‘People are dying’: First Nations urge city to declare homelessness emergency
“People are dying in the streets, in public parks, in bus shelters. We need to call this what it is: an emergency.”
Nishnawbe Aski Nation and Fort William First Nation are calling on the city of Thunder Bay to declare a state of emergency and get help with addressing homelessness.
With temperatures in the city expected to fall below -30 C Friday night and wind chill values as low as -45, NAN Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler and Fort William First Nation Chief Michele Solomon co-signed a letter to Mayor Ken Boshcoff appealing to the municipality to do everything in its power to help protect the homeless.
“This crisis has gone on long enough. There will be people sleeping outside tonight as temperatures reach dangerous levels,” write Fiddler and Solomon.
The letter to the city was posted late Friday afternoon, just as the city announced it was activating its severe weather plan in response to the severe cold.
The two leaders are offering to meet with the city to address the issue together, but they are adamant the municipality first needs to declare a state of emergency to access provincial and federal resources.
“We recognize Thunder Bay cannot solve this alone, and there needs to be increased resources from all levels of government. We are willing to be there and work alongside you, but it is your responsibility to call for help,” they write. “The lives of many of our people are at stake and it needs to be treated with the urgency it deserves.”
The appeal comes the same week Fiddler attended a funeral in his home community of Muskrat Dam First Nation for Kenina Thomas, who died on Jan. 8 in a Thunder Bay bus shelter.
“Sadly, her story is not unique,” said Fiddler. “You know, there are so many people here in Thunder Bay that are just living day to day and living in a vulnerable state.”
“We need to ensure that there are supports for people like Kenina and for the others that are still out here,” Fiddler told Newswatch in an interview Thursday, “to ensure that they live, you know, in a safe home — that they shouldn’t have to worry about being cold or being hungry.” – tbnewswatch.com
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Sooo its not a me problem but a you problem.
You care enough to ask other people to do something, but you don’t care enough to do something yourself. You are Chiefs after all. Does the buck not stop with you guys?.
Can’t be too much of an emergency then.