A slumlord is a derogatory term used to describe a landlord who knowingly maintains rental properties in poor or unsafe conditions, often while charging high rents. Slumlords typically neglect necessary repairs, ignore health and safety codes, and exploit tenants, often those in low-income or vulnerable situations who have limited housing options.
Characteristics of a Slumlord:
Poor Property Maintenance: Failing to address issues like leaky roofs, broken heating systems, mold, pest infestations, or structural problems.
Health and Safety Violations: Ignoring building codes, fire safety regulations, or sanitation standards.
Exploitation of Tenants: Charging high rents for substandard housing, often targeting tenants who lack the resources or knowledge to advocate for themselves.
Lack of Responsiveness: Ignoring tenant complaints or requests for repairs.
Illegal Practices: Engaging in unethical or illegal activities, such as wrongful evictions, rent gouging, or refusing to return security deposits.
The Shifting Sands of the Hourglass of World States, is there a Fourth World?
Legal Context in Canada and the US:
Both Canada and the US have laws and regulations to protect tenants from slumlords, but enforcement varies by region.
Canada: Provincial and territorial laws govern rental housing. Tenants can file complaints with local housing authorities or tenant boards if landlords fail to meet their obligations. For example, in Ontario, the Residential Tenancies Act outlines landlord responsibilities, and tenants can seek recourse through the Landlord and Tenant Board.
US: Housing regulations are enforced at the state and local levels. Tenants can report violations to local housing authorities or take legal action. Many cities have tenant rights organizations that assist renters in dealing with slumlords.
Tenant Rights:
Tenants in both countries have the right to:
Live in a safe and habitable environment.
Request necessary repairs.
Withhold rent or take legal action if the landlord fails to address serious issues.
Be free from retaliation for reporting violations.
Addressing Slumlord Practices:
Document Issues: Tenants should keep records of complaints, repairs, and communication with the landlord.
Report Violations: Contact local housing authorities or tenant advocacy groups.
Legal Action: In severe cases, tenants may sue for damages or force the landlord to make repairs.
Slumlords contribute to the broader issue of housing inequality and the lack of affordable, safe housing in many urban areas. Combating their practices requires stronger enforcement of housing laws and increased support for tenants.
Dealing with a slumlord can be incredibly frustrating and stressful, but there are steps you can take to protect your rights and improve your living situation. Here’s a guide to help you navigate the situation:
1. Know Your Rights
Familiarize yourself with local tenant laws and housing codes. These vary by location but generally guarantee your right to a safe and habitable living environment.
Common landlord responsibilities include providing:
Working utilities (heat, water, electricity).
Proper sanitation and waste disposal.
Structural integrity (no leaks, mold, or pest infestations).
Safe and secure locks on doors and windows.
If your landlord is failing to meet these standards, they may be violating the law.
2. Document Everything
Keep a detailed record of all issues, including:
Photos and videos of unsafe or unsanitary conditions.
Written notes about when problems started and how they’ve been ignored.
Copies of all communication with your landlord (emails, texts, letters, etc.).
This documentation will be critical if you need to take legal action or report the landlord.
3. Communicate with Your Landlord
Notify your landlord in writing about the issues and request repairs. Be specific, polite, and keep a copy of the letter or email.
If they don’t respond or refuse to make repairs, send a follow-up notice and mention your legal rights.
4. Report Code Violations
Contact your local housing authority, health department, or building code enforcement agency to report unsafe or unsanitary conditions.
An inspector may visit your property and issue a violation notice to the landlord, forcing them to make repairs.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA – Some abandoned townhouses standing in Uptown district
5. Withhold Rent or Repair and Deduct
In some areas, tenants are allowed to withhold rent or pay for repairs themselves and deduct the cost from rent. However, this can be risky, so:
Check your local laws to ensure this is allowed.
Notify your landlord in writing before taking action.
Keep receipts and documentation for all repairs.
6. Join or Organize with Other Tenants
If other tenants are experiencing similar issues, consider organizing as a group. Landlords are more likely to respond to collective action.
