored by the project team

-people who know first hand what it takes to find housing and keep it and what

it takes to be a “home”: Robert Fitzgerald, Connie Harrison, Inge Preston and Malia Robinson, with support and editing from the project coordinator Julia Janes.

Artwork/ Animation/Poetry: Zanette Singh, Victor Manuel, Ronzig and Robert Fitzgerald.

L: For over 30 yrs. I was in the hospital, in and out, living in a park, in hostels, and jail, ‘cause they had to stick me some place. Finally, a doctor suggested I go to Progress Place. I only went because I thought I had to.

That’s where I learned to read and write, about welfare and family benefits, and eventually got my housing. It was 13 years ago when I moved into this apartment. Imagine how my life changed. Now, can you imagine that? After all those years, having a place where I could actually live; now I could do all these things, I could breathe, get  treatment, all these things…

Then I got manic. And the medication wouldn’t work. I was having racing thoughts and pacing back and forth, washing down the walls, pulling out the fridge, no sleep, blood shot eyes…this went on for weeks.

It’s almost like when you’re homeless and you can’t find a place, how drained you are, how bad you look and you want to wash your face, you feel like “ugh”, and the sadness on your face, in your eyes,  oh- it feels terrible.

So then I started to drink. So I’d get a bottle and I’d drink that damn thing and then I’d pass out and wake up and I felt better. It didn’t work, I ended up hospitalized. They let me out during the day and I spent all of a thousand dollars I had except $109.00 because I didn’t want to be homeless again.

You don’t give day passes to people that are manic and with money. I think I bought a thousand chopsticks with that money, nothing I could use- no clothes or anything. It was the first time I had that kind of money too!

When I left the hospital they gave me valuim,  prescribed it, the worst thing you can give an alcoholic. I came home and started to drink. And I drank and I drank and I drank. I had black outs and burnt myself cooking. Second degree burns all down my back in a black out.

C: So it wasn’t an easy or smooth transition from homeless to home.

L: No. For the first year I didn’t unpack because I thought they were going to kick me out. I couldn’t believe all this space was mine. It was beautiful.

C: Is it fair to say as well that you’ve met some extraordinary people in your life that have taken you to places that go beyond the norm, that are extraordinary for people like us?

L: Yes. I’ve travelled to many places, met many people who have (“enhanced”) my life, and done many “extraordinary” things.

C: When did your official activism begin?

L:  I didn’t even know what a board was at first. Someone suggested I run for it and so I did. But then someone said, you have to make a speech and I thought, oh my god!

C: (today, Linda is a top-notch speaker among other things)

L: But the one thing I did know was that I was passionate about my housing because it saved and changed my life. I wouldn’t be here now; you can only take so much of that and your health goes, crack houses, drinking, it’s hard to avoid, and you just want to give up. Maybe drink myself to death. I just wouldn’t have made it to this point.

Eventually I got on the board for Mainstay (Housing, where L lives) around 1998 or 9. I spent six years on the board, the last two as vice-president and president.

From there I got involved in ONPHA (Ontario Public Housing Association); I got on the tenant advisory committee there. They have big conferences and different workshops. All the Social Housing gives ONPHA money.

I was a member of the Dream Team and I won a “Courage to Come Back” award in 2002 for the work I’d done.

Being on the board, I was invited to the Board for Mental health Housing. It was the executive providers of housing all over Toronto and Ontario.

So here I go. I think there’s only me and 1 or 2 other consumers. The rest were all big wigs, and they’re all talkin’ talkin’ talkin’ and every time I go to say something or put my hand up, nobody even said a word, didn’t recognize me, nothing’.

So, I don’t know if you know Steve Laurie from CHSA… so I turned to him and I said, “Steve, I’m not sitting here for the good of my health, or the food (though I’m going to take it home with me) but I got 2 cents to say here and you keep cutting me off…it’s be really nice if I could speak here, you know.”

And the whole place just stopped, my god, “you’re talking to him?” And I said, “you know we’re all talking about housing and everybody knows we need it but no one ever asks, what did it mean to you. What happened when you got your housing? It saved my life!”

And then, I told my little story. I got tears, and I had them laughing. And I said, “that’s what we need. A team to tell the dream”. The Dream Team. And that’s how the Dream Team was born.

