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durhamregion.com J- Page A12 ♦ THE CANADIAN STATESMAN ♦ June 7,2006 Hitting the streets to study homelessness Research project first of its kind in Durham BY JILLIAN FOLLERT Staff Writer DURHAM -- There are hundreds hundreds of people in Durham Region without a place to call home, but ask them if they consider themselves themselves homeless and you're likely to hear "No." They might spend a few weeks sleeping at a friend's place, then a few more crashing with relatives. Then it's off to a shelter for a bit, before another round of couchsurfing. couchsurfing. "They have a place to go at night, they're not living on the street, so they might not identify as a homeless person," said Dr. Wendy Stanyon, an assistant professor professor of nursing at Durham College College and UOIT. "If you've never had stable housing before, that might seem normal." This is just one of the trends that emerged after Dr. Stanyon and the students in her third year nursing class conducted a unique study on homelessness in Oshawa. In March, they spent a 24-hour period distributing a census to acquire hard data about the number number of homeless people in the city's 7 downtown core, and followed followed up with one-on-one interviews interviews to leam more about how people become homeless and which social services they benefit from. While individual agencies keep data on tire people they help, and the Durham Region Social Services Services Department keeps data on the agencies it funds, this study is the first to look at the big picture of homelessness in Oshawa. ■ We don't have people sleeping outside. But that doesn't mean the problem isn't there.' -- Dr. Wendy Stanyon "We want to hear from people and find out who they are and whether the services being provided provided are meeting their needs," said Mary Menzies, manager of housing development and homelessness homelessness initiatives for the Region. "We know a lot of people who have housing of some kind are still using these services because their housing is inadequate or unsafe... it's a complex issue." Dr. Stanyon said she originally envisioned a study that looked at all of Durham Region - espe- . daily the northern municipalities municipalities where homeless people have trouble accessing services - but there wasn't enough manpower. : Instead, her students zeroed in on Oshawa's downtown, where sendees like soup kitchens, shelters shelters and drop-in centres are densely densely located. What they found was a picture of homelessness that looked very' different from Toronto and other urban centres. "In this area the problem is more invisible, we don't have people sleeping outside," Dr. Stanyon noted. "But that doesn't mean the problem isn't there." , The numbers are still being analyzed, analyzed, but what is clear is that many people in Oshawa have no home of their own, or live in unstable or unsuitable housing. Major challenges include access to medical care, obtaining •identification •identification and finding affordable housing. Dr. Stanyon pointed out that it has been 20 years since: new, affordable housing units were built in the yea. She is concerned ' about the number of slum apartments apartments in Oshawa, where tenants with few resources pay upwards of $600 a month to live in unsanitary unsanitary conditions, often without electricity or other utilities.! Once the data from the stiidy is tabulated, it will be used by agencies to tailor services to meet the needs of the community and research articles will be \ published. published. Dr. Stanyon said a second census is planned for the fall, to track seasonal changes' in home lessness. . In the meantime, she is pleased that her nursing students had the opportunity to hit the streets and see the faces of homelessness first hand - an experience she said will be invaluable when they are on the front lines of health care. "The students were incensed by what they saw, which is good," she said. "It's an experience that will live in them forever." BOWMANVILLE-- Dignitaries cut the ribbon at the May 17th Grand Opening of A&P's new store in the Bowmanville Mali! From left were MPP John O'Toole, A&P's VP of Operations Phil Terry, Claring- ton Mayor John Mutton, Store Manager David Skitch; A&P's Senior VP of Operations Vince Bertrand and Justin Naidoo also from A&P. BOWMANVILLE MALL miGsm&aNeBm A CANADIAN TIRE WM '•SB* vAi FvîSl ifeill §9 ■ ^ I LilKSii f' ' , Al 1» Mi xh ' ]& nes. BEHiEÂ to m a riq i n q-Ba skets^ B edd iiniq] J t Does not apply to finventb ry^at s ale p ri des j h>M mnnomn tire / CANADIAN TIRE BOWMANVILLE GARDEN CENTRE HOURS Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m. To 9:00 p.m. » Sat. 8:30 a.m. To 6:00 p.i l»w * * | • Sun. 9 a.m. To 5 p.m. NOW ONLINE Sudoku 1 9 It's fun It's challenging It's addictive! 4 8 1 6 1 9 Anew puzzle each day Five different levels of difficulty 4 8 - 1 0 1 9 Oh, and did we mention it's addictive? i-.irwi*i.<lwmir.inninirinnrinrrrTTTrrri,'nfr]mrrrmrirr"n-it l mi--irrrn-mvMiniTinrmTTirTiT