| The death of Lynn Allwright should give us all pause for thought. And, if there is any silver lining to be extracted from this tragic end to a tragic life, it is the hope that we – that’s all of us, not just the professionals – will work to prevent it happening too many more times.
Allwright, 43, was the woman whose body was found in a tent last week. She was known to staff at Calgary homeless shelters and, although she was attempting to leave the streets, she had recently been arrested for activities relating to prostitution, theft and crack cocaine.
If you lift the lid of society, you will find many Lynn Allwrights who have been dealt truly rotten hands in life and, perhaps, because it’s really nice to find someone lower than ourselves on the totem pole, we tend to blame them for their plight, rather than wondering who we kicked aside in our own upward scramble.
Blame comes in many forms, like not investigating the disappearance of women from the strolls in Vancouver and Edmonton until scores have disappeared. Like ignoring the men in sex offences. I recently met a prostitute who has been charged about 60 times; the worst that ever happened to any of her johns was being asked to move along. Last week it was suggested that Calgary women engaged in prostitution should get themselves off the streets and into shelters, the implication being that they are asking for trouble. Yet, I have never heard of a bank that was accused of provoking a crime when it was robbed.
The reasons for women being on the street are complex and deep, and it isn’t as easy as it sounds to make a break and to kick a habit all in one go. Think of how difficult it is to lose 10 pounds and keep it off, particularly if food comforts you in times of need.
While I cannot speak for Allwright (what a dreadfully ironic name), many homeless women who are on drugs use them to ameliorate the pain of abuse that often began in childhood. I have spoken to a woman who, at the age of four, was tied up in a garbage bag and left in the outhouse at —30 C, and another whose foster father, while earnestly listening to the Sunday sermon, let his hands creep up her red velvet dress and into her panties.
Both use crack and both say it’s what prevents them from committing suicide; when they cease to use it their memories become unbearable. To pay for the crack, they sell their bodies; they find this disgusting and mortifying beyond words. To obliterate the shame of prostitution, they use more crack. And so it goes in a horrifying cycle that gathers steam as they are further vilified, and are increasingly objectified and marginalized by the rest of us.
So what can we do to help?
We need more shelters and treatment programs that are just for women. If you have been abused and raped, it is likely you will perceive a mixed shelter as full of danger. Even something as innocuous as having to ask a male staff member for a tampon can be wrenchingly shameful. And who wants to meet your pimp, your dealer or your john as you unroll your mat for the night, or walk into a treatment program? Calgary, it should be noted, has very few homeless shelters that are exclusively for women.
Most women carry a lot of self-hatred and blame (there we go again) along with their addictions, so we need drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs that help us see that we do have strengths and then to build on them. This can be done little by little, changing behaviour one gentle step at a time. The woman who was tied up in a garbage bag is learning to substitute marijuana for crack while she deals with a multitude of mental and physical problems that began in the womb because of her mother’s addictions.
For women with children, it’s even more complicated. Many addicted mothers living on the brink of homelessness have told me they are afraid to ask for help, especially if they have no one to care for the kids while they are in a residential program. By admitting to their habit, they worry that social services will deem them, by definition, a bad mother. Whether the fear is real or imagined, it’s a gigantic barrier.
If it’s hard to quit drugs, it’s also hard to quit being a prostitute. Many women are virtual slaves to their pimps, snared by false protestations of love, and then held in his thrall by a combination of violence and spurious affection. Others in dire poverty turn tricks to purchase diapers and formula for their babies. One of the forgotten problems of prostitution is that it leaves you with a blank resumé and few mentionable work skills.
A decent minimum wage, realistic welfare rates, effective mental-health safety nets and affordable, safe housing would all go a long way to prevent future Lynn Allwrights. Without a home, it’s very difficult to make effective changes. We have to send clear messages to our politicians about the society we want and we have to raise children with love, not sex, so that they become healthy adults. It’s time to resist blame and to address the root of the problem.
The pictures of torture coming out of Iraq quite rightly shocked us, but why aren’t we shocked by the torture of women and children in Canada? We have a war here, too. Think of all the women and children in shelters, couch surfing with friends, existing in cars and under bridges, or cowering at home too afraid to leave.
Lynn Allwright was one more fatality in that war. May she rest in peace – finally.
Scott is writing a book, All Our Sisters, about homeless women in Canada, with the assistance of a grant from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts. |
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