La Ronge is using love to conquer homelessness

One 53-year-old woman who picked herself up off the streets, is inspiring change in other people in her community, with the help of her co-workers.

Scattered Site Outreach Program (SSOP) community worker, Jackie C. Ballantyne, had a home for only a year of her childhood and lived in extreme poverty.

“I was homeless at five until…about…nine or 10 and then again when I was a teen… My mother had a place for us for, I don’t know, a year or so and that was the longest we ever had a residence anywhere…We were couch surfing, we were passed on to relatives because there was no place my mom could keep us,” she said.

Ballantyne has not only worked with the outreach program but she has also worked in mental health and addictions.

“I have seen every type of issue raised…I see how safe housing will provide people an opportunity. It’s a platform to build on and that’s what needs to happen. You need a safe place to [live], in order to work on your issues,” she said.

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On Saturday at 2 p.m. during the Share the Love Winter Sleep Out fundraiser, a group of people will be rough sleeping, with only the things they have in their pack sack.

Ballantyne said by committing to 18-hours outside in the SSOP compound in La Ronge the public is showing they care about the population who is living on the streets.

“Let me walk a mile in your shoes, that’s basically the underlying theme here,” said Ballantyne, adding that there could be no better day to host the event then on Valentine’s Day.

The purpose of the fundraiser is to bring awareness to, and raise money for anyone struggling with homelessness in northern Saskatchewan.

“Scattered Site Outreach has been in operation for approximately seven years and what we have noticed is a great amount of transition from the north to the south…We have had people from…all over the north…that have come here for services,” she said. “As far as the last count that we had here in January, the people that have come in as self-identified [homeless, the numbers was] over 100.”

The staff at the SSOP found there are many myths about homelessness they would like to break during the Valentine’s Day event, through education and conversation. While the dialogue takes place people taking part will also be raising money for a new building.

“It’s an opportunity for community members in La Ronge and area to collect pledges…they agree to spend X number of hours outside during the day and night and it’s basically for them to experience what it’s like to be homeless in the North…especially in the winter,” she said. “Not only is it going to raise awareness in the community and in north…; [hopefully] we will get our down payment for either an existing building, or to have a total rebuild.”

The shelter they are planning to build in La Ronge will have a similar lay out to Our House in Prince Albert. Ballantyne said they would like to have a homeless shelter, hospice and a transitional housing facility.

“There needs to be more resources especially with cognitively challenged individuals, that have addiction issues…FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder)…and also acquired brain injury,” she said. “People that are minimum-wage and [below] they can’t afford their own little apartment, or even a bachelor suite [which means] the issue of homelessness is rising not decreasing.”

Ballantyne and her co-workers are asking for support, whether it’s signing a petition, donations or speaking to local politicians.  They have not only received positive feedback from residents in their area, they have also gained the support of a local politician.

“We were asked ‘would we develop a petition?’…then we brought it out to the community [and] we asked people to support it,” said Doyle Vermette NDP MLA for the Cumberland constituency. “We’ve had volunteers go door-to-door asking for signatures and we’re going to continue to do that. We want to make sure we don’t lose loved ones and we don’t lose community members because they have no shelter.”

La Ronge has a population of less than 5,000 people but the circulating petition has already been signed by 800 people, with the final goal being 1,000 signatures.

“Right now were getting signatures from hundreds and hundreds of community members in the area and wherever else…to support and bring awareness about the homelessness in La Ronge and area,” said Vermette. “Something has to be done and it’s putting pressure on the government so the government is well aware of it.”

His goal is to bring the petition to legislature when the government resumes sitting in early March.

“When we start March 2nd [we’re going to] make sure the government’s well aware that there [are]…people saying ‘we want the government to take light of this,’” he said. “I’ve heard the concerns,” and Vermette promises to serve the petition and strive for change.

kbruch@panow.com

On Twitter: @KaylaBruch1