Check It Out: Helping those who have ‘gone through the wringer’

By Joan Janzen

Listening to a millennial explain the phrase “gone through the wringer” was interesting. I’m old enough to know what a “wringer” is, but this fellow had no idea.

He continued to explain to his listeners that it was a mechanical device used in the 20th century to clean clothes. The device has two rollers on top of each other and you put clothes through the wringer, along with detergent. The wringer presses all the impurities out and cleans the clothes, he explained.

The phrase describes people who have been through hard times and difficult situations. This week, I’m continuing on the topic of people who have “gone through the wringer”; they are the homeless.

During a visit to Victoria, BC, in 2019, I remember being surprised to see individuals living in tents. At the time, I thought it was just a case of a few people who were “going through the wringer.” But today, Victoria has a number of encampments.

In 2021, Statistics Canada reported that 11.2 percent of Canadians reported they personally experienced homelessness at some point in their lives. In the fall of 2022, 44 percent of Canadians said they were very concerned with their ability to afford housing or rent in the near future; that’s almost half of Canadians. The Canadian Alliance for Homelessness estimated there are more than a quarter million homeless in Canada.

Homelessness is defined as those living in shelters, encampments or public spaces, but that only represents 20 percent of the homeless. The other 80 percent are couch surfing, which means they’re going from one friend or acquaintance to another to find a place to sleep. That 80 percent also represents working people who can’t find affordable rental accommodation. Many are just a couple of paycheques away from attaining a place to live and need a hand-up.

Faytene Grasseschi interviewed Stephen Wilsack and Matt Grant, two men who decided to do something to help the homeless in their community of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The men took a van to an encampment, served coffee, and handed out food, clothing, mattress pads, rain gear and sheets.

It took some time for them to gain the trust of those living in tents, but as they listened to their stories, they couldn’t believe their ears and eyes as those stories tugged at their hearts. They realized many residents were basically two paychecks away from obtaining a place to live.

Stephen and Matt hadn’t planned on staying for an extended amount of time, but then the weather changed. The storms came, and tents blew away, resulting in some people sleeping in their van. The two men knew they had to do something, so they set up 30 ice fishing tents and made a few modifications. “We could put up 200 tents, and they would all be filled,” Matt said.

“Matt and I don’t judge people; if we have a spot for somebody, we will provide it,” Stephen said.

Donors came forward, donations of supplies began coming in, and they set up a GoFundMe page that raised $65,000 within two weeks. Now, they are able to buy additional equipment for their tents. Two months later, they are still on site.

“The cost of living skyrocketing has created an environment we have never seen in our lifetime,” Stephen said. “Little did we know this has been happening across the country. It’s a tragedy we’ve never seen before.”

Both the mayor of Halifax and the person in charge of the city’s encampment agree that Matt and Stephen’s Red Tent Project is saving lives.

“We can’t ignore this anymore. We have to do something. We have to start to talk about it,” Matt said. “I wouldn’t trade anything for what’s happened to me these last few months. We aren’t going anywhere.”

However the sacrifice of their commitment to stay on site is not without challenges. Whenever you have that many people living in close quarters, it becomes a powder keg of dynamite. “Things can go south real quick,” Matt noted. “We’ve both been threatened numerous times, but the same people who do the threatening are gaining our trust.”

And that’s because Matt and Stephen listen to the many stories that touched their hearts. “I have shed tears and hugged people,” Stephen said. “It’s best to perfect the art of reading people’s body language and know when to engage and when to avoid them.”

The duo has learned many valuable lessons during the past two months. “Don’t pass judgment,” Stephen advised. “This could be your son or daughter. Behind every drug addict and person with mental challenges, there’s a real human being. Be compassionate. Love your neighbour; we have to get back to the basics.”

Matt expressed similar thoughts: “Don’t cast blame; look in the mirror and ask what have I done and how can I help? We encourage people to look after those in their own community.” Every community has different challenges, and prairie dwellers are well aware that tents of any kind would not be a solution during a prairie winter. But Matt and Stephen discovered the benefits of combining forces with community, corporations and government to find solutions. Great things happen when everyone works together.

“Everybody thinks this is a big organization,” Stephen said. “But it’s literally Matt and I and our spouses helping.” The two men are humanitarian heroes, demonstrating how their sacrifice of time and compassion can make a difference.