w w w .i n si d eH A LT O N .c o m O A K V IL LE B EA V ER Th ur sd ay , S ep te m be r 1, 2 01 1 6 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5566 Classified Advertising: 905-632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 The Oakville Beaver The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. United Way of Oakville Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America NEIL OLIVER Vice-President and Group Publisher, Metroland West DAVID HARVEY Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution SARAH MCSWEENEY Circ. Manager WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com ERIC RIEHL / OAKVILLE BEAVER HOME-GROWN PIZZA: Jill Jansen puts the finishing toppings on the pizza she made recently at Whole Foods. The pizza toppings were vegetables grown at the store's community garden, which was loaned to Linda Tock and the Junior Horticultural Society to grow some pizza inspired toppings. Letters to the Editor Re: One womans journey into homelessness, Oakville Beaver, Aug. 24. It is with great regret, but sadly no surprise that I read the article about the unidentified Oakville woman (referred to by an alias Sharon White), who recently told her story of homelessness to David Lea of your newspaper. Single women 50+, who have descended into poverty through divorce, a job loss, an illness, or some other misfortune. They are everywhere. They are silent, invisible, ignored, and treated with contempt or disdain. They are all too often blamed for their circumstances. They are sleeping in their cars (their last prized possession), or couch surfing, where they stay on a friends couch for a few nights and then move to another friends couch. It is only a matter of time before they run out of friends. The critical factor in their descent into poverty, as so articulately outlined in the article, is dignified affordable housing or lack thereof. Shelter is one of our most basic needs. A safe place to rest a weary head, a place to keep possessions, a place to shower or bathe, a place to call ones home, an address. For many, and whatever their income, they end up paying a disproportionate percentage on housing, and that is certain doom for them. I have been aware of this problem for some years and have recently created a not-for-profit with charitable status to serve this population group. Our not-for- profit has been trying to secure appropriate housing for women just like the subject of the article, and has knocked on every government door to secure some seed capital. Real estate is so very expensive and without some capital funding we cannot supply the need. Nothing to date. I fail to believe that the people of Oakville will allow this sad situation to con- tinue without intervention not when they know the facts. Why, it appears it can happen to anybody. And it does. It can happen to anyone of us. Fact: Our population is aging and these problems will only accelerate. Canada is the only G8 country without a National Housing Strategy and the UN is most critical of this fact. Fact: Oakville has the greatest number of empty bedrooms in Canada. Fact: There are currently 2,140 people on housing wait lists in Halton. Families, singles, both younger and older. The lists are growing exponentially. Many don`t bother to put their names on the list because of the long waits. Fact: Halton has not had a good record of dealing with the homeless, and it was easier to provide bus tickets, and a choice Toronto or Hamilton. Fact: We have five food banks in Oakville and several new ones starting. Many people in Oakville are paying 60 per cent or more of their income on housing. Fact: Without dignified affordable housing, it is impossible to get a job. It becomes difficult to function. Fact: The growing gap between the haves and the have-nots is socially and economically corrosive. Isolation and homelessness have huge health related costs. We will pay for it, one way or another. Homeless woman not alone The Oakville Beaver is a division of As a kid, regardless of how much ridiculous holiday fun you were having, the dog days of August always seemed to drag as you anticipated (or dreaded, as the case may be) the end of summer and the beginning of another school year. As an adult, that inevitable, antsy drag of time has completely vanished. Forget the seasons dog days, nowadays the entire sum- mer sails by in the wink of an eye. It seems like only yesterday we were madly plotting our summer determined to squeeze every ounce of sun-splashed fun out of the season and now were staring down the long Labour Day weekend, and the dispiriting reality of another summer sinking into the sunset. The proof that were losing our grip on summer can be found on both the calendar and in mornings that are dampened by dew and charged with considerably cooler air that foreshadows fresh autumn days ahead. We had a wonderful summer. Even if it was only one wink long. And we did indeed manage to squeeze every last ounce of pleasure out of the season. There was holiday fun that included a memorable family road trip to New York and Boston. There was some satisfying stroking of items off The Bucket List (pilgrim- ages to both Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium, for instance). There were stolen hours in the backyard, dipping into some perfect prose for the poolside. And, like every season, the summer had its incredible ups (seeing reclusive musician Jeff Mangum emerge from self- imposed exile to play a spellbinding concert at Trinity Church in Toronto) and its ridiculous downs (tumbling back- ward into a horses water bucket and completely messing up my shoulder). There were many tender hours of golf. I say tender because, given the sorry state of my shoulder, there was pain mixed in with the pleasure. I cant believe how madly, deeply Ive fallen for this game I once scorned. If not for societal expectations that I at least try to do something productive with my life, Id become a golf bum. Which somewhat explains why I didnt just let my shoulder rest and heal as common sense dictated. I certainly did not want to miss an entire golf season, and the wounded wing has all winter to get better. Of course, the summer of 2011 came replete with its own soundtrack. Granted, everything in my life comes replete with its own soundtrack, even the long, luxuriating baths my wife takes in the winter (hence The Bath Sessions mixed CDs I regularly burn for her), and her commutes (hence The Car Tunes compila- tions). Manchester Orchestra crossed my radar with a new album called Simple Math. After more listens than I can count, it became the official soundtrack of the summer. Mix in a little Okkervil River (I Am Very Far), a hopelessly infectious offering by Jenny And Johnny called Im Having Fun Now (Jenny being Jenny Lewis, formerly of Rilo Kiley), a rollicking new album by Rhett Miller and The Old 97s (The Grand Theater Vol. 2), and a new British band called The Vaccines (What Did You Expect From The Vaccines), and the summer had no choice but to rock. It rocked. It rolled. It all seemed a little unreal. And now its retreating. One long weekend to go and then, figuratively or lit- erally, its back to school. Andy Juniper can be contacted at ajjuniper@gmail.com, found on Facebook http://www.facebook.com, or followed at www.twitter.com/thesportjesters. In the wink of an eye summer starts to sink into the sunset Andy Juniper See Affordable page 7