 If you like the photoArt on this site,you can see more of my art at
Explore this site About Down But Not Out, its beginnings, why it came to be and where it is heading addiction is rampant in Canada. The primary contributing factor is disaffection with a social system that has placed the accumulation of wealth ahead of any moral integrity. best is a random selection of my best photography & art that can be viewed as a slide show contact Ronzig by email or visit Ronzig's other web pages or explore related websites. contribute Do you have a story about poverty, homelessness or addiction that you would like to share? This is the place to get it off your chest. economics The financial cost of ignoring moral integrity is reflected in the precarious state of the world economic system. environment Global environmental issues, Climate Disruption, Right to Water, extraction methods used by the Mining and Oil Industries. events Rallies, protests, symposiums public forums and training sessions that you may wish to attend. health homelessness is synonymous with disease and premature death. Denial of the right to housing is a death sentence. homelessness a view from our perspective internet The internet is our best hope to take back control from the power brokers. media coverage by mainstream and independent media sources of current events & issues that are of concern as we enter the 2nd decade of the new millennium. new content recently added to this site. news Ronzig in the news photoArt is a selection of my art organized by subject politics How the government is addressing the issues we must deal with to move towards a more just and sustainable society. portfolio Ronzig's portfolio site where you will find a large selection of photography and art created by Ronzig. poverty is the main cause of most of the problems that our society struggles with, including homelessness. society how we think, feel & act as a society will determine how history judges us. speaking Ronzig will speak to your group about social issues, art or photography videos by Ronzig about homelessness & other important issues that are contributing to the malaise we live with every day. war Canada's role in promoting Imperialism home back to home page. |
Digital photoArt by Ronzig depicting Homeless people plus examples of speeches I have given. You can comment on content seen on this page by going to the bottom of the page. Every page on the site will have a comment section at the bottom.I do public speaking engagements on the following topics. Each speech is accompanied by a video relating to the topic 1) Art: The importance of art in our society2) Poverty: Why it is so predominant and what can be done? 3) Homelessness: Why is it happening and who is to blame? 4) Addiction: What are the causes and how can it be prevented? If your group would like me to speak to them please contact me at ronzig@rogers.com  Speaking reference from Eden
Community Homes I am delighted to give Mr.
Ron Craven a reference for speaking at public events. Mr. Craven came to our
Annual General Meeting for Eden Community Homes and gave a very heartfelt well
received speech. This was a special Annual
General Meeting as we were also celebrating the opening of our Art Studio for
adults who have mental health problems. Mr. Craven shared his own
personal experience and talked about the importance of art in helping people
overcome adverse experiences. Mr. Craven is a talented photographer and has
many shows in Mr. Craven is very well
organized and did everything in a timely fashion including sending me a copy of
his speech. We had a wide variety of
people at our meeting and Mr. Craven was able to connect with the audience in a
meaningful way. Mr. Craven speaks from the heart and is a strong advocate of
people who are homeless in If you have any questions
further to this letter please contact me at 416-977-3655. Sincerely, Margaret Lynch Executive Director Eden Community Homes  People from many cultures call Toronto their home Reference from Please be informed that I am
personally acquainted with Mr. Ron Craven. I have seen his art work and found
it most impressive. I have also requested him to speak to our volunteer
ministry team, and he has done this with good result. Ron speaks clearly and
directly. He speaks specifically to the point of homelessness, poverty, and
addiction. His own personal experiences validate what he has to say. He speaks
with authority, keen insight, passion and strategic information. He is lively,
expressive and passionate in his delivery. I highly recommend him for speaking
engagements. Doug Wiebe Pastor of International
Ministries 416.703.8211 Office 416.703.2508 Fax  You can take my picture, but don't show my face
I gave this speed to a group of addiction workers on Feb 13/09 The unaddressed cause
of addiction There are many reasons for
homelessness and addiction, but the primary cause has not been addressed because
it would shake the very foundations of our social system. I never met anyone who woke up
one morning and said to himself, “What’ll I do today?” “I know, I’ll become an
addict.” There are many
reasons why people become addicts, such as falling into addiction from using
drugs as a social stimulant, but the underlying cause of addiction is far more
pervasive and is rarely perceived on a conscious level; a deeply rooted
disaffection with our modern society. I was once a
millionaire and deemed by my peers to be very successful in my life, but I was
a very unhappy human being and I didn’t know why. I had everything our society
tells us we should desire, a nice home, a fancy car, fine clothes, travel, you
name it, but I was an economic slave, serving the master of monetary gain. I became a crack
addict and lost everything, but I found happiness. I was homeless for 10 years