You can also reach out to local tenant unions or advocacy groups for support.
7. Seek Legal Help
If your landlord continues to neglect their responsibilities, consult a tenant attorney or legal aid organization.
You may be able to:
Sue for damages or compensation.
Break your lease without penalty.
Force the landlord to make repairs through a court order.
8. Consider Moving
If the situation doesn’t improve and your health or safety is at risk, it may be best to find a new place to live.
Before moving, ensure you’re not violating your lease and that you’ve followed proper legal procedures to protect yourself from retaliation or eviction.
9. Report to Local Media
If the situation is severe and widespread, contacting local news outlets can bring attention to the issue and pressure the landlord to act.
10. Stay Safe
If you feel threatened or unsafe due to your landlord’s actions, contact local law enforcement or a tenant advocacy group immediately.
Resources to Help You:
Local Housing Authority: For reporting code violations or unsafe conditions.
Legal Aid Organizations: For free or low-cost legal advice.
Tenant Unions: For advocacy and support in organizing with other tenants.
State or Local Tenant Rights Websites: For information on your specific rights.
By taking these steps, you can hold your landlord accountable and work toward a safer, healthier living environment.
Getting a loan without a job can be challenging, but it’s not impossible. Lenders typically look for a stable source of income to ensure you can repay the loan. However, if you don’t have a job, you may still qualify for a loan if you can demonstrate other sources of income or assets. Here are some options to consider:
1. Show Alternative Income Sources
If you don’t have a traditional job, you may still have income from other sources. Lenders may accept:
Government benefits (e.g., Social Security, disability, or unemployment benefits).
Retirement or pension payments.
Rental income from properties you own.
Alimony or child support.
Freelance or gig economy work (e.g., Uber, DoorDash, freelance writing).
Investments or dividends.
Be prepared to provide documentation, such as bank statements or tax returns, to prove these income sources.
2. Use Collateral for a Secured Loan
If you have valuable assets, you can apply for a secured loan, which uses collateral to reduce the lender’s risk. Examples include:
Home equity loans or lines of credit (if you own a home).
Auto title loans (using your car as collateral).
Secured personal loans (using savings accounts, jewelry, or other assets).
Be cautious with secured loans, as you could lose the asset if you fail to repay.
3. Get a Co-Signer
A co-signer with a stable income and good credit can help you qualify for a loan. The co-signer agrees to repay the loan if you can’t, which reduces the lender’s risk. This can be a family member or close friend who trusts you to make payments.
4. Consider a Payday Alternative Loan (PAL)
Some credit unions offer Payday Alternative Loans (PALs), which are small, short-term loans designed for borrowers with limited income. These loans typically have lower interest rates than traditional payday loans.
5. Explore Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Lending
Peer-to-peer lending platforms connect borrowers with individual investors. These platforms may have more flexible requirements than traditional banks. Examples include LendingClub and Prosper.
6. Borrow from Family or Friends
If traditional lenders aren’t an option, consider asking family or friends for a loan. Be sure to formalize the agreement with a written contract to avoid misunderstandings.
7. Improve Your Credit Score
A strong credit score can increase your chances of getting approved for a loan, even without a job. Pay down existing debt, make payments on time, and check your credit report for errors.
8. Look for No-Income-Verification Loans
Some lenders offer no-income-verification loans, but these often come with high interest rates and fees. Be cautious, as they can lead to a cycle of debt.
Sackcloth money bag with loan inscription and metal coins
9. Use a Credit Card or Line of Credit
If you already have a credit card, you can use it for cash advances or purchases. Alternatively, you may qualify for a new credit card or line of credit based on your credit history.
10. Consider Nonprofit or Community Assistance
Some nonprofits and community organizations offer low-interest or no-interest loans to individuals in need. These programs are often designed to help people cover emergency expenses.
Important Tips:
Avoid Predatory Lenders: Be wary of payday loans or high-interest loans that can trap you in debt.
