I remember the days as a child when my parents gave me $20 to buy my uncles and aunts a Christmas present each.

I have always sucked at figuring out what people would want for Christmas and would always end up buying a “one-size-fits-all” present in hope I would hit the mark. I rarely did.

I think all of us use the “one-size-fits-all” approach in different areas of our lives, too.

If you’ve ever driven through Winnipeg’s downtown core, chances are you’ve seen one person or another experiencing homelessness or spending a majority of their time living on the street.

Maybe you feel compassion for those you encounter, or maybe you don’t. But if you’re like me, the first thing that rushes through your head is a loud, ringing question: “How do we fix this?”

Many people have asked this question before — it’s the necessary momentum for social change.

As a result, many of those same people have personally gotten involved in lessening the hardships of those living on the streets.

And they’ve inspired others to do the same: churches, community groups, local businesses and government groups continually respond to the great need in Winnipeg’s inner city.

They all care tremendously and have the best of intentions, but often times the response doesn’t match the need. Their support is greatly appreciated and certainly helps people survive on the streets, but it doesn’t end homelessness, it doesn’t chip away at the root causes of the problem.

That’s because the root causes of homelessness are completely different for each individual.

A “one-size-fits-all” solution to homelessness rarely works because every person is a different-sized square peg that can’t be forced into a round hole.

Some people just need a helping hand to make it through hard times, others need employment training to compete in the workforce, while others still might need continued medical care, counseling and therapy.

Homelessness is a growing issue in Winnipeg — we have one of the lowest vacancy rates in the country — but it is solvable with the right mix of housing and individual case management. That’s easy to say, but hard to do.

The problem is we get hooked into cliché answers that sound good but often are too simplistic, like “they need jobs, housing or treatment.”

We like simplistic, one-size-fits-all solutions because then we can focus our energy towards making a difference.

But in almost every single case, the answer to ending, not alleviating, homelessness lies in offering transitional housing coupled with individual, customized services.

These comments are not meant to discourage us but help us push deeper into problems that create and hold people in homelessness.

I have several relatives that have struggled with mental health, addictions, broken families and the list goes on.

Every one of their realities are very difficult to work through and need a very individualized response.

What we need to make a difference in ending homelessness is to go as deep as we would with our family members who are not coping.

Yes, jobs, housing or treatment are pieces of the puzzle but each individual has their own puzzle and each piece must fit in its place to complete the picture.

— Floyd Perras is executive director of Siloam Mission.

SUN Article