A message from the Edmonton Coalition on Housing and Homelessness:
As the Edmonton Coalition on Housing and Homelessness prepares to mark its 40th anniversary, its members desperately wish their organization didn't have to exist at all.
ECOHH was formed in 1986 in response to the federal government's retreat from decades of investment in non-market housing. Community organizations working with people in poverty and social housing needed a way to share information, analysis, and planning. Four decades later, the situation has only deteriorated, said longtime member Jim Gurnett.
"Despite the work of organizations like ECOHH and similar organizations across Canada, situations have become worse and worse and worse," Gurnett said. "We now have in Edmonton 50,000 households that live in what's called core housing need — that is, in danger of not being able to afford their rent or losing their housing."
Based on the by-name list compiled by Homeward Trust, about 4,000 Edmontonians are without anywhere to live, and that's probably an underestimate. Such numbers dwarf what ECOHH saw in its early years, and it's frustrating to see the deterioration, Gurnett said.
"I would say that housing security in Canada, in Alberta, in Edmonton, is one of the most spectacular failures by all the governments we've had over those years," he said. "And the stupidity of it is that the price of it is gigantically larger in dollar terms than if we had continued to keep the kind of investments that we had in the '50s and '60s and '70s."
The coalition's 40th anniversary event on June 13 is called Housing is a Human Right. The title reflects ECOHH's core message over four decades, one that is internationally recognized yet remains unmet in Canada.
"It's the idea that to be able to have a reasonable quality of life, any person needs a place that's safe, secure, appropriate, affordable," Gurnett said. "ECOHH is trying to say that all of us in the community — all of us, even the people that have decent housing — will do better if we make sure we don't leave some of our neighbours and fellows living in those kinds of conditions."
The June 13 event will be emceed by Rhea March with performances by Lloyd Cardinal, Emmet Michael, Stephanie Burlie, Maria Dunn, and Tzadeka. ECOHH hopes to honour the people who have contributed to the organization's achievements over the years, such as the Edmonton Homeless Memorial, where the annual service of remembrance for those lost on the streets is held (it's on June 4 this year).
The anniversary event is meant to be both a reunion and a celebration.
"We need each other's company to boost our spirits," Gurnett said. "The memories of successes and the memories of good things that have happened give us a kind of an energy … a kind of a strength to take the next steps and to remind ourselves that it really is worth it, and that a city where nobody is struggling for decent housing is a city where we'll all be happier with our lives."