I’m leaving town. This week, it’s my turn for a last, last word.

I’ve been really lucky to live in such a beautiful place, have a job I love, a community I enjoy being part of, and a whole park to play in, but now I have nowhere to live. Well, I do, but it’s one of those horrible pig-pen like staff accommodation places. I always promised myself I’d never move back into staff accommodation, so off I go - eye on the next location, moving forward.

Now, you may call me a transient, but think about why I’ve become transient: because I want better living conditions? Is that such a bad thing? Maybe business owners who think that people who come to Jasper, even if its just for three months, don’t deserve the basic decency that the rest of the world has should be held partly responsible?

How many fully-trained people, who contribute to the community in a variety of ways, do you think leave due to the dodgy housing situations? 

For me, I’ve had it pretty good since moving to town. But, I have had a couple pretty feral housing situations in Jasper. My first cabin experience, where I shared a bathroom, had no kitchen and shared my bedroom, was fun, but I was glad when it was over. 

I’ve had one comment, from another young adult in Jasper made during an informal meeting, stuck in my head since I heard it: that some staff accommodation is just so bad that you’d need to be drunk to sleep there. How awful! It’s no wonder people are left feeling disconnected, unwanted and probably undervalued when they’re given some of the slums people try to call staff accommodation.

It did make me feel a little happier that someone else in the community agreed that these issues, like vandalism or excessive drinking, possibly come about because of something as simple as where people live.

I think it’s important to realize that if your place of living is impossible to live in, hang out in, have friends around, or maybe even just read a book in, then you’re going to be out of the apartment a lot more. So, if it’s after 6 p.m. at night and you’re desperately avoiding being in your house, where do you go? The places in town that are open: bars and restaurants. Maybe we should look at providing people with other places to go instead of just these ones? That’s a whole new issue though - isn’t it?

It took me back to another public meeting I attended, where I listened (and took a small part) in housing discussions. It almost breaks my heart that the priorities are not to fix staff accommodation, but instead to build more houses so that we can ensure baby boomers have somewhere to downsize to, or so that people (like myself) can live above ground, with a mountain view in a gorgeous new apartment. Personally, I’d prefer to see the staff accommodation fixed.

Honestly, for sustainability of this town improving staff accommodation issues, and making business owners responsible for providing decent accommodation, has got to be a higher priority. Put some standards in: You can’t have eight people in one room. No, it’s not okay to make someone live where they can’t leave anything without it being stolen. No, it’s not cool to expect people to live in shabby, small and downright depressing houses that are barely better than sleeping in a tent! 

And then, (this is pretty radical) ENFORCE THEM. Make the businesses do what they say they will.

Maybe we should look at the number of private home accommodation suites and units that are being given the all-clear, when these places (generally well maintained and quite nice to live in - I speak from personal experience) could offer a solution to the housing issues as well as connecting newcomers to town with long-standing Jasperites?

Now, if I’ve managed to hold your attention, you may (or may not) be glad to know I’m not leaving town. But, should the issue of going back to slimy, back of a hotel, in a basement (a.k.a. dungeon) like staff accommodation, I will. Until then, I’ll see you around town.