Combating Stigma

This excerpt is from a conversation had with one of our clients on October 8, 2020.

“I had my own auto detailing business for six and a half years. A lot of chaos with my ex-husband there and then I moved back to Red Deer in early 2011.

Red Deer’s a beautiful place but it’s not easy being homeless here, that’s for sure.

I’ve run into a lot of people here who accept us. I’ve run into a lot of animosity and people who don’t agree with us as well.

You notice the judgment especially when people are coming out of businesses or offices. It’s usually as soon as they see the backpacks that the snobbiness comes out. They judge immediately and that’s not fair to anybody. Until they walk a day in our shoes, they will never truly understand.

We’re not all bad apples out there. Some of us work and don’t go breaking the law just to get a fix. I don’t like a lot of what I see some people doing, because it’s wrong.

But that’s not my life. We all have our crutches and our downfalls. We all have our reasons and stories for why we’re out here.

I try to help people as much as possible, especially if they’re new to the area. Whether it’s offering directions or directly taking them to where the next meal is.

I’ve run into a lot of people here who accept us. I’ve run into a lot of animosity and people who don’t agree with us as well.

Red Deer’s a beautiful place if we all work together. At Turning Point, everybody works with everybody as much as they can. If it wasn’t for them, I don’t know what we’d have.

Even their OPS. You don’t have to be a drug user to go and see a registered nurse onsight. Even if you just want to talk, they’re there at any time”.