The Editor,
Below is a letter I sent to our Cornwall Mayor and each City Councillor about the proposed Tiny Homes project.
I am writing to you as a Cornwall resident and as a member of Knox-St. Paul’s United Church. I want to state clearly and unequivocally that I am 100% in support of this proposal, and I strongly urge you to vote “Yes” when this matter comes before council.
I believe it is important to use people-first language when discussing this issue. These people are not “the homeless,” but people experiencing homelessness, people just like any of us, who happen to be without stable housing at this moment in their lives.
This project represents far more than the construction of 30 homes. It is a statement about who we are as a community and what we value. It says that “everyone” matters, regardless of circumstances. It says that Cornwall chooses compassion over fear, understanding over misinformation, and inclusion over exclusion.
I am troubled by some of the fear and discrimination that has been expressed in opposition to this project. It is disheartening to see people judged solely based on their housing status, without the dissenters knowing them at all. Fear thrives in the absence of knowledge and relationship, but this project offers an opportunity for connection, understanding, and community healing.
For 14 years, my work in Toronto was directly with and on behalf of people living with poverty, including people who were housed, those precariously housed and those experiencing homelessness. I also volunteered with Toronto’s Out of the Cold program, helping provide meals and warm beds during the winter. Through this, I came to know people as human beings, people who needed warmth, nourishment, safety and human dignity. They were not “other.” They were people like you and me.
Safe, stable housing changes lives. It improves health, safety, and overall community wellbeing. It is also far more effective and humane than leaving people without shelter and support. For a civil society to work our civility must extend to all citizens.
I sincerely hope that council will demonstrate leadership and moral courage by approving this project. A yes vote affirms that Cornwall is a community that cares for all its residents and understands that housing is a fundamental human need and right.
Thank you for your time, your consideration, and your service to our community.
Ruth Pentinga, Cornwall
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