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Sunday, June 13, 1999 Oakville Beaver Weekend Bureaucrat stands up fo r homeless people (Continued from page 1) the story, but that is not what it is about," said Jagt, 53, who moved from Toronto to Oakville six years ago with his wife, Mary, to be closer to their two grandchildren in Burlington. Jagt said the real story is that the situation for sheltering the homeless is so tight that when a deal fell apart at the last minute to move 140 homeless from the Fort York armoury to a warehouse there was absolutely nowhere for them to go except back on the street. It is unclear why the deal collapsed after being signed and the key handed over, but Jagt suspects greed played a role. Toronto M ayor Mel Lastman was quoted in the Toronto Star as saying land­ lords are contributing to the crisis by jacking rents way up when they find out the city wants their property. "It is not fair and it is not right to do that to these peo­ ple," said Jagt, frustrated at the way the homeless are being shuffled and pushed around. Brushing aside the notion that putting his job on the line was a courageous act, Jagt said he did not see any other option. "There is no way I can work, if I don't get help." Richard Colem an, Site Manager at Metro Hall, feels that Jagt deserves a lot Of praise. "This wouldn't have hap­ pened if it wasn't for him. He really went out on a limb," said Coleman. "You've got to admire it. It's pretty nervy and I'm sure he's taking a lot of heat." Marika Schmoll, 32, agreed with Coleman. She is a home­ less person and is staying at the temporary shelter. "If it was not for John we would not be here. John was the one who extended the armoury for an extra week and got us this place," said Schmoll Torstar Network gently, her hair pulled back neatly into a ponytail and her smile revealing a row of rotten teeth. Lou, 55, a quiet man with glasses who defies the stereo­ typical idea of a street person, looking more like someone's father, said it is great what Jagt has done. "It is too bad there aren't more people like him in the world." Metro Hall, however, is not a suitable alternative for the space they had in the armoury or the one they lost in the warehouse, said Jagt. It has no showers or laundry facilities and is only a quarter of the size. Beds spill out from the ground floor meeting room onto the outside patio. While homelessness is not a problem in Oakville, Jagt, who appreciates the privilege of liv­ ing next to Sixteen Mile Creek, said the town does contribute to the homeless population in Toronto. "I know some people born and raised in Oakville who have ended up on the streets of Toronto." He said some were suffering from mental illness like schizo­ phrenia, while others were dealing with issues that caused M O R E than a G e a r SH O P GROUP A GROUP B ( )David Duval ( )Fred Couples ( )Tiger Woods ( )Justin Leonard ( )Collin Montgomerie ( )Davis Love III "I f you look at homelessness, it is largely about becoming disconnected from everything. We can't have a society where people are being excluded -- John Jagt, Toronto's hostel services director them to feel alienated, such as learning disabilities or coping with sexual abuse. "Every week we get 500 newly homeless people in the city of Toronto and half of them come from outside of Toronto," said Jagt. When people think about the homeless, a vision of a derelict old man with matted hair sitting on top of a heating vent often comes to mind, but that is not the true picture. Jagt said homelessness is a youth problem and it starts when peo­ ple are in their teens or twen­ ties. Oakville has more than 12,000 teenagers who, as Jagt pointed out, are plagued by the same social problems that face all communities. These prob­ lems can cause them to feel disconnected from their family and community and once that happens, said Jagt, they are at high risk of becoming home­ less. "Every community pro­ duces some young people who don't stay for various reasons," said Jagt. "We need to find ways as a community of stay­ ing connected to the youths." Jagt experienced the power of community support first- ( )Mark O'Meara ( )Ernie Els GROUP F ( )Billy Mayfair ( )Corey Pavin ( )Steve Strieker ( )Hal Sutton ( )Scott Hoch ( )Nick Price ( )Vijay Singh GROUP G ( )Lee Westwood ( )Payne Stewart ( )Jumbo Ozaki ( )Hale Irwin ( )Jeff Sluman GROUP C GROUP D ( )Lee Janzen ( )Steve Elkington ( )Phil Mickelson ( )Jim Furyk ( )Greg Norman ( )Tom Lehman ( )Jose Maria Olazabal ( JAndrew Magee ( )Jesper Parnevik ( )Jeff Maggert GROUP H ( )Tom Kite ( )Ben Crenshaw ( )Tom Watson ( )Jack Nicklaus ( )John Cook GROUP I ( )MattKuchar ( )Steve Jones ( )Fred Funk ( )Brian Watts ( )Mark Brooks NOTE: Please enter the name of a player not listed 128 Trafalgar Road, 1 Block North of Lakeshore 9 0 5 -3 3 8 -7 4 5 6 morethanagolfshop.com P R IZ E : The w in n e r and 2 fr ie n d s jo in CPGA Pro Ray B esse tte fo r a day o f g o lf a t R a ttle sn a ke P o in t G o lf C lub . D rop o ff e n tr ie s a t M ore Than A G off Shop. hand growing up in rural Ontario. His family emigrated from Holland in 1950 with five small children under 10 to Magnetawan, northeast of Parry Sound. Once there they found very little housing available. The struggling immigrant family had no choice but to move into in a farmer's tool shed with a dirt floor for their first summer in Canada, while Jagt's father found sporadic work as a laborer. Towards the end of that summer, however, the community got together under the direction o f the local Anglican church and fixed up an abandoned farm house for them. Jagt attributes his family's ultimate success -- all nine children went on to university -- to strong family val­ ues based on biblical teachings, being a part of the church community, and growing up in a household where books were plentiful and "hard work was the order of the day." "We were really poor," said Jagt, "but we were connected to a lot of things so we survived it. If you look at homelessness, it is largely about becoming disconnected from every­ thing. "We can't have a society where people are being excluded," said Jagt. Memories of his humble begin­ nings are. one of the reasons why a senior manager, who need never deal with the homeless personally, still takes time out of his hectic schedule to sit and chat with them. "He makes himself available like one o f the front-line staff," said Coleman. "He hasn't lost sight of what it is like to be out there." • Coleman said Jagt's genuine com­ mitment to helping the homeless is the reason his staff are so loyal to him. "You don't see the kind of loyalty given to Jagt very often," said Coleman. "It takes a special person to inspire that." If you have a news tip or story ideay call the Oakville Beaver at 845-3824. on Fathers Day! Have his name inscribed on a brick in For information call 825-2245. CO ABC DEF 1 CM CO GROUP E ( )Stuart Appleby ( )Darren Clarke ( )John Daly ( )Nick Faldo ( )John Huston GROUP J S e l e c t o n e p la y e r o f y o u r c h o ic e th at d o e s not a p p e a r on th e b a llo t. BALLOT o X F e d U p W ith V o ice M ail? P O W E L L INSURANCE BROKERS A f a m i l y b u s in e s s s i n c e 1 9 5 4 P r e m iu m S e r v i c e a t P r e m iu m S a v in g s 8 4 4 -3 5 4 2 HALIFAX