and I was happier than I had been for most of my life. The only major cause for concern in those
days was my dependence on drugs. I had broken free of one master only to serve
another. How is happiness possible under such difficult circumstances? Over the
past decade, I’ve asked myself that question many times and only recently have
I been able to find an answer. When I was rich, I
had lots of friends, but once the money was gone, so were they. I never see any
of them now. When I was a homeless addict I made new friends and I began to
realize that they were my friends in spite of the fact that I had nothing to
offer them but friendship. After freeing myself of my second master by quitting
drugs and finding housing, many of my best friends remain homeless addicts, but
they remain friends. There are two
communities in our culture today. The predominant one is divided into classes
where the upper class rules and the lower classes serve as economic slaves who
are given only enough to keep them in line, serving the powerful. The second
community is the disaffected community that opens its arms to those of us who
have rejected the first and is made up of a high proportion of addicts and
homeless people. It is expanding at an exponential rate and it is not exclusive
of others. You will find many who remain linked to the dominant community and
work within it that are more attuned to the second. Although I am no longer an
addict nor am I homeless, I fit into the second category. There are countless
others like me who have come to the realization that the system is ailing and
will collapse if it doesn’t evolve. Contemplating this,
I came to the conclusion that true human values have no relationship to the
money, career and possessions that we are taught to pursue as a gateway to
happiness. I look around and what do I see? This society we have created is immoral
and can only lead to decay of the human spirit. We have learned to put aside
our natural instinct to work together so that all members benefit from each
individual’s good fortune and all members strive to overcome the hardship of
the individual. We have attempted to alter the very human nature that has
provided mankind with the evolutionary edge we needed to survive since the dawn
of time, the unity of the tribe. Even cave men understood the value of every
individual member of his society and strove to share the benefits and burdens
equitably. The me generation chases a dream of wealth and power, rooted in
greed to the exclusion of the values that can lead to happiness until many of
the more sensitive people lose heart and withdraw. I say more sensitive
because I have come to the realization that most homeless or addicted people
have an ingrained need to portray their feelings through the arts, be they
visual, written or musical. A generation of our best artists have been lost due
to their inability to cope with this crude social structure. I am a case in
point. I spent 20 years as a crack addict, 10 of them homeless instead of
pursuing my artistic inclinations. During the lunch break I will run a slide show
of some of my art. I know homeless
addicts from all levels of society, from 3rd generation welfare
families who never had much hope of anything better to new immigrants who could
not assimilate, to once successful businessmen such as me who left it all
behind. You may be surprised to learn that although the percentage of addiction
among the homeless is significantly higher than those who are housed; it is a
carefully kept secret that many of these homeless addicts had never done drugs
until they were forced into homelessness due to economic or health
circumstances. Once a person becomes homeless, the only comfort available comes
from escaping the pain with drugs. Many addicts either
didn’t know how or were unwilling on a subconscious level to commit their
energy to the pursuit of a goal that consciously they believed they wanted.
Either way, the fact remains that as the number of people who reject our social
values and immerse themselves in drugs continues to escalate the authorities
are not capable of recognizing the cause and therefore can not begin to
understand how to correct the situation. Their frustration becomes hostility
and the split in the fabric of society is widened resulting in brutal
confrontations where police and citizens beat and murder people whose primary
sin is a rejection of the prevailing value system. They have been sold
the lie by the politicians that hostility is an answer. Why by the politicians?
It is in the nature of those who seek election to glorify in their power, yet
they are powerless in the face of homelessness and addiction and the resultant
hostility this creates is translated into increasing numbers of useless laws
designed to force homeless people to submit to the political will. Such laws
are scorned by the homeless community for their naivety. Instead of offering
incentives to help draw us back into the fold, these laws seek to punish us,
imposing meaningless penalties. A homeless addict is by definition broke. He
has no money. A court ordered fine is a great source of humor. Here is a
powerful person sitting high above me at a bench telling me that I am required
to pay a fine for asking people for financial help. He’s supposed to be of
above average intelligence to sit in judgment of his fellow man, yet here he
is acting like a fool who actually expects the fine to be paid. I audibly laugh
at him as I leave, wondering how wise he can be if he can’t see the obvious.
I’ll never pay that price for my freedom; it’s in a coin I don’t recognize. The
next time I come before him he imposes a jail term. Again I laugh. It’s 20
below zero and I’m cold, hungry, tired and in need of a rest from the drugs.