At first there were only a few of us. We would call certain politicians to make an appointment and we’d go and tell them who we are. We’re the Dream Team and we advocate for more supportive housing, and we told them stories about how housing had saved or changed our lives. And that we need more housing for the homeless so they can get on with their lives.

We tried to tell them that with having a roof over your head, recovery is possible; it can and does happen. Doesn’t mean it’s a cure , but if you have all the right things in place, you can have a pretty good life: volunteer, give back to your community doing something you’re passionate about. That’s who we are.

When you have a roof over your head your journey to recovery is possible.

con’t

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Peacock Papers: Chamberlain is a Champion (part 3 of 3)

Feb/2010

L: The Dream Team contacted Dalton McGuinty and he promised 6600 units, and he gave us all a letter stating that. Then we thought, let’s get into the caucus. So we contacted George Smitherman, and he invited us in. He said “The Dream Team is in the House”.

Well, I didn’t have any teeth at the time and I thought I couldn’t even smile let alone speak. But I did because I had to. Again, they were laughing, crying, and Smitherman says to me: “Linda, you after my job?” I said to him: “Wait’ll I get some teeth!” He funded us twice, and we hired a coordinator.

(In my present job (at CAMH Queen St) I tell them what I’m going to do. I say, when you give me full time, then you can tell me what to do, but as long as I’m part time, I tell them.)

You can’t be afraid to speak up because if you show them you’re scared, they’re going to bite you; if a dog knows you’re scared, he’s gonna bite you. Maybe if I had an education, I’d be scared too, I don’t know, but I’m too “dumb” to be scared.

C: Like the innocence of a Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird…

L: Yes

C: Tell us about Tony Ruprecht.

L: Not only do we advocate for housing but we help when they’re putting up buildings

When a building is going into a community, they tell the community, and then some people say sometimes, “we don’t want those “crazy people” here.”

So we go to the community and tell them who we are, and that we’re going to be good neighbours, and this is what we do and this, this, and that. But you always get people like Tony.

Now the building that was going to go up was for ten people to live in. And Tony told his community that he didn’t want “those crazies” living here. Ten homeless people were going to be housed in his riding in this new building, and he didn’t want it.

He wrote a letter and sent it out to his community so that everybody could copy it, which they did, saying that he didn’t want “these crazed individuals” living in his community, that “they piss, they steal, they’re child molesters”. (L still has a copy of the letter.)

Of course, we got hold of it ‘cause that’s what we do. We advocate for this type of housing. The letter was slanderous, prejudice, and it’s against the law to do that. We needed to make an example. That’s when I said, “Ok, we’re going to take him to the Human Rights Commission.”

We contacted ACTO and got a lawyer. And then we had many, many meetings. We went down to the Commission and they had photographers and we signed and stated officially what we were doing.

(Through the process of mediation) we ended up in Tony’s office with his lawyer for a meeting. If this did not happen, we’d of taken him to court. From the time of filing it took a year before we finally settled.

Now, I love the Dream Team, but when we got there, nobody wanted to speak against this seemingly charming man, this “wolf in sheep’s clothing” But I did; I said, “I’m not here for small talk Tony, and you’re not getting off this shit”. I told him what we wanted.

We wanted 3 certain things and we got them, including a cash settlement which went back to the Dream Team fund. We aren’t allowed to disclose the terms of the agreement. The fact is, we won, and that’s the main thing. That’s the beauty.

C: (The building is now condominiums)

L: If he hadn’t poisoned the community that place would’ve went up. And this is the problem we have. Every time a building goes up they have community consults and people oppose it. Then we have to spend precious time and money fighting the opposition.

But we’ve done research through the Wellesley Institute and it’s amazing what people say after we’re there. They say we make the community better, we’re active, and we’re good neighbours. The research we did was amazing. (approx. 3 yrs ago. Copies are available thru the Wellesley Institute or Linda Chamberlain)

L: If you’re going to advocate you have to be strong. Tony was charming everybody except me.

I had a woman call me after we settled. She rented a house owned by Tony that was a rooming house, and she told me he goes in there and pushes her around. She said he wanted them out. I told her to call me if anything else happened. He’s left her alone since.

All that happened to him was that Dalton McGuinty said “he puts his foot in his mouth all the time”. There were no other repercussions that we are aware of. But he has burned bridges.

These are the kinds of things we have to do so that people will stop doing this stuff against us. (We’re now working on changing bylaws so that we can build (inclusive) and be housed outside the downtown core).