Compare Options: Shop around for the best terms and interest rates.
Have a Repayment Plan: Make sure you can afford the loan payments, even without a job.
If you’re struggling financially, consider reaching out to a financial counselor or nonprofit organization for guidance.
One of the more daunting questions related to astrobiology—the search for life in the cosmos—concerns the nature of life itself. For over a century, biologists have known that life on Earth comes down to the basic building blocks of DNA, RNA, and amino acids. What’s more, studies of the fossil record have shown that life has been subject to many evolutionary pathways leading to diverse organisms. At the same time, there is ample evidence that convergence and constraints play a strong role in limiting the types of evolutionary domains life can achieve.
For astrobiologists, this naturally raises questions about extraterrestrial life, which is currently constrained by our limited frame of reference. For instance, can scientists predict what life may be like on other planets based on what is known about life here on Earth? An international team led by researchers from the Santa Fe Institute (SFI) addressed these and other questions in a recent paper. After considering case studies across various fields, they conclude that certain fundamental limits prevent some life forms from existing.
Artist’s impression of Earth during the Archean Eon. Credit: Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
The team considered what an interstellar probe might find if it landed on an exoplanet and began looking for signs of life. How might such a mission recognize life that evolved in a biosphere different from what exists here on Earth? Assuming physical and chemical pre-conditions are required for life to emerge, the odds would likely be much greater. However, the issue becomes far more complex when one looks beyond evolutionary biology and astrobiology to consider synthetic biology and bioengineering.
According to Solé and his team, all of these considerations (taken together) come down to one question: can scientists predict what possible living forms of organization exist beyond what we know from Earth’s biosphere? Between not knowing what to look for and the challenge of synthetic biology, said Solé, this presents a major challenge for astrobiologists:
“The big issue is the detection of biosignatures. Detecting exoplanet atmospheres with the proper resolution is becoming a reality and will improve over the following decades. But how do we define a solid criterion to say that a measured chemical composition is connected to life?
“[Synthetic biology] will be a parallel thread in this adventure. Synthetic life can provide profound clues on what to expect and how likely it is under given conditions. To us, synthetic biology is a powerful way to interrogate nature about the possible.”
The sequence where amino acids and peptides come together to form organic cells. Credit: peptidesciences.com
To investigate these fundamental questions, the team considered case studies from thermodynamics, computation, genetics, cellular development, brain science, ecology, and evolution. They also consider previous research attempting to model evolution based on convergent evolution (different species independently evolve similar traits or behaviors), natural selection, and the limits imposed by a biosphere. From this, said Solé, they identified certain requirements that all lifeforms exhibit:
“We have looked at the most fundamental level: the logic of life across sales, given several informational, physical, and chemical boundaries that seem to be inescapable. Cells as fundamental units, for example, seem to be an expected attractor in terms of structure: vesicles and micelles are automatically formed and allow for the emergence of discrete units.”
The authors also point to historical examples where people predicted some complex features of life that biologists later confirmed. A major example is Erwin Schrödinger’s 1944 book What is Life? in which he predicted that genetic material is an aperiodic crystal—a non-repeating structure that still has a precise arrangement—that encodes information that guides the development of an organism. This proposal inspired James Watson and Francis Crick to conduct research that would lead them to discover the structure of DNA in 1953.
However, said Solé, there is also the work of John von Neumann that was years ahead of the molecular biology revolution. He and his team refer to von Neumann’s “universal constructor” concept, a model for a self-replicating machine based on the logic of cellular life and reproduction. “Life could, in principle, adopt very diverse configurations, but we claim that all life forms will share some inevitable features, such as linear information polymers or the presence of parasites,” Solé summarized.
