Entitlement Prizes: Please, No Trashing

"Even though they're living in social housing, we wanted them to be more proud of who they are, their home and to better maintain and take care of themselves.  We try to make them aware that vandalism costs a lot and we're trying to encourage our tenants to avoid it."

 It simply defies intelligence.  But there it is, people for whom society in its great, overwhelming bosom of compassion, are given public welfare so little appreciate it that it is used and abused with no second thought.  Amazing, because even though for those who live in subsidized housing, that housing is still where they and their families live, and one could assume that they would wish it to be as pleasant as possible for themselves.

Hygiene, personal pride, comfort should all, one might assume, play their part in ensuring that those people needful of public support still understand that they are obliged to help themselves.  No one else should be expected to clean up after them.  It is up to them to ensure that cleanliness prevails, that they can take pride in their surroundings because they care about them.  Because it is more comforting and comfortable to live in situations where they help themselves.

Rather than neglect their living conditions, never lift a hand to clean anything, never look toward forestalling the decay of material fatigue that naturally occurs when no attention is given to upkeep, and in that process, being responsible for the conditions that ensue of unlivable conditions leading to health problems.  A build up of small upkeep tasks unaddressed leads to run-down conditions, to health-impairing mould.

The neglect and abuse of a home that is theirs to live within and to call their own takes place because there is no personal investment in that home.  There was no work done that earned a salary that led to savings to enable people to buy something concrete and positive in their lives, to give them the pride inherent in supporting themselves in an independent and responsible manner. 

It is the very same affliction that rules and ruins the lives of reserve aboriginals and inner-city welfare recipients.

So the brilliant idea to invest the people of six Nunavik communities with a sense of pride and responsibility was launched.  The first initiative was to offer them the opportunity to win prizes if they undertook to look after the property that was granted to them as a social welfare initiative for which they were entreated to respond positively. 

Those prizes include a VIP trip to Montreal to see the Canadiens, an ATV, six months of free rent, a washer and dryer, televisions and an Xbox.  To qualify - just please, and thank you very much - regularly clean your home and maintain those little upkeeps that keep cropping up.  It's called the Pivallianiq program.  And it was intended to result in a reduction in the costs of maintaining the houses.

That reduction would assist the local authority to purchase additional residences to meet a current shortage of such assisted housing facilities.  "If there's mould in the house, we teach them how to prevent the mould, how to take it out.  Little tips on cleaning the stoves, the fridge, stuff like that."  Yes, stuff like ordinary, everyday household management and maintenance.

Which resulted in a whopping 90 residents agreeing to take part in the contest out of 2,400 social housing units.  Five of those who entered won one of several of the grand prizes.  For the rest, disinterest.  There are about 12,000 people living in Nunavik, a huge territory covering most of northern Quebec, home to a fifth of the country's Inuit population. 

There is a dire need for additional units.  The area requires another thousand new homes.  Those currently in existence, built in the 1970s and 80s require constant maintenance.  Maintenance staff fix broken windows, doors and walls.  And vandalism is a major, ongoing problem.  Those who agreed to sign up for the program to qualify for the prizes had a visit from a make-over team.

That team offered minor repairs and cleaning tips, distributed cleaning products, videos and a guide kit.  After the passage of several months the houses were evaluated, and those who kept their units in good repair received a sticker certifying that they had succeeded in becoming good tenants.  Teaching life skills to those whose neglect of themselves and their responsibilities have become ingrained.

The proportion who participated was low.  It's difficult to conceive of people having such a low level of interest in their own well being.  Expressing contempt for what society has offered to alleviate their plight, rather than taking an interest in helping themselves.  But this too is an unfortunate byproduct of human nature.