Under the Glass Ceiling

One of the community members said something, which really shook me recently:

“How can you live with a disability? It’s like you're living in a room with a glass ceiling. You can see all that you want to achieve, but you know you can never get there. How can you live with a disability? ” 

The same can be also said for many trauma victims; for those who continually dress their wounds in addictive remedies; for those who, from birth, had no one to admire and nurture their potential.

The worst part is perhaps that the glass of the ceiling is transparent. They can see who they could have been. They see their dreams clearly, yet increasingly distant; fleeting wisps of memories never theirs. Cursing their present state, they dive deeper into the walls that confine them and drown in their own shadows.

Housing First has been the model chosen to undo these types of situations. The housing program of the Mustard Seed in Edmonton has recently been approved by Homeward Trust, the first apartment building has been filling rapidly, and other apartments are possibly in the works! I, Jeremiah, a mere summer student intern, have been graciously cannon-balled into the middle of this extravaganza. And I love it! And I despair in it!

I love the stories and laughter we share when we sit together with a meal. I love it when I spill hamburger all over myself when the sarcastic excitement of 50% off all clothes in Value Village hits the room. I admire the generosity present between the tenants. Even the precious cigarette is given away freely to a friend. On the flip side, I despair at the sight of deep scars through skin which give credence to the stories that tumble out at unexpected moments. I despair when their pain squeezes them so tightly that they, with subtle and unintentional words and actions, sometimes hurt each other.

So what of the glass ceiling? Well, they move out - out of those four walls - and enter a new community where the sky is the limit. Through the housing program they come to a home. One of the tenants told me yesterday,

“It’s hard to find a home, but this place really feels like a home. It takes a heart to make a home and this place has a lot of heart!”  

A home is a place of belonging where it does not matter what you have done or how short you have fallen from who you could have been. All that matters is right now, and who you are making yourself to be with the support of all those around you. Here the sky does not become the eternal reminder that your hopes have failed, but rather the place where your imagination can find hope again. I am very thankful to be a part of this extravaganza.

Love Lots,

Jeremiah

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