Overcoming stigma amid growing need: Scenes from the Gathering Place

As the Gathering Place continues to experience record demand for service, its executive director says the most challenging aspect for the community health centre and its guests is the stigma associated with it.

Paul Davis, former premier of Newfoundland and Labrador and a former police officer, says his perspective has changed greatly since joining the Gathering Place in June 2021.

"Stigma [is] absolutely huge," he said.

"No two ways about it. It's one of those things that literally smacked me in the face when I went to work."

Davis and his team have been kept busy, specifically since the start of the pandemic. In 2019, the Gathering Place had 900 registered guests. Today, the organization serves some 2,000 people.

He said those who avail of the centre's services often feel as though society views them in a negative light, rather than digging deeper to better understand the situation they find themselves in.

"If someone gets diagnosed with cancer, or some kind of medical [issue], quite often people will rally around them and want to help and support them," said Davis.

"But if someone gets diagnosed with a mental health circumstance, the tendency is to back away from it, saying 'I don't want to deal with this.'"

While Davis can recognize this now, he admits he looked at things differently when he was a member of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary.

"When I started my policing career in the 1980s, it was a different time, a different place," he said, adding that he thinks often about the handling of situations where people would cause trouble by breaking windows or other petty crimes.

"Today, I understand how much more complex that minor offence complicated that individual's life. The process, back in those days, was never about recovery. Breaking a window was a symptom of something bigger. Today, there are programs and services that reflect on that."

More than a simple meal service

The Gathering Place began in 1994 by providing meals to those in need. However, its associate executive director says it now does much more than that for guests.

Kim Grant says there are many irons in the fire, not the least of which is the expansion of the facility, where the former Sisters of Mercy Convent is being converted into emergency shelter and transition housing.

The project includes 56 new supportive housing units and 40 new shelter beds to be run by the Gathering Place, which contributed $4 million. In addition, the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation will operate 36 new homes. The remainder of the funding comes from provincial and federal governments under the Rapid Housing Initiative.

According to Grant, the organization began to recognize that guests had other needs that needed to be addressed, leading to the introduction of case management services.

"[They] work with guests to help them navigate, advocate for them, help them get connected with basic services," said Grant. "If somebody is here for a meal, and they are having struggles with housing, they can pop in and meet with a case manager, who can help direct them."

"We've seen that evolution, not only in terms of numbers increasing, but the way we provide services." 

An opportunity to reflect

For Davis, the Gathering Place affords him an opportunity to re-evaluate his outlook every time he steps through the doors of the facility. He said the Thanksgiving weekend is a good time to sit back and appreciate what we have.

"It's a really good time to think about [the fact that] we're privileged," said Davis. "There's people in our society who are not. I think about it every day. 

"Going into Thanksgiving, most of us have so much to be thankful for. I'm thankful that I'm part of the Gathering Place, and I'm thankful that we can do our part to try and help those who need it."

LISTEN | A conversation about housing and homelessness with Paul Davis.

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