ho“I’m inside the church and it’s wonderful it’s actually one of the best places I’ve had in a long time.”
Gerald Singh is homeless. With the sub-zero temperatures across the Lower Mainland, he is grateful to have a roof over his head. Even though it’s not his own place, he still feels at home at the Church.
“It’s one of the first homes I’ve had in maybe 15 years that I can call my own even though I’m temporary there.”
Singh has a place that he calls home because of the Coast Mental Health, a non-profit organization.
The organization is a haven for many of the homeless dealing with mental illness, which is at the root of why people are on the streets.
Darrel Burnham, the Executive Director at Coast Mental Health, offers day services for people with mental illness. There is a homeless outreach team that reaches out to people on the streets and helps them find housing.
Burnham spoke on Unfiltered with Jill Krop and says they are looking for donations so that they can find more ways to house people.
“We are looking at ways that we can develop more housing for people. We house about a 1000 people really well and there’s still about another 1000 people that could use a place to stay that’s there own.”
Burnham says shelters are the first step that serve as a “transition to a home.”
As for Singh he finds peace of mind in at the centre because, as he says, “people treat you as human.”
© Shaw Media, 2013
Article source: http://globalnews.ca/news/1015885/1015885/