The first implementation of von Neumann’s self-reproducing universal constructor. Three generations of machines are shown: the second has nearly finished constructing the third. Credit: Wikimedia/Ferkel
In the meantime, he added, much needs to be done before astrobiology can confidently predict what forms life could take in our Universe:
“We propose a set of case studies that cover a broad range of life complexity properties. This provides a well-defined road map to developing the fundamentals. In some cases, such as the inevitability of parasites, the observation is enormously strong, and we have some intuitions about why this happens, but not yet a theoretical argument that is universal. Developing and proving these ideas will require novel connections among diverse fields, from computation and synthetic biology to ecology and evolution.”
Safe, emergency shelters are available to people (19+ years old) who are currently homeless or at-risk of becoming homeless. We offer two locations: Hyland Housein Newton and Bill ReidPlace in Cloverdale. The shelters offer additional support for improving life skills, finding employment and/or housing, managing a home, integrating into the community and budgeting.
Hyland House is a 35-bed shelter for men and women with single rooms, shower and laundry facilities and meals are provided. The facility is wheelchair accessible. There are 20 self-contained transitional houses for longer stays. For more information, please contact us at 604.599.8900.
Bill Reid Place is a 16-bed shelter with 12 bachelor transition housing units, shower and laundry facilities and meals are provided. The facility is pet-friendly. For more information, please contact us at 604.574.4341.
» Extreme Weather Response
Dangerous, severe weather can be life-threatening if you are homeless. We offer response to Extreme Weather Alerts in Surrey, White Rock or Delta.
You may qualify for assistance from the Supported Housing program if you require additional support through an extended stay. This 32-unit Supported Housing component can help you achieve and maintain independence. Rent costs are based on current income and length of stay depends on ability to secure and maintain independence.
I Need Other Housing Outreach Support
If you are currently living on the street or are at-risk of homelessness, Outreach Workers are available to help you find housing, health and income support services. To get in touch with our Mobile Outreach Team please contact them at 604.765.6751 or hylandoutreach@options.bc.ca.
Other community resources are provided in our Surrey Survival Guide. It is in booklet format and available for download here. We make every effort to ensure the information is up-to-date. If you are aware of more current information, please notify us by email or call 604.596.4321.
I Want to See This Program Help More People
We want to assist those living on the street and people at-risk of homelessness the best we can. In order to do that, we need support from you! Please consider donating to our Shelter Services programs.
Our Shelter Services programs are always in need of items such as: gift cards, gloves, hats, shoes, socks, backpacks, jackets, blankets, water and everyday personal hygiene items. If you are able to provide any of these items, please contact our Hyland House for drop-off instructions. Call 604.599.8900.
Eligibility Criteria
For adults (19+ years old) who are in need of emergency shelter. Contact 604.599.8900.
Can you access the program directly?
Yes. You may access the program directly.
Referrals are also accepted from – but not limited to, the Ministry of Human Resources, Mental Health Centers, RCMP and other community agencies.
Other referral options
You may access the program directly.
Referrals are also accepted from – but not limited to, the Ministry of Human Resources, Mental Health Centers, RCMP and other community agencies.
Other Information
Volunteers Needed
Currently we are looking for volunteers to help support our shelters. For more information please click here.
Talking about prison is taboo—Canadian society deals with it far less than is common in other jurisdictions (eg., the United States). Most people in Canada don’t know anything about how the prison system works or what conditions in it are like if they or a loved one haven’t experienced it.
One reason for this is that prison produces silence. The voices of prisoners are cut off from the world, and what happens inside prisons only makes the news in the most extreme cases. This lack of attention is problematic because the prison system is central to how many different forms of oppression reproduce themselves. For instance, it maintains class society and economic exploitation. It is a tool of racist and colonial violence that keeps whole communities down, and it produces gendered forms of trauma on a mass scale.
Prison functions like a black box. We can see what happens prior to entering the prison system in terms of crime, policing, and the justice system, and we can see the negative outcomes of the prison system once people leave, such as poverty, homelessness, and social exclusion, but the space in between is opaque—we can’t see the conditions inside prisons that produce these outcomes.
If we want to find solutions to complex problems like homelessness, we need to cultivate some curiosity about people’s experiences with systems we might not normally think about, like prison.
