From generation to generation

On the prairies, the sun-kissed earth is warming, waking seeds and bulbs from their long winter's sleep.

Chives and rhubarb are spiking, adding colour to the brown ground. Trees are budding and ready to burst into fullness. Yet, hidden in the promise of fertility is the threat of sudden snowstorms and falling temperatures that can kill tender buds and break branches.

In Edmonton, the news that a housing program for individuals in transition from street prostitution no longer had funding hit like a stinging spring blizzard. A tearful resident said, "This place gave me a chance when no one else would. To shut the doors is just leaving people out in the cold. Why give people a taste of hope and then take it back?"

The housing program wasn't cut, it simply didn't receive funding past the start-up and interim funding stage. What should be seen as a long-term priority by all three levels of government simply isn't.

The challenge is for our leaders and planners to stop thinking short-term and election to election. We need a long-term vision that values and invests in people and their communities.

In April, my husband and I had the welcome opportunity to travel to the Netherlands for family gatherings on both sides of his extended family. We were welcomed and feasted at every door. We walked in the villages where his parents were born and felt the awe of generations stretching back into the past and forward into the future. We had the chance to experience different cultural celebrations of Easter.

One highlight was going to an Easter bonfire in the eastern Netherlands. As we traveled through the countryside to this bonfire, we saw several huge pyres sending sparks to meet the stars. Hundreds of children, youth and adults gathered at their favoured spot to watch the lighting of the fires. Community volunteers and local fire brigades kept things safe and a big tent with loud music keeping the young people happily occupied. People gathered wood for weeks and delighted in seeing which town or locale can host the biggest bonfire.

The bonfires are an ancient communal celebration of Spring; pre-dating the Christian feast we call Easter. I marveled at this and other long-held customs that span centuries and survive into this electronic age. The very name, Easter, derives from the name of the Saxon goddess of Spring, Eastre or Ostara, linking us continually to peoples past, to the moon and the earth as well as the resurrection.

You may wonder what our Netherland experiences have to do with the loss of a supportive housing program in Edmonton. The connection I see is the need to cultivate an environment that nurtures life-giving programs and strengthens communities and families for the long haul. Many people, families and communities have become broken in our fast-paced consumer society. It will take time and investment to heal and revitalize what has been broken or lost.

Another learning that I brought home with me was a different approach to addressing drug addiction in the Netherlands. In conversation with a police officer, he said: "We view drug addiction as a disease, so we don't strive to punish those addicted, we try to create laws and conditions "that will meet them where they're at and help them become healthy."

Edmonton street-level programs that address the health and living conditions of people who use drugs are in the same position as the supportive housing program. The community was encouraged to develop programs in response to urgent needs. Initial funding was provided to create innovative supports for marginalized people. Hope was tasted, and then, no long-term funding was committed and programs were closed. To vulnerable people, this can feel like punishment. They're back on the street again, numbing their pain with drugs, isolated from community support.

There will always be the threat of spring snows or devastating weather. If roots are deep and trees are many, people and communities can endure and mend when branches are broken. The broken branches can be collected for the community bonfire and the most vulnerable members of our community welcomed, warmed and delighted, from generation to generation.

Kate Quinn writes from Edmonton.

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