Most of my friends are already in jail for the crime of being poor. A holiday
visit with my friends is perfect. And so, another confrontation by the power
structure has failed to force me to yield. As reports of my
laughter reach the idiots who wrote these severe laws to force me into the
desired mould, the anger and hostility reaches a peak and word is quietly
passed to the police that there will be no reprisals for harassment and
brutality against the homeless or the addicts. A police officer threatens to
kill me by throwing me in front of an oncoming streetcar. I say, ”Go ahead
mother fucker, I’ll take you with me,” and I grab him and start pulling him
onto the tracks. Now we have reached a point where illegal tactics are
encouraged by law makers to force us to submit. But we will not submit. We may
fight back though. As citizen and police brutality escalates, I am seeing an
increasing degree of anger within the homeless community. Beware the
consequences of aggression. It spawns aggression in return. I strongly advise
the citizens and politicians to abandon the tactics of confrontation and turn to
a more conciliatory approach. Instead of writing laws that effectively make
poverty or addiction a crime so you can include them in your “War on Crime,”
you would be wise to offer some incentive to encourage people to return to
society, i.e. a decent home, a living income, a first-rate education and a
sense of community. With these incentives in place, many who are presently lost
to your society would once again become contributors. But you say,” My
hands are tied. What can I do?” In the short term there is only one answer. For people in the
field of social work, the answer involves risk, but the only social workers I
ever met who were worth the time of day didn’t hesitate to take that risk and
continue to do so to this day. Homeless people and addicts aren’t fools. They
realize that the system is designed to appear to be helping while doing
absolutely nothing. If you want the respect of these, your clients, you must be
willing to seek out the loopholes that will allow you to make an end run and
actually get something accomplished. There are ways. I know because I have seen
it done. When a client says something that will harm his cause, you suggest
that what he means is this and you go on to show him how to get what he needs.
In other words help to the extent that you can.
When you are told you can not give a warm coat or a sleeping bag to a
homeless person because you are enabling him to remain homeless, Just do it
quietly because you know that without your help he is at risk of death from
exposure. For people in health
services the answer is similar. Without ignoring the physical evidence, you
must interpret it to the best advantage of your patient. No one expects you to
lie, but by putting the best case forward you will achieve much. Helping
someone to get O.D.S.P. or to get a special diet allowance will go along way
towards enabling him to maintain himself without the necessity of resorting to
real crime. For those of you in
political science, yours is the greatest challenge, for you are the people who
will have access to the practice of lawmaking and it is you who by insinuating
your thoughts into the process can be an influence for improvement. We don’t
need government to build assisted housing. That only creates a dichotomy at the
bottom of the economic scale. There are the poor who live in assisted housing,
that great kingdom of the power barons that will never and can never
accommodate the need. These people are the well off poor. Then there are those
who do not have assisted housing who must choose between eating and shelter and
ultimately lose both to homelessness and addiction. These are the truly poverty
stricken. What is required to level the playing field is a guaranteed minimum
income for every citizen regardless of his circumstances that is high enough to
allow him to live with security and dignity, above the poverty line, but low
enough not to remove his incentive to improve his lot in life. Everyone in this
room and in society as a whole has an obligation to speak out in support of the
changes that are necessary to accomplish a more equitable society where people
will no longer feel disaffected and seek escape through drugs. You must be
vocal and persistent in demanding a more realistic distribution of resources so
that no person will be forced into homelessness because of lack of funds to pay
the rent, so that no person will ever again need to rely on the demeaning use
of food banks to feed his family, or clothing banks to clothe them. Until this is
accomplished stop gap measures will continue to help a few while the majority
in need go on ignored as usual. Stop gap measures are the politicians trick to
fool the public into believing that all that can be done is being done. It is
dishonest and it is inadequate. If you see
homelessness and addiction as problems instead of merely symptoms of a far
greater problem, you will waste your efforts applying band aid solutions
instead of seeking a cure. Instead, guide your clients towards empowerment.