Types of Prisons in Canada
The various prisons in Canada are separated into two types: federal and provincial. Federal prisons, also known as penitentiaries, are where prisoners who are sentenced to over two years are sent. Although only about a third of all prisoners are in federal prison, it is what people think of on the rare occasions that they think about prison in Canada.
The remaining two thirds of prisoners are in provincial prisons. People sentenced to less than two years, those who have been denied bail, and an increasing number of immigration detainees are in provincial prisons. All federal prisoners have also spent time in a provincial prison, and the majority of prisoners will do all their time there. Despite this, they receive far less attention than federal prisons. In provincial prisons there is less programming, less oversight, and fewer organizations that provide support. The conditions inside these prisons are far, far worse.
In Ontario, the Ministry of the Solicitor General operates 25 adult prisons that hold around 7,500 prisoners on any given day, with an average period of incarceration of 45 days (almost 150,000 people are admitted into provincial prisons across Canada in any given year).
Many provinces subdivide provincial prisons into other administrative categories. For the purpose of this blog, we will be focusing on adult prisons in Ontario, but there are also youth prisons and mental health prisons. There are two kinds of adult provincial prisons in Ontario: detention centres (DCs), for those who have been denied bail or sentenced to less than three months, and correctional centres, for those who have been sentenced to between three months and two years.
In many provinces (eg., Ontario, Alberta, and Nova Scotia), about 70% of prisoners in provincial prisons are on “remand,” meaning they are only locked up because they were denied bail. This means that about half of all prisoners in Canada are on remand. This is a significantly higher proportion than in the United States, and it has been getting worse with time.
Since most of Canada’s prisoners are in remand, the conditions they face are crucial to understanding the prison system as a whole and the way it contributes to homelessness.
Conditions for Remand Prisoners in Ontario
Prisoners who have been denied bail are held in the harshest conditions in the prison system. All of Ontario’s DCs are considered maximum security, meaning they face the most restrictions on their movements, what they can have access to, and possibilities for programming.
Detention centres are very crowded. Cells built for one or two prisoners routinely hold three, with one person sleeping on a mattress on the floor. There are frequent lockdowns, which is when prisoners are confined to their cells except for half an hour every second day. Combine these two factors and you have three prisoners held together in a space the size of a bathroom stall for days at a time without even enough room to stand up and move around. This obviously aggravates physical and mental health conditions.
There are almost no programs in DCs, and there is very limited access to books. Visits are short (two 20-minute visits a week) and are frequently cancelled without notice. Although prisoners are entitled to 20 minutes of fresh air every day, they may only get “yard time” a couple of times a month.
Detention centres are also very violent. Since everyone in a DC is in pre-trial and the average stay is short, there is a high turnover with lots of coming and going, making hierarchies unstable. The needs of those living in a DC for short periods may conflict with those of prisoners there for years, and the overcrowded conditions with no privacy result in high stress levels.
Guards are also able to brutalize prisoners with near impunity. While a report from the Ontario ombudsman denounced the use of force by guards and the guards’ code of silence that interferes with investigations, this report was not enough to stop this violence from continuing.
When you add in the overdose crisis and an inadequate medical system to the previously mentioned factors, the result is that 29 people died inside of Ontario’s provincial prisons in 2021. From previous years’ statistics compiled by Reuters, 85% of all deaths in Ontario’s provincial prison are people in remand custody, meaning those in detention centres are dying at a disproportionate rate.
Although prison harms everyone it touches, it does not do this in the same way to everyone. Prison functions on the basis of separation, firstly by cutting people off from society, then by sorting them to expose them to different forms of harm. The administrative differences described above are one way of sorting people. Another important way the prison system does this is by gender or sex.
Gendered Harm
All prisoners are labelled as either male or female depending on the institution’s best guess of their sex at birth, and so there are two gendered forms of incarceration known as men’s and women’s prison. There is a lot to say about how the Ontario prison system deals with trans identity, but for the purposes of this blog, it is enough to know that almost all trans people go to women’s prison. Women’s prison can be thought of as a prison for people who would be at risk of sexual violence if all prisoners were just lumped together.
