Trespassing in a Public Place
The warm glow of a spring sunrise over the Bay of Quinte illuminated the upturned shopping cart from behind. I felt kind of guilty as I stood in what had been, until recently, somebody’s ersatz living room.
I recorded the scene, but I was only half present. My thoughts were elsewhere as I tried to conjure up a feeling of what it would be like to live day and night on the frozen and wind-battered bayshore. And what it would be like not knowing if this would be my permanent situation.
For the benefit of all who might engage, I pulled myself together and prepared to learn more about the most vulnerable people and families in Quinte West.
My journey started in a tent and ended in a gathering of colourful characters in downtown Trenton.
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In a slightly quieter space in the resource centre that serves the unhoused people of Trenton, the Executive Director of Community Partners for Success, Christine Stevenson, responds passionately when asked what she most wants us to hear:
“We want people to know that these are our community members,” she states. “They are part of your community and your life.”
She is addressing the misunderstanding that there is an “us” and “them” by which we can neatly sort the relatively stable and typical residents of Quinte West and the unhoused people that come to the door of the CPFS Resource Centre every day.
In the continuing series, A1 In the Community, we seek to gain a better understanding of the challenges that some among us face every day. And what’s being done to preserve life, health and dignity in partnership with some of our most vulnerable people.