See, some people who got that letter brought it to us. So this is how things can get done. We have other associations, like HOME COMING, and others, so we’re well connected with what’s going on out there and have the people willing to do help with the work.

If you see something that’s not right, or know that it’s wrong, there so many places you can call, like legal aid, ACTO, and get legal advice. If you want to make change they will help you with the right procedures and how to do it.

If we all do these things, change is going to happen.

Someone said to me, about the work I do, why would I do it? I said, why not? I’ve been living in poverty all my life. Even though I work, always have when able, I’m poor.

ODSP and Housing takes all my money. I want to change that.

C: (ODSP takes back 50% of all earnings and Housing charges 30% of gross earnings. It leaves you working for about .20 on the dollar with rent you can no longer afford)

L: We’ve been talking about this for years. John Stapleton called, and then sent me some stuff on this issue. Now, I’m going to talk to some lawyers and see how to proceed with it.

CBC is waiting for me, they’ll come out. It’s good to do these kinds of things and get some action going. (C: compelling articles in the Star have covered Linda’s story. Worth then search)

Other people need to tell their stories. The system is broken. Now change it. Some people think that others are “taking care of it so I don’t have to” but we all need to do something. All of our stories are

different, so don’t think it’s out there because it’s not. We need diversity. We all have a powerful story and they need to be told.

You know, housing is important, and it’s our right. This is really important to me because of all those years living like a zombie and then getting a chance to sit down and…I can’t believe I’ve been able to do the things I’ve done because of my housing. I am passionate about housing. House these homeless and allow them to flourish, to move ahead.

Pedro, our coordinator pushed for us to get on the Healthy Living Committee of LYNS. They only wanted one of us, the rest were all staff and such, but Pedro pushed and two of us got on. I think Voices from the Street is also on it (C: Linda is also a member of VFTS) Now Pat Capponi (Voices from the Street) and Gail Nyburg (Daily Bread Food Bank) are on this committee (People’s Blueprint) to look at this and that’s good too.

But I still stand to lose my housing because I work. I have to cut back hours at work in order to keep my housing. And I love my work, and they love me. I just won an award “for going above and beyond the call of duty” at CAMH where I am a peer support worker and we have a ball!

We drum, dance, sing; they run up to me when they see me and say “Linda what are we going to do today!” It’s a blast and I love it. But instead of working more, like I want, I have to cut hours to afford my bills.

C: (Linda also provides pet sitting and some vet care for people who are not able to afford these services and are in hospital or otherwise temporarily unable to care for their pets. This initiative is in need of volunteers. Please visit her site at www.peopleandpets.ca)

L: I see this alot: people go out and get jobs, get cut off assistance, lose their jobs, end up back in the hospital. I mean, this has to stop. It happens over and over. You can’t take half of people’s money and raise their rent like this. We have to change that.

I was earning $740.00 every two weeks. ODSP was taking $740.00. Then housing would take $640.00 of the other $740.00. I had less money working than not. I put up with it because I love my job. Then they started an “overdraft” with me which I kept asking about.

They kept saying, don’t worry about it. Until it got to $2,000.00. Now I have to pay it back at the rate of $50.00 per month. I’ll never be clear of this debt, which was their mistake.

But you have to look at housing too. Why is housing taking a third of the gross when half is going to ODSP? We need to give people a chance to work without going back and forth because they can’t afford to work.

It used to be that you’d have a couple of months to get on your feet, and ODSP allowed you to keep $250 before they started to deduct and they did that in increments, not at the rate of 50% after the first $100.

So here I am, I do all the right things, everything I’m supposed to, I get my dream job, I’m working, working, working and it wasn’t easy without an education. I had to prove myself for 3 years by volunteering on the phone line. I did all kinds of things/training and finally they hired me as a peer support worker.

I do one on ones, take them out, do activities. They trust me. I advocate on their behalf. They believe me because I’m one of them. I love it. But I’ve had to cut my shifts and I might have to cut them even more. I can’t afford to work. My work keeps me going.

Linda sits on many committees throughout the city, is a member of the Dream Team and Voices from the Street, is a peer-support worker at the Queen St location of CAMH (Toronto), runs a pet-sitting service and also runs the food bank at her supportive housing complex.

We thank her for her time, strength, courage, example, and humour.

We haven’t heard the last of Linda Chamberlain

http://www.peopleandpets.ca