Page Text: Out of Sight, Out of Mind
Peter Williams
Ben Young, 29, starts his day the same way every morning. He wakes up at 6:30, throws his boots on, and makes his way outside with slouched shoulders and heavy eyes for his morning smoke. There, as the coldness of his breath mixes with his exhalation of smoke, he takes a moment to create a mental checklist of what he needs to accomplish over the course of the day. On this particular day as he stares out at the city, nature begins to call, and he can’t hold it anymore. He heads back inside. As he does his business, a foul stench begins to fill the bathroom. At first Young can’t place it, but soon enough the culprit makes itself known. He begins to panic, and frantically tries to get his things off the floor and into safety, but it’s too late. The damage is done; his backpack and clothes are covered in shit. After a few moments cussing out his frustration, he mentally adds ‘Laundry’ to his to-do list.
Over the past 40 years, the Edmonton Conference Centre (ECC) has seen it all. Corporate functions of snobby people pretending they actually enjoy caviar, underage ravers passing out on the middle of the floor during a Tiesto bass drop, and even a few Animethons. When COVID-19 forced the world indoors back in March, the building that was once an anchor of Jasper Ave was rendered useless, an empty vessel that represented the joys of the old world. That changed on October 9th, when the City of Edmonton announced that the building would have purpose once more. Beginning at the end of the month, the Centre would serve as a temporary shelter for 300 homeless Edmontonians every night. Currently it’s estimated that 2,000 people in Edmonton don’t have a place to live, with about 600 of those sleeping unsheltered on any given night. The move to combat homelessness was met with widespread praise, a welcome blimp of positivity in a timeline of worsening news.
Young heard of the new shelter from a friend shortly after waking up at the Hope Mission Centre, which he fondly refers to as the “Fuck, I got no other options” shelter. The COVID-19 pandemic has presented even more challenges to the homeless. Many safety legislations have called for public places like dining areas and libraries – which the homeless rely on for Wi-Fi and bathrooms – to be closed. “We have nowhere to go,” he explains. “I lost count of how many times I shit in the alley because nowhere let us use the washroom.”
Young describes his story into homelessness as an unremarkable one. There was no single event or addiction that sent him spiralling, he was living day-to-day, lost hours at work, and simply couldn’t afford rent anymore. Stories like this aren’t the exception, but the regular. Sure there are people on the streets that are there because of mental illness or addiction, but most of the time it’s just people with nowhere else to go. Young’s advice: take a money management class if you’re not confident with your finances. “If you’re living paycheque-to-paycheque, budgeting is super important. Live within your means.” he says. The city estimates an additional 200 Edmontonians are becoming homeless each month, and shelters are struggling to keep up.
While he has friends and family that are open to letting him couch surf until he makes it back onto his feet, Young rarely takes them up on the offer. “I’m a proud person to a fault. I wouldn’t feel comfortable at a friend’s house for more than a couple days,” he says. He assures them that he can make it out on his own, and staying on someone’s couch doesn’t change the fact that he’s homeless. To Young, the offers from friends are a resource that he doesn’t want to use up, and instead serve as a safety net if things on the street worsen. “I want that fire under my ass,” he says. “I want to look back at this time in my life and reflect on how I pulled myself out of it. It will be comforting for the rest of my life knowing that getting evicted to the street isn’t rock bottom.”
“Death is my rock bottom now.”
For the past two years, Young has lived on and off the streets, and for the past month he’s been spending his nights at the ECC. He describes the shelter as the most convenient, and raves about the features like he’s pitching an Airbnb. “The location is great, they have medical staff, clothing, housing, showers, laundry, 24/7 shelter, and coffee.” Initially, it sounds like the shelter was a glaring success for a city that so badly needs one, but then Young continues. “I don’t recommend newly homeless people come here first,” he says. “This is the most dangerous shelter in Edmonton. It has so much going for it, but if you’re not ready to stick up for yourself, stay far away from here.” In November, Edmonton police say they responded to 60 incidents at the centre, including six assaults causing bodily harm or assaults with a weapon, five assaults, and two sexual assaults.
One of the usual 300 cots available for the homeless at the ECC. (Photo Provided by Ben Young)
What makes the space so great, is also what makes it so hard to maintain. With over 85,000 square-feet available to the homeless, it has plenty room for all the amenities Young raves about, but that doesn’t come without its drawbacks. Young theorizes that the combination of the building’s large size and an overwhelmed staff is what draws in the dangerous crowd. “The less freedom you give us, the safer we are,” he says. “But at the same time, people want to stay in a place where they can do their thing. That place right now is the [ECC].”
In particular, Young finds that the bathrooms suffer most from the lack of security. He considers himself lucky when he finds a stall that isn’t covered in blood, excrement, or needles. Although the Centre is host to a safe consumption site, the stalls are still busy with people shooting heroin. “Security and staff are not doing a good enough job keeping the drug addicts in the safe consumption zone. People are doing whatever they want wherever they want because they are getting away with it,” he explains.
