Why don't they just get a job?
By John Mohan

Being the CEO of Siloam Mission brings with it requests to represent Winnipeg on various national-level social justice boards, which means I sometimes travel. My wife Brenda says that I should never travel alone ... and she's likely right. I'm a travelling disaster waiting to happen. Not long ago, I realized that I'd left my laptop on a bus. Luckily I realized it just as the bus happened to be passing the next bus I was on, so I was able to track it down.

But my greatest self-inflicted travelling horror (to date) happened two years ago in Toronto for a two-day national meeting.

Arriving at Pearson International, I was directed to a cab that would take me to my downtown hotel. Within minutes of walking into the lobby, I realized I had left my wallet in the cab. No matter how many times I searched my pockets and luggage, it was nowhere to be found and the taxi was long gone. To compound the situation, I had no idea what taxi company I had used. (If you have ever lost a wallet, you know how complicated and inconvenient it is. Without my wallet, I would be without lodging and food. And I wouldn't even be able to fly home.)

I explained the situation to the front desk staff, and they attempted to locate the taxi company by making a few calls, but to no avail. One of them, trying to be helpful, actually suggested I go back to the airport to find out which cab I had used.

Exasperated, I asked, "My money, ID and credit cards are all in my missing wallet. How am I supposed to get to the airport?" They didn't offer a ride to the airport or the money for transportation or free lodging and food. A complex problem was only met with a simplistic answer but no solutions.

When we see a panhandler or a homeless person who looks able-bodied, we're prone to comment; "Why don't they just get jobs? After all, they could work if they really wanted to." It's an honest question.

Although Manitoba is covered with "help wanted" signs, not everyone is easily employable. If you were -- or are -- an employer, would you hire someone who hadn't showered for a week or was wearing the clothes they slept in? Would you give a job to someone you knew was an addict or illiterate? What if the applicant told you they were sleeping at an emergency shelter or had no fixed address? Would you consider them for a position if they admitted they didn't have any identification or a bank account? Or if they came for a job interview emotionally or mentally handicapped? Which of any of those would you recommend for a job?

Due to the obvious risks and challenges, few employers would have the knowledge, patience or courage to eagerly hire someone struggling with any of these issues.

However, one solution began 18 months ago with the partnership between the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ and Siloam Mission to form MOST (Mission: Off the Street Team). Paid employment training, supportive services and life-skills classes have opened doors of permanent employment and stable housing that most thought they'd never have.

As for my dilemma in Toronto, thanks to the gracious help of several people I never met, I was able to retrieve my wallet within hours. And with the help of people who know that real solutions require more than simple answers or opinions, our homeless are retrieving their lives and self-respect.

Originally printed in the Winnipeg Sun, Wednesday, March 5, 2008.
Reprinted with the permission of Sun Media Corporation.