It’s hard not to notice them. They are everywhere, it seems. Asleep in alleyways, finding shelter in stairwells, walking the streets soliciting for loose change, standing on corners offering to clean windshields, foraging through garbage containers in search of returnable bottles. They are an increasingly visible segment of our society. They are the homeless.

Sometimes when I pass a homeless person, I respond with compassion, sorting through my pockets for loose change.

Often, however, I respond with confusion: “How is it that this individual has come to be in this place at this time?”

Regularly, I respond with frustration: “Why can’t we do a better job as a community to make this individual’s life more dignified?”

There is a growing need to address the issue of homelessness. People have become weary of stepping over people lying in the street, of panhandling, of theft and the civil unrest that comes from a large, desperate population. And the fact is we are all hurt when our fellow citizens are without the basic necessities of life.

Research informs us that 60 to 80% of people who are homeless also live with a mental illness. Therefore, to effectively address the challenge of homelessness requires more than simply providing shelter. There is an urgent need to provide effective supports to individuals with mental health challenges to prevent them from being added to the growing numbers of homeless individuals.

For those like me who are frustrated and discouraged by this growing condition, finally there is something we can do to improve the situation. There is something we can do to respectfully and effectively assist individuals who are challenged with mental illness to regain their capacity to move forward and to become contributing members of our community again. There is something we can do to show that we are a compassionate society.

The opportunity to do something is to contribute to the capital campaign launched by New View Society to create a community wellness centre in Port Coquitlam. This centre would provide housing support, employment services, and social and personal growth opportunities to members of our community who desperately need this assistance to make their lives manageable.

Supporting an individual to live in the community is not just a proper moral decision but a good financial decision. It costs approximately $200,000 per year to keep a patient with mental illness in hospital while it costs about $34,000 a year to support an individual with a mental illness to live in the community.

A high percentage of former residents of Riverview Hospital have settled in the communities immediately adjacent. Currently, New View Society provides support to more than 300 individuals with mental health challenges, including housing supports for more than 200 clients. Many of these people have been homeless at some point in their illness and, without the support and intervention of New View Society, would become homeless again.

New View is approaching the conclusion of its $4-million capital campaign to create a community wellness centre. Various levels of government have given their backing. Now it is time for the members of this community to offer their support. What is needed are the $10, $100, and $1,000 donations of individual citizens so we all can take pride in the creation of this much-needed community resource.

Please join me in creating the New View community wellness centre. To learn more about New View Society, visit its website, www.newviewsociety.org.

Ted Kuntz is a Coquitlam author and psychotherapist; his website is www.peacebeginswithme.ca.