The COVID-19 protocols are a similar story. While the Centre has spaced out cots and enacted mandatory mask requirements to combat the virus, the rules are seldom followed, and even more rarely enforced. “So many times I’ve seen security ask people to mask up, but they don’t, and security is scared to confront them beyond that so they just leave it for the next person to bug them,” Young says. Sores have begun to form behind his ears from wearing his mask inside, which he only takes off when sleeping.
The scene outside the Centre is much like the one within it. People line up shoulder to shoulder as they wait in lines for food, cots, or housing with no regard for distancing. Inside, Young has yet to see maintenance sanitize anything. “They sweep, they wipe, they throw out, but zero disinfecting is being done when people come and go from the tables.”
“If COVID gets worse and worse, people can stop worrying about the homeless, because most of us will die, I’m not being funny.”
Two days after Young expressed his concerns, the ECC declared a COVID-19 outbreak, which saw 60 people at the shelter testing positive for the virus. In response the overnight capacity was cut from 300 beds to 150. Young heard news of an outbreak through talk among fellow frequenters of the Centre and the news, and when he began experiencing a runny nose and sore throat, he voiced his symptoms and was tested. His results came back positive, and his worst fear was realized. When he asked if he’d be moved to a motel to quarantine, he was repeatedly told he was going to an isolation centre. “[It was] probably to stop people from trying to milk a free room when they don’t need it,” he guesses.
His prediction turned out to be true, and Young, along with many others who tested positive at the centre, were taken to the Travelodge on Calgary Trail to isolate. The rooms are far from luxurious — having been stripped of items like mirrors and phones — but Young is just grateful for a place to stay. “The blankets and pillows are not regular motel quality, but it’s still awesome to me.” Those who test positive are able to stay at the Motel free of charge for two weeks, and have food and snacks delivered to their door by Alberta Health Services to ensure they have everything they need. There are also nurses on standby to monitor symptoms. “In that sense I’m lucky,” Young says. “Some people have to isolate at home and figure things out themselves, while health care professionals are literally outside my door.”
Health wise, Young has felt fine, and his initial symptoms haven’t progressed into anything more. In the meantime, he’s been taking advantage of the privacy of his room, something that is somewhat of a luxury compared to the large communal shelters he’s grown accustomed too. So far he’s spent his time in isolation writing, researching jobs and aid, sleeping, and working out. A Reddit user even dropped him off an Xbox for some much needed rest and relaxation. After his quarantine ends, Young plans to donate the console to the Stollery Children’s Hospital.
Reddit has become an outlet for Young, who often posts on the Edmonton subreddit to scratch his writing itch. There, he likes documenting his experiences as a homeless man in the city and bringing to light what it’s really like living on the street. Under the screen name u/BroniarSauce he’d post pictures of shelters, answer questions from users, and encourage those who have the means to donate what they can. These posts were always met with positive feedback and encouragement from the community, and Young’s reputation began to grow.
Homelessness is a hidden issue. We all know it exists, but the solution is often to gather these people into one area so we don’t have to interact with them. In early November, homeless encampments in the Old Strathcona and Rossdale areas were dismantled by city police with shuttles on hand from Boyle Street Community Services to transfer former residents to the ECC. While staying at a shelter as opposed to an encampment seems like an upgrade, that isn’t always the case. Many homeless people prefer the privacy of a tent and safety of community to the free for all setup of shelters.
Whether it be from stigma or lack of opportunity, it’s rare to interact with and truly get to know someone who is experiencing homelessness. Young wasn’t just a number, but a person who had fallen on hard times and needed a little help to get back on his feet. The motivation behind his posts was to spread awareness and inform the public what it’s like inside the services offered to him by the city. Young’s posts put a face on the issue that so rarely has one, and he felt what he was doing would only better his situation and those around him.
Young in his room at the Travelodge, where he is self-isolating for the next two weeks. (Photo Provided by Ben Young)
After news outlets got wind of Young speaking out against the ECC and subsequently contracting COVID-19, he conducted interviews with Global, CBC, and City News about his experience. He figured the interviews would help his cause and spread his message further, but after the articles were released, he was met with messages saying he shouldn’t have gone to the news. Now, Young fears that he may be blackballed from these services and have nowhere to go once his isolation at the Travelodge ends. “I just spoke out against the services I need to survive,” he says. “I just tarnished the hard work of the people there who are trying so damn hard but are fighting a losing battle. There is no way I can go back after this.”
Since the publication of the articles Young says he’s been feeling anxious, depressed, and paranoid as he plans his next move. He’s deleted his Reddit account, and doesn’t plan on sharing his experiences any longer.
Young has a job lined up in the summer, but until then he’ll take it day by day and spend his time looking for work and lining up for necessities, which is becoming increasingly difficult for him and many others.
“The virus isn’t going nowhere, and they are not housing people at the same rate people are hitting the street,” he says. He mentioned implementing resources like heated bus stops and free LRT transportation from Stadium to the Health Sciences Station could go a long way in keeping the homeless safe.
Young emphasizes that there’s no wrong way to donate, and often the most obvious things – like blankets and food – are what shelters are in need of most.
“If you want to make a real difference, come hand out food. Get to know us. You can’t save the world, but you can actually save one person if you put in the effort.”