Officially, there should be little difference between men’s and women’s prisons, and the conditions are generally the same. However, it is worth reflecting on how identical treatment within an unequal society produces drastically different results.
To give a quick example, the food in men and women’s prison is exactly the same. In men’s prison, this is mostly felt to be insufficient, in part because working out is a big part of prisoner culture. Men prisoners are often released stronger and fitter than when they went in. In women’s prisons, exercise is discouraged both by prisoner culture and by the guards. Women prisoners often experience rapid weight gain and a general decrease in fitness due to the enforced immobility.
In this example and in so many others, sorting people by gender means the prison system is involved in reproducing negative gender dynamics. Many conditions faced by women prisoners compound common forms of gender-based trauma, such as:
Frequent strip searches
Round the clock surveillance by male guards
The absence of privacy
Losing custody over children
Losing housing
After release, feminized professions tend to care more about criminal records than many male-dominated ones: consider customer service vs. construction or childcare vs. trucking. This results in women experiencing more exclusion from the job market upon release, contributing to cycles of dependence and victimization.
Similarly, the intense violence of men’s prison is tied to a macho prisoner culture steeped in homophobia and misogyny. This culture is then exported back out into communities by former prisoners. Both gendered experiences leave people more likely to commit future criminalized acts and end up back in prison.
Why Does this Matter to the Homelessness Sector?
The prison and justice systems leave a lot of people homeless and undermine the housing stability of everyone who interacts with them. Prisons also compound problems with physical and mental health, addiction, and trauma (common risk factors for homelessness). Even short stays in prison can be enough to make someone lose their job and housing, making it a clear issue for the homelessness sector. As well, people who are homeless are disproportionately represented in prison—across Canada, over 16% of prisoners are homeless, up from 6% in 2009.
There are also major issues of social justice around prison that can only be addressed when we understand how people move through the system and what conditions they face. The awful conditions in provincial prisons amplify other forms of systemic oppression. For instance, it is nothing new to say that Black and Indigenous people are disproportionately represented among prisoners—but it feels different to say that Black and Indigenous people are more likely to be held in an overcrowded prison cell with no privacy or room to move around for weeks at a time.
The experiences of prisoners are not well understood within the homelessness sector, which can create barriers to accessing services. There are very few services available that specifically help people being discharged from prison, leaving them to seek out services that are not tailored to their needs.
By looking more closely at what prisoners go through inside the black box, we can work towards better outcomes for them and remove some of the added barriers they face to obtaining safe, stable, and affordable housing.
Bradley James was born on April 13th, 1972. Kelly Thomas was born on April 5th, 1974. While neither met each other, they both share something in common. They both suffered from schizophrenia. While Brad lives in British Columbia, struggling to make ends meet, Kelly was not that lucky. On July 10th, 2011, while many in America were glued to their television screens, watching in awe as the US team defeated Brazil during the semi-final of the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Kelly Thomas lay in a hospital bed, bloody and dying.
Kelly Thomas, a man who had struggled with fits of schizophrenia his entire life, was dragged out into the streets and brutally beaten by six officers of the Fullerton California police department – he later succumbed to his injuries.
Now, 57 Years of Soul Music Radio is collaborating with The Urban Survivor Humanitarian Network and Cheektowaga-Omni Media Marketing based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, to tell Kelly’s story to the world. The company is raising funds via Slated, a crowdfunding platform for filmmakers, to launch the production of their film, “My Name Is Brad” in early Spring 2021.
This docudrama film is an initiative to recognize severe mental health issues and make them a mainstream topic of conversation. The film is aimed to show the controversy surrounding mental illnesses and police misconduct. It revolves around the lives of Brad James and Kelly Thomas.
