“We think of stuff as being something that will give us freedom, happiness and all of the stuff that goes along with material belongings,” says Fred Cameron, who works on the senior management team at SOLID outreach in Victoria.
“But when you’re out on the street, if you have too much stuff, it means you’re tethered to your things. You can’t go inside to use a washroom without risk of it being confiscated and thrown in the garbage.”
Last year, SOLID had been operating a space for up to 36 people to store their belongings. There were spots for people to use on an ongoing basis, and a few emergency spots for one time use.
“If somebody was going to the hospital, if they went to detox, [if] they had to go to Vancouver to a funeral or whatever it was, we gave emergency one time use of the facility, and then they would return and take their belongings,” he said. “It allowed people to move around during the daytime.”
Cameron says a storage service allows people the chance to stop and gather their wits.
“It’s very difficult to make changes when you can’t imagine life being any different,” he said.
Cameron says they only had a few rules on what people could store, such as no wet clothing. He says people stored clothing, backpacks, skateboards, passport applications, and some had photographs that were the last thing they had in their family.
“Some of these belongings were incredibly important. Oftentimes, if people are carrying three suitcases, it just allowed them to leave two suitcases there, again, meaning they can get around,” he said.
“We saw everything imaginable really over a very short period of time, canned food right up to family heirlooms.”
Cameron says belongings, pets, and people being in relationships are three situations that he’s seen prevent hundreds of people from being housed during his time working in the field. He says it can be difficult for people to part with belongings, even in situations where it may ultimately help them down the road.
“As someone that lived out on the streets, when you have nothing and you have the opportunity to get something, it’s scary to let it pass,” he said. “It feels intrusive to have somebody suggest that you get rid of your stuff.”
“I understand, because I’ve seen how much better someone’s life can get if they are able to let go of some of their stuff, but it’s really difficult to get that across in conversation and it’s scary when you’re in it.”
Cameron says that SOLID knew going in that the facility would have a fixed end date as the building on the site it was situated is being demolished. He says the organization was hopeful of finding another site, but is currently maxed out with other projects at the moment.
“it wasn’t open for long enough to see how big that impact would be,” he said. “It’s such a simple service and it’s something that we all take for granted.”
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