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Who鈥檚 taking the lead?

Participants asked to share why they thought 亚洲天堂 Lake needs a homeless shelter for men. And, surprisingly to me, people had a lot to say.

Last week I participated in a meeting with Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen, Lake Babine Nation Chief Wilf Adam, 亚洲天堂 Lake councillor Chris Beach, RCMP members and community members.

They were all gathered to discuss the need of a homeless shelter for men in 亚洲天堂 Lake.

Lake Babine Nation (LBN) member Darlene Patrick was the person who got everyone involved. And this certainly wasn鈥檛 an easy task for her, as she had been trying to organize this meeting for three years.

Cullen took the lead during the meeting. He was very respectful and interested in hearing what everybody had to say. He made suggestions, but was careful not to impose his ideas, understanding that the initiative should come from the community.

Cullen asked participants to share why they thought 亚洲天堂 Lake needs a homeless shelter for men. And, surprisingly to me, people had a lot to say.

Participants shared their stories and provided emotional statements. Some even broke to tears while sharing their experiences with homelessness - either helping people in need or being homeless themselves. After also hearing RCMP officers say they know of people who sometimes sleep in the bush, and 亚洲天堂 Lake councillor Chris Beach, who grew up in 亚洲天堂 Lake, say he knows of local people who don鈥檛 have a home, I realized how important this initiative really is.

Although 亚洲天堂 Lake already has a homeless shelter run by the Elizabeth Fry Society, the shelter is only for women. Some participants shared how frustrated they feel because they often come across men that need a shelter, but 亚洲天堂 Lake has nothing to offer them.

Patrick has actually been hosting people in her own home for several years. She said she hosts about 10 people a year and that they are allowed to stay for as long as they want (and some people think having their own family for the weekend is hard).

Patrick said she sometimes runs out of food because she has to feed other people.

After everyone shared their experiences, there was a consensus amongst participants that they needed to gather more support, including the six local First Nations groups in the area.

Chief Adam took it upon himself to talk to the other five local chiefs to ensure that they are on board, and Cullen said he would speak with John Rustad, MLA for Nechako Lakes, to ensure the provincial government is involved.

However, participants did not choose a group of people nor created a committee that would work together to create goals, timelines, and would be responsible for ensuring this initiative moves forward. There鈥檚 certainly a lot of work involved in creating a homeless shelter, including going after grants, gathering supporters, finding a location, staff (and I鈥檓 sure I missed about 50 items in that list).

From what I鈥檝e seen in 亚洲天堂 Lake, things tend to get done much faster when there鈥檚 a committee responsible for steering things in the right direction. That鈥檚 what we鈥檝e seen with the Colleymount Road users group, which successfully brought the Colleymount Road issues to the attention of the provincial government.

Of course these are just the initial stages of getting a homeless shelter for men in 亚洲天堂 Lake, and meetings are certainly important, but I left the meeting without knowing who was actually taking the lead.

From what I heard during the meeting, the community would like to have a homeless shelter for men in 亚洲天堂 Lake as soon as possible. So someone needs to ensure that the next steps are being taken.