Local outreach worker shares his inside story of what it's like to be homeless, mentally ill and addicted in Sault Ste. Marie
For David Cartner, working as an outreach worker and lead in the Downtown Ambassador Program isn't just a job. It's his life's work.
It's a street outreach and peer support group that aims to minimize harm, supply resources to the city's most vulnerable people and give referrals where needed.Cartner's primary interest lies in helping people who are homeless or suffering from mental illness, addiction or any combination of those. His compassion also comes from his own life experiences. He learned it through his own battles with addiction and from the examples of the people who helped him.
"‘Help’ can be showing concern and just talking to the person," he said. "Just spending a few minutes talking to the person. A lot of these kids go days, weeks, without anybody paying any attention to them. They have no human contact. Like, who wants to hug a person that’s been on the streets for a while? They’ll be dirty.The people Cartner and the other ambassadors help appreciate the ear to hear them, eyes to see them and sustenance to share with them.
Real solutions to the problem are needed. Resources among the agencies downtown are stretched paper thin and groups like the Compassion Hub, SOYA and Lodge 137, Pauline's Place and the Verdi are doing the best they can with what they have. This also applies to city agencies like Sault Ste. Marie Housing and DSSMSSAB .
One thing that is especially concerning for Cartner is the amount of people who will still be homeless come winter. "We are going to lose people," he said. "We had a space in the downtown, here, that was always packed with people that are homeless and people that are addicted and they used to watch out for each other."I have yet to find a young woman within the group of people we deal with downtown that has not been beaten or raped. And we’re talking young women. To me, it’s heartbreaking."
"They owe drug money and they’re told that, if they don’t do this, they are going to be killed. And they have been killed.
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