Boxing champ’s fight for housing isn’t over

In his prime, Chris Clarke was a champion boxer with drawers full of medals. The Halifax-born fighter won gold at the 1975 Pan Am Games and fought for Canada at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

In 1987, Clarke retired his boxing gloves for good. Eight years later, an incident outside the ring would alter his life for good.

He was at home with his girlfriend. She was drinking. Clark was at the top of a staircase. “She bumped me. I went down. Hit a brick wall, on a brick floor. How long I laid there for, I couldn’t tell you.”

Clarke, 56, lost his hearing and suffered permanent brain damage. The onetime Canadian welterweight champion and father of three could no longer work. Nearly two decades later, he landed at Metro Turning Point, a teeming Halifax shelter for men.

Today, Clarke lives in a sunlit subsidized apartment on the corner of Gottingen and Cunard Streets, the same neighbourhood where he grew up and learned to spar. The low-rise building is run by Shelter Nova Scotia, a non-profit housing agency. Its 19 tenants, all men, come directly from Metro Turning Point.

Clarke’s studio apartment is his refuge after years of bouncing from one apartment to the next. He likes being back in the neighborhood where he grew up. It’s not hard to see why.

With its brightly painted corridors and state-of-the-art appliances, the building is not unlike the new condominiums springing up all across the north end neighbourhood. Residents named it The Rebuilding.

But the building, partly financed with federal and provincial money, wasn’t meant to be a permanent home, according to authorities at Shelter Nova Scotia. It’s a transition spot, designed to give the men a respite from shelter and street life while they rebuild their lives. But there hasn’t been much turnover at The Rebuilding since it opened 18 months ago.

The problem is, once men like Clarke get on their feet, there are few affordable places to live in the area.

Gottingen Street is changing. The kilometre-long stretch of apartments, diners, storefronts and social service agencies between Cogswell and North streets is undergoing a renaissance. Trendy shops, restaurants and night spots are moving to the once crime-ridden street, lured by its energetic vibe and eclectic mix of artists and young professionals.

While many residents and business owners welcome the changes, rising prices are a concern. Housing advocates worry that the new wave of condo and homeowners will push low-income people from the neighbourhood.

Dorothy Patterson, who works with homeless youth, said many low-income people have already left the core for cheaper apartments in the suburbs.

“People end up moving away … bringing a lot of isolation into their lives because they’re not close to their support community,” Patterson said.

Don Spicer, Shelter Nova Scotia’s executive director, said he fears men like Clarke won’t ever be able to afford private housing in the Gottingen area.

“In order for the area to be sustainable, we need to develop different kinds of housing,” said Spicer, a former police officer who once patrolled Gottingen Street on his beat.

“We have to strike a balance.”

Clarke’s last apartment before landing at Turning Point was in Fairview, where he was robbed of $350. Clarke blamed the superintendent and stormed out.

The shelter was worse.  “It was disgusting. You have guys walking around all night long. You don’t know if they’re going to stab you or nothing because they’re crackerjacks.”

Not long after arriving at Turning Point, another resident called Clarke a “bum.” He punched the man twice in the face. The man fell to the ground. Clarke soon got a call from Shelter Nova Scotia with an offer to live at The Rebuilding.

He moved in last year. Clarke said the unit’s $535 monthly rent is affordable on his $700 pension. Best of all, he has quiet and privacy. During an interview, Clarke puttered in his kitchen and pored over photo albums from his boxing days.  Barrel-chested and sturdy, Clarke is still built like a prizefighter. The only hint of past troubles is his slurred speech, a symptom of his hearing impairment.

Clarke said he’s not bothered by the wave of new people and buildings so long as he never has to go back to the shelter.

“I don’t even want to think about it,” he said. “I’m a loner. I won’t live with anyone else. I don’t even bring women here.”

Clarke’s upstairs neighbour, Wade White, spent more than a decade at Turning Point before moving to The Rebuilding last year. With an apartment of his own, White, 57, said he had the privacy to play music and write. He’s thought about going back to school.

“What I got upstairs is perfect,” he said in an interview in the building’s common room. “I’m keeping that place. It’s my office. I get to eat, sleep when I want.”

There is no fixed deadline for when residents must leave. And Spicer is glad the residents feel safe in their new homes. But their desire to stay for good at The Rebuilding puts him in a bind. If there is no turnover, he can’t bring in more shelter residents. There is also the probability that some of the residents might never be able to support themselves on their own. Many are struggling with physical and emotional problems.

This is where Spicer thinks neighbourhood residents and business owners can help out – especially the newcomers with more money and influence. He’d like to see local business owners pitch in and help low-income people; give them jobs or training – anything that gets men like Clarke and White on their feet and living independently.

“I’d like to see a type of social enterprise to help these people,” Spicer said. “A program with local businesses … that would take people in at entry-level positions, that would help build their confidence and help build a resume.

“People, if they’re working in the neighbourhood … then they have a sense of ownership and pride in their neighbourhood. It would be better for everyone.”

Credits: Story by Jane Armstrong. Videos and photos by Julielee Stitt.

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