Gabriella testifies on theft, gaslighting, and lack of accountability
Gabriella, who has autism, says a roommate stole belongings and staff gaslighted him. He says there is no accountability and residents are told to just deal with it.
Gabriella?
Sorry about that.
The back.
I have a bad back.
I'm not sure.
That's okay.
Okay.
Thank you.
The more respect from staff would also go a long way, as would real accountability for issues and complaints.
Often situations with shelter staff or other residents escalate.
after residents have made repeated complaints, with no real accountability from shelter providers or the ombudsman's office.
People often reach out to the ombudsman's office without a response or meaningful resolution or accountability.
Another important recommendation is housing first.
We need to move from an ever-expanding shelter system to a housing first model where we are quickly placing people in permanent housing instead of having them linger in shelter for years while their frustration and time in the system builds.
The $4 billion spent on shelters should be used to allow people to move into permanent housing as quickly as possible.
You see...
I, my mood in my most recent shot, I've been with Safety Net for a few months.
Probably June, July thing.
I've been homeless for a few months, top of that.
I have autism, you see.
And they moved in the shelter with people like schizophrenia.
My thing is not as bad as theirs.
You know what I mean?
As well, yeah, there's no accountability.
They just do what the security guards did.
You just do what I want, and you just have to deal with it.
I have a roommate, like, recently, who a few weeks ago, within a couple weeks, like, kept stealing my stuff and saying gaslighting me.
And it's like your guards also gaslighting you, thinking that it wasn't stolen or it wasn't yours or it wasn't there.
Same thing as my roommate.
Like, their stuff got, the phone had stolen, and then they proceeded to steal my stuff.
Like, you have to stop to deal with it or get a new one.
You couldn't get your old one back.
Yeah.
Sorry, just to clarify.
When your personal items were stolen, you were instructed to get new, or it was your phone specifically?
No, no.
Hold on.
No, it wasn't.
I don't have a phone.
What I mean is when my roommate was living in their previous apartment, like their previous roommates told me.
Okay.
And because of that, but despite knowing, me telling, they telling me that, that story, they proceed to steal my stuff.
You know, they don't understand.
Like, they're doing to me what was done to them.
Right.
They don't get that.
But what I'm asking is, you were told by shelter staff.
To get a new item instead of...
Like, they looked into...
Yes, they looked into it and they said, eh, this stuff isn't there, or it's not real, or it's actually theirs.
Like, gaslighting.
Okay, I understand.
Or get a new one.
It's probably not there.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you all for your testimonies.
We'll definitely be sure to follow up directly.
Thank you.