When I interviewed a tenant at Westwood Manor, The Mustard Seed Edmonton’s first apartment building under the HousingFirst philosophy, he almost brought a tear to my eye! Now this guy is what you would call a “particular individual”: you know, those people who like things done in a certain way, with a certain style. He is one of those guys who keeps the common room clean and makes sure things things stay afloat around the house.
Now for those of you who don’t know, The Mustard Seed's housing program is unique in that it tries to fill the gaps and reach the “hard-to-house” individuals who don’t make it in regular HousingFirst programs. In light of this, the tenant stated,
“I take pride in being part of an experiment: guinea pigs! It is a first-time experience for The Mustard Seed and a new learning experience for everyone. All eyes are on this experiment because we are doing this differently compared to other agencies. It is exciting in a way, to be a part of this new thing, to be able to give input on how we can improve. You really become a part of the process and experience. We give input and things change for our benefit.”
To be honest, I was taken aback at the sheer confidence in his words as he said this. He really felt empowered as a decision-maker in the Housing Program. This was his program, his experiment. Part of this experiment was conflict resolution. Westwood Manor has committed to a restorative justice framework for conflict resolution. He had this to say about resolving problems in the house,
“I realize that some people have different standards of what they might consider acceptable behaviour. We are gonna have different opinions, and that’s normal. I’m glad there is a resolution process to resolve differences quickly. Other than minor disagreements there has not been any incidents here. I like to keep the common room clean. Sometimes the other tenants have to do better to clean up after themselves, like spaghetti over the stove: maybe they think it is normal. Differences like that. If that’s the extent of differences that’s pretty good [he chuckles].”
The Housing Program and Westwood Manor at the Edmonton Mustard Seed have been growing like crazy. We are in the process of purchasing 2 more apartments and it is expected that up to 3 tenants will be moved into Westwood Manor each month until the 20 unit apartment is filled. I asked the tenant how he felt about all the changes:
“Things are going to change – change is inevitable. Some people are afraid of change, are uncomfortable, but you can’t live like that. There haven’t been any negative changes yet. And our input is welcome which is great. Input makes difference.
Here there is a mechanism where you bring concerns and they can be discussed. Maybe they won’t agree but at least you have an opportunity to have your voice heard. I am very encouraged to have a voice here.”
Boy oh boy, somebody give me a tissue!
Love Lots,
Jeremiah
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I frequently see one of the Westwood Manor residents in our neighborhood either leaving the liquor store with a bag in his hand or attempting to get into buildings in which he does not live. I'm all for giving people a chance to change, but when people take advantage of that chance it ruins things for everyone. I sincerely hope this individual is removed from the neighborhood in the near future for safety's sake.
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