Andrew
Artist Andrew Bell has been set up at the corner of Front and Bay Streets for two years now. He says he is not homeless but instead has set up his studio and gallery here. When I asked him about homelessness in Toronto he said that the city should build a facility with 10 million dollars or renovate a building and provide people with incentives to be able to stay inside. He says people need a place to go to the bathroom and to shower when searching for a job, or perhaps they simply need to feel rejuvenated. Bell says that there needs to be a vetting process and that people could be given tasks such as picking up a certain amount of litter, spending a given number of hours cleaning street corners that they hang out at, or recycling beer cans. He says it could be a competition, it could be gamified with rewards for people who do more. According to Andrew, unhoused folks could be given opportunities to attend a course such as a food handler certificate course, provided with reasonable volunteer commitments, or only given things if they satisfy certain requirements, such as attending a one-hour a week anger management class. When I asked what causes people to be overcome by addiction, his answer was that people have a lack of discipline stemming from a lack of education and an inability to delay gratification. Andrew says they do not feel motivated enough to get better. Andrew continues; “They’re slaves to addiction and drugs are their way of coping with trauma. There is too much consumption and not enough production. People are quick to blame outside factors rather than looking inwards. They feel like they are getting a good deal (with drugs) when in fact they are not”. I always enjoy talking to Andrew.