Letter: A Lived Experience Perspective on Homelessness & Addiction
Jacob Morris-Wheeler, a local advocate and person in recovery, addresses growing concerns about how society views addiction and homelessness in Grey-Bruce and beyond.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
As a person in recovery from addiction, personal trauma and other vulnerable life situations, I am sounding the alarm on the current evolving narrative and perspective that is happening not only in Grey Bruce but in all of Canada and other places around the world.
When we look at vulnerabilities, most people (if not everyone) have some sort of vulnerability, whether voluntarily or not. Homelessness is a growing global crisis that is growing rapidly globally and even right here in Grey Bruce. Most cases of homelessness are not self-inflicted and happen because of situations out of people’s control.
When we start to think about the causes of homelessness, there are many different reasons and perspectives why this happens. Affordability, housing supply vs demand, health and social reasons, financial, failed government funding and spending on infrastructure related to housing, bad policy and many more.
Several years ago, I was homeless. I moved here from Toronto, where I was homeless as well, in hopes that I could secure housing and get sober. I felt accepted here, being originally from Meaford. I received the services I required, and the people working in the field genuinely cared and provided me with the necessary resources to improve.
That is my story, though, and no one else’s. When we start to villainize crises like homelessness, we are setting a dangerous precedent. When we start to point fingers, oppress and bully or abuse someone because of a vulnerable situation, what kind of message are we sending to those living the situation?
Addiction can happen to anyone, and it does happen to many. People seem to be living the mindset that because the street supply is illegal, it is bad, but then they are perfectly fine with addictions such as alcohol, gambling, sex, eating and other forms of addiction.
Addiction is addiction, end of story.
(Just to note… not all unhoused people are experiencing addiction. I felt the need to include this because of the current narrative.)
Addiction also isn’t something that should have ever been criminalized, nor be oppressed to the point that, because of the current narrative and perspective on addiction, more and more people are not getting the help they require, many people are dying, and we are going nowhere in terms of intervention and prevention.
I was previously addicted to methamphetamine and crack cocaine. During my addiction, I lived the usual life of someone who’s living with addiction; crisis, uncertainty, mental health and a very poor quality of life.
The difference is that several years ago, when I was living with an active addiction, society still looked at addiction and substance use as what it is: a health issue. They looked at it with compassion.
The shift in the narrative in 2025, I feel, is of growing concern. Many of the current views and narratives would not only further endanger lives, but also oppress vulnerable people and violate their Human Rights and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. An abusive or hateful mindset is not what is needed when dealing with a situation such as addiction or substance use.
Several years ago, our streets were hammered with methamphetamine, crack cocaine, heroin, opiates and other street supply. Overdoses occurred, but not as frequently as they do today. It’s no coincidence that the street supply today is more often than not laced with toxic Fentanyl, another deadly substance.
I'm also seeing an increase in political and religious extremism in the context of people using their political, religious or other views as a weapon to oppress, harm and attack others. None of those ideologies was ever intended to harm others.
When we take a look at addiction as a whole, it is a significant healthcare concern — but there are solutions. There is a right path moving forward, but one of the biggest things we need to change is the toxic narrative that looks at people living in addiction and villainizes them, criminalizes them and not only puts their safety at risk but the general public’s safety, as well.
While our governments play political theatre, people are dying. People’s safety is at risk. Politicians and political figures at all levels of government are pointing the finger of blame at different levels of government and taking no accountability for the work that they are directly responsible for, while funding is slashed across the board for many different sectors.
Instead of putting our differences aside and coming up with a resolution, we are too busy fighting with each other, and it's the vulnerable people who are suffering and dying because of it.
Everyone belongs in society and has the right to live a good quality of life, with the resources they need when they need them. My hope for this community is that those living with hateful or toxic beliefs in their hearts really sit down and think about how their current views and mindsets harm others.
I encourage you to do some reading, speak to some experts, and ask yourself: If this were me — if this were my parents, if this were my child, if this were my husband or wife — would I still have the same mindset?
Ask yourself, what made me have this perspective? Was it politics, was it religion, was it something that I read online? Because I can guarantee our civilization would be able to work united if we thought with our hearts just as much as we think with our brains.
Let’s work together to help those we can, improve safety, and put our differences aside to allow everyone to feel accepted and valued in our society here in Canada and within our community of Owen Sound and Grey-Bruce.
Please follow Safer Streets OS on Facebook and Instagram to learn more!
Respectfully,
Jacob Morris-Wheeler
Director, Safer Streets OS
Letters to the Editor do not necessarily reflect the opinions or beliefs of The Owen Sound Current and its editor or publisher.
Congratulations on overcoming addiction, as I understand that is no easy feat. I had hoped your letter would include more realities of lived experience and recovery solutions, rather than advocacy for acceptance of illegal drugs, and civil disorder.
You are implying that the street supply of illegal drugs isn't bad; however, I strongly disagree. It is killing citizens and without the supply, active addiction cannot exist. Citizens poisoning citizens, and the crime often associated with drugs are criminal issues, not health issues, and enforcing existing laws equally and without prejudice does not contravene The Charter of Rights or human rights.
I do agree that rehab is a health issue, and that it is the best option for an addict, and should be encouraged/leveraged and funded. My opinions are rooted in lived experience and compassion for addicts, not religion, hate or politics. I lost a loved one to opioids and another is still alive. Many agency advocates seem to think that if someone believes in civil order and leveraged rehab it must be one of these reasons you cited, as kindness is just to "let them be", but I disagree. To me, kindness is to stop enabling destructive and illegal behaviour, and to provide avenues for rehab, because it is the best chance of their returning to who they truly are. I'd bet your family wanted rehab for you, not drug supplies.
Because of the highly addictive nature of the drugs, an addict can choose recovery in the morning and change their mind by noon when the dose begins to wane, and many die before ever choosing rehab. Leverage is often needed otherwise it can be "not today". Sometimes that leverage is a crisis like a health crisis, and sometimes that leverage is a choice between jail or rehab. An addict I know came to me when in a health crisis swearing they were going to quit, as they thought they were dying and seemed serious in their resolution to quit. When they learned that surgery would correct the problem, the leverage disappeared and so did the resolution to quit. That person is still addicted and I wish they would be charged for public drug use, as I believe they would choose rehab over jail. There are many stories of it taking something serious in order for an addict to quit (e.g losing custody of children, legal intervention, etc). Bill C-5 provides an avenue for leveraged rehab for addicts who break laws if charges are laid. Simply providing an addict with drug supplies isn't kind, in my view, as it aids their decline and/or death. Ignoring crime and civil disorder isn't kind to anyone. I believe that ultimately we all want safe and healthy communities, but Status quo isn't safe or kind for the addict, and isn't safe or kind for the community.