A. J.  Withers - Fight to Win - Inside Poor People’s Organizing

FIGHT TO WIN

FIGHT TO WIN

Inside Poor People's Organizing

A.J. WITHERS

FERNWOOD PUBLISHING
HALIFAX & WINNIPEG

Copyright 2021 A.J. Withers

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

Editing: Jenn Harris

Cover image: AJ Withers

Cover design: Jess Koroscil

eBook: tikaebooks.com

Printed and bound in Canada

Published by Fernwood Publishing
32 Oceanvista Lane, Black Point, Nova Scotia, B0J 1B0
and 748 Broadway Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3G 0X3

www.fernwoodpublishing.ca

Fernwood Publishing Company Limited gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Government of Canada, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Manitoba Department of Culture, Heritage and Tourism under the Manitoba Publishers Marketing Assistance Program and the Province of Manitoba, through the Book Publishing Tax Credit, for our publishing program. We are pleased to work in partnership with the Province of Nova Scotia to develop and promote our creative industries for the benefit of all Nova Scotians.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Title: Fight to win : inside poor peoples organizing / A.J. Withers.

Names: Withers, A. J., 1979- author.

Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 20210262672 | Canadiana (ebook) 20210262761 | ISBN 9781773634814 (softcover) | ISBN 9781773634982 (EPUB) | ISBN 9781773634999 (PDF)

Subjects: LCSH: Ontario Coalition Against Poverty. | LCSH: Homeless personsHousingOntario Toronto. | LCSH: Housing policyOntarioTorontoCitizen participation. | LCSH: Low-income housingOntarioToronto. | LCSH: PoorOntarioTorontoSocial conditions. | LCSH: Social action OntarioToronto.

Classification: LCC HD7287.96.C32 T6 2021 | DDC 363.509713/541dc23

CONTENTS

This book is dedicated to the more than one thousand people whose names are on the Toronto Homeless Memorial
and to those unknown.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I want to thank the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty ( OCAP ) and its members for allowing me to do and supporting me in this project. This book wouldnt have been possible without you, not only for the obvious reason that it is conducted from the standpoint of an OCAP activist, but also because Ive developed much of my political analysis through my experiences with OCAP .

I especially want to thank the OCAP Research Steering Committee, which put in so much labour and care to this project. Yogi Acharya, Marque Brill, John Clarke, and Danielle Koyama read and re-read this book. This was after years of walking me through my doctoral research, along with Lesley Wood. I am deeply grateful to all of you.

Yogi Acharya: Your support during this process has been integral at every step from my first day back in the office, to trying to figure out how to frame an argument or a chapter, to your thoughtful, constructive feedback, to your friendship and help getting through the hard days.

Marque Brill: Thanks for your attention to detail, helpful questions, cutting humour, quiet support and friendship.

John Clarke: I am deeply grateful you were generous enough to continue on with this project into your retirement. Also, thank you for your support and mentorship over the many years we have known each other.

Danielle Koyama: I want to thank you for your support throughout this project and the many years preceding it. You provided comprehensive feedback about my dissertation for which I am deeply appreciative. When OCAP turned twenty, we gave you the Secret Weapon award. You fly under the radar but have enormous heart and integrity and do incredible work wherever you go.

I want to thank the many people I interviewed for this project (including those who chose to remain anonymous). I am grateful you were able to take the time to discuss these issues with me.

OCAP : Yogi Acharya, John Clarke, Cathy Crowe, George de Guzman, Beric German, Wendy Forrest, Jessica Hales, Gatan Hroux, Danielle Koyama, Randy McLin, Macdonald Scott, Don Weitz, Lindsay Windhagger, Lesley Wood, anonymous members.

MP: Adam Vaughan

City councillors: Joe Cressy, Paula Fletcher, Michael Ford, Joe Mihevc, James Pasternak, Gord Perks, Kristyn Wong-Tam, anonymous councillors.

Media: Peter Biesterfeld, Matt Elliott, Jeff Grey and Paul Salvatori

Special thanks to Beric German and Greg Cook. Beric spent a lot of time helping me understand the history of homelessness organizing in the Downtown Eastend and Housing First. Greg has been a source of guidance and advice over the years, especially with respect to encampment organizing.

I also want to thank my doctoral research academic committee for their tremendous support and feedback throughout this process: Wendy McKeen, Chris Chapman and Gary Kinsman. Without the support and feedback of the three of you, this book never would have been possible.

This research was supported with funds from the Canada Graduate Scholarship and the Aileen D Ross Fellowship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Thank you to everyone who read all or parts of this manuscript, as a dissertation or book, and provided me invaluable feedback. These people include Stephanie Bell, Greg Cook, Loree Erickson, Beric German, Kate Kaul, Sonja Killoran-McKibbin, Stefan Kipfer, Matty, Robyn Letson, Laura MacDonald, Ander Negrazis, Keith OReigan, Alexis Shotwell and the two anonymous reviewers.

Thank you to Wayne Antony for his thoughtful feedback and edits to my manuscript. Thanks to Jenn Harris for her considerate and comprehensive copy editing. Also, thanks to everyone at Fernwood in the pre- and post-production teams, Beverley Rach in particular.

To Matt Leitold, Loree Erickson, Scout Huston, Drew Belsky and Megan Hillman, thank you for being my lovely, thoughtful, supportive friends: for work dates, camping trips, dog walks and dinners.

I wrote this through a major injury and a devastating illness. Thank you to my friends here and everyone who were part of my care collective for helping me in these exceptionally hard times.

To my love, Laura MacDonald, thank you for supporting (and tolerating) me over the eight years I worked on this project in various forms. I am grateful for your strength, patience, compassion and generosity every day.

ABBREVIATIONS

BI basic income

BIA business improvement area

BLC Better Living Centre

CAB community advisory board

CAP Canada Assistance Plan

CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

CDRC Community Development and Recreation Committee

CHPI Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative

COVID-19 coronavirus disease

CP community partner

CUPE Canadian Union of Public Employees

CUPW Canadian Union of Postal Workers

CST Canada Social Transfer

CSUMB Community Start-Up and Maintenance Benefit

DRC Decision Review Committee

DSC daily shelter census

ECDC Economic and Community Development Committee

EDC Economic Development and Culture

ESN Encampment Support Network

GTA Greater Toronto Area

HF Housing First

HSF Housing Stabilization Fund

IE institutional ethnography

ISAC Income Security Advocacy Centre

MOU memorandum of understanding

NGO non-governmental organization

OCAP Ontario Coalition Against Poverty

ODSP Ontario Disability Support Program