With the current scenarios looking to get worse before they get better, the producers of “My Name Is Brad” believe that now’s the right time to bring this topic to the forefront of humanitarian initiatives that should be prioritized. With the new President in the Oval Office, we are closer to this dream than ever before – to end the injustice, indignation, and stigma associated with mental health and homelessness.
All funds raised through this film will be used to kick start an Urban housing development in all major cities. Modular container housing can be purchased for less than $2000 per unit. Since the government spends millions on everything else, it’s time to end homelessness and help those who are struck with mental illness.
The solace of silence is sometimes the only vocal support one gets without friends and family references.
There is no point in sugar-coating the fact that transitioning from homelessness to renting can be quite difficult for an individual, especially in cities like Toronto or Vancouver. From a landlord’s perspective, these markets are full of eligible and desirable tenants, so why would they lend their property to someone without any reference and an unstable (or non-existing) rental history.
This is a challenge most homeless people face, even when they have found a stable job and have enough money for a deposit. Finding rental housing without references can be tough but not impossible. There are a few things you can do:
1. Seek out your regional Housing First* program. It’s designed to help homeless people find stable homes. You’d need to contribute a portion of your income (ideally 30% or more) while the rest would be covered by rent subsidies. It also helps you establish a rent history that can open up more rental housing options for you.
2. Provide potential landlord proof of stable income. If you’ve been working for a while, bring your last three payslips and, preferably, a letter from your employer stating your good behavior (and that they don’t have any plans to let you go in the foreseeable future).
3. If you have a stable income and money for monthly rent but not the deposit, charities like Canadian Red Cross and Salvation Army might assist you (financially). With a decent deposit amount (say three-months rent), you might be able to convince potential landlords to rent to you, even if you don’t have references.
4. Don’t fake a reference history. It is a huge red flag, and if you get caught, it might disrupt your chances of renting with other landlords as well.
5. Talk to the people who are running emergency shelters. They might be able to guide you to individuals who might be inclined to rent to you without references, just to pull you out of homelessness. If not, they might be able to put you in touch with local housing assistance programs you might not be aware of.
Be honest, talk to the people helping homeless individuals in your community, try to save as much money as you can for rent and deposit, find a co-signer if you can, and make sure your employer puts in a good word for you.
-From “Boggles Brown – My Cartoon Life in the Land Of Schizophrenia” inner sleeve. – 2010
Boggles Brown is broke, except for the “People With Disabilities Allowance” he gets once a month. This month, he lives in a run-down motel – he manages to buy an old beat-up Toyota which is unreliable but reliable if you know what I mean. Somtimes he thinks his car may be bi-polar.
He wonders whether he should be using one of those fancy-named gasoline additives like “Engine-X,” I imagine “Engine-X” to be somewhat like Olanzapine, only for cars.
Boggles Brown struggled through college. He graduated,worked for a while and then became bonkers. It was not worth the ecstacy or all the raves in the world to lose his mind – he knows that now. But it is his life, what to do?
Boggles Brown is not how I see myself so much, as how I think others see me. My mom has read some of my cartoons and scratched her head. I imagine a lot of people will do the same. But that’s not the point – is it? Am I Canada’s Andy Warhol? I think not.
I hope you like Boggles, and if you don’t, I hope you keep it to yourself because the point is that it gave me something to do.
These are all hand-drawn on whatever paper I could find.
– Boggles Brown; “BJAF” 2010
“Genes” – Boggles Brown; Urban Survival Media 2009
Browse and bedazzle when you wear the words of our talkative transient.
Greetings Readers,
Now, like never before, we have been waiting for a marketing breakthrough to gain that glimmer of interactivity on it’s way to your wardrobe. This time, we hired Social Media Management Company UK to help us in our branding and marketing our new product. It’s here – Boggles Brown multi-colour T-Shirts where you get to write the dialogue for our lovable but lunatic street-sage.
Drop by and donate to give the My Name Is Brad docudrama the funding it needs and order a Boggles Brown exclusive hand drawn T-Shirt by local artist Brad James.
Stay Safe and Think of B. Brown When You’re Feeling Down.