Show them the tools, the internet, networking, political activism, education,
conferences, petitions and the media and how to use them. If they feel
empowered, they will do the rest. Remember, if you’re
not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.  The Waverley hotel is a well known haunt of addicts and prostitutes I Gave
This Speech at the 2007 Annual General Meeting For Eden Community Homes Hi folks. I was an alcoholic and crack addict for 20 years and homeless
for 10 years. I now live in a nice apartment and have been clean and sober
since I am now a digital photoArtist and was recently honoured to be invited
to put on the first art show at the Van Duzer Art Studio. It was a great
success and the studio is an excellent venue. I met one of the residents recently and took an interest in her and her
boyfriend. I arranged to meet them here to take some photographs and interview
them as part of a recent homeless photography project I was involved in. When I
showed my portfolio to the staff, they invited me to do a show and that’s how I
came to be speaking to you tonight. What I’d like to talk about is the healing power of art and the vast
wealth of talent which is lost due to marginalization in our society. Since I became homeless over 12 years ago, I have been astonished at the
multi disciplined talent possessed by people with no access to any other means
of expressing themselves. I have met and been fortunate enough to experience
the work of many people who draw or paint; write poetry, short stories or
music; sing or play whatever makeshift instrument they may create. Let me tell
you that given the right opportunity, many of them would draw a world wide
audience, but due to economics, afflictions or addictions, they remain
undiscovered. Why do they create when they have no audience? To externalize their
suffering and to find a moment of joy in a cruel life. Most are not aware that
they possess a unique talent and they are surprised when someone tells them
that they are good. That’s how I got started. When I quit using drugs and alcohol, I started taking a whole series of
courses to keep myself occupied so that I wouldn’t be tempted to relapse. Among
other subjects I studied Adobe Photoshop and digital photography. I really
enjoyed taking pictures and seeing what I could do with them on my computer and
my new hobby was instrumental in my being able to remain clean and sober. When
my friends saw my work they told me I was good, but at first I thought they
were just being kind. Eventually I started to believe them and began showing my
art publicly. I now have 2 major corporate clients for my photography and have
sold numerous pieces of my digital photoArt. I am currently attending an introductory art workshop and we start each
of our meetings with a single word to express our feelings at the moment. We
close each session, with a word to describe our feelings at that point. In
every case at the end of each session the words are exceptionally positive
whereas the opening words are more than 50% negative. The experience of
spending a couple of hours working at art has without exception improved the
state of mind of every participant every time. I dedicate a lot of my time to encouraging others and trying to educate
the public about homelessness. At present I am working at helping the extremely
talented Ana Crisan launch her photography career. Ana is the young woman who I
invited to join my show at your wonderful studio and I’m proud to say, she
stole the show. I met Ana over 10 years ago when she was 15 and we were
neighbors living under the same bridge and I adopted her as my street daughter.
Her photography and her 7 year old daughter are the only things that keep her
from suicide at present. I’m hoping that her photography will lead her away
from drugs and off the streets, but it’s a long term project and I expect to
spend many years on it. Quick fixes just don’t work, but art can be a great
healer. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today. If you would like to see some of my work, take one of my cards. My
portfolio blog will lead you to my Flickr photo gallery where you can see over
12000 of my pieces. Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to read a poem that a homeless friend
gave to me yesterday. This poem expresses the feelings of most addicts. “Me?” Here I sit under a
truck First night out,
very down on my luck. All the bottom
feeders no where in sight. Just me and two
raccoons I feed at night. I lost my place, but
only one to blame is me. My bad habit got out
of control, which was meant to be. Now at 50, I have to
start anew. Way out there I haven’t
got a clue. It’s even brought me
to court after 18 years. I’m getting too old
for this, time to change the gears. Sad and lonely and
don’t want to die alone. At least not
outside, but in a place called home. Not being a hermit,
boned and weary, Not hearing all
noises, it’s a little bit eerie. Everyone’s bottom is
not the same. Mine is gone, sorrow
and pain. Stepping in
quicksand, up to my neck. My boat is now a
shipwreck. Now that I’m here,
there’s no looking back. I have to go to
Detox to get back on track. But this is only
talk until I do it. Only I can and no
one else can make me go through it. Why can I help
others and not myself? The first step is
the hardest to do, but best for my health. It’s hard to be down
so deep in the gutter. Time to wake up and
open the shutters. New friends, new
life is what I have to choose, Starting to win and
not always lose. Now it’s time to
look out after #1. Call out an old
friend to help get it done. So to all you who
think about it, give your head a smack. If you don’t want to
look or feel like me, Don’t start smoking
CRACK. - Bill O  Another poem by Bill
 Bill O, the author of "Me" and "Depression"
I gave this speech at the
Toronto Alliance Church If you would like me to
speak to your group, please contact me at ronzig@rogers
.com I will speak on specific
areas of interest to your group relating to homelessness and/or addictions I’d like to talk about God
miracles and religion first. Since I was very young, I
desperately and unsuccessfully sought God. As a child I attended Sunday school
religiously. As a young adult I attended numerous churches and investigated
many cults. I prayed incessantly. But all my efforts came to no avail. At no
time did I get the feeling that God was within me. I got mad at God and denied him,
vowing atheism or agnosticism. Eventually I just stopped
thinking about it all together. I just gave up. Once I had become homeless,
I slowly became aware of a strange phenomenon which I thought was just good
luck. Anything and everything I needed was there for me instantly. For example, once, on the
first cold day of the season I began thinking that I would need a warm coat.
Less than 5 minutes later I found a new down filled coat just laying there
waiting for me. On another occasion, the sole of my shoe fell off and I was
thinking that I needed to get new shoes. Less than a block further, I found a
brand new pair of shoes MY SIZE lying on the sidewalk. I was at a movie showing
at the Scott Mission when one of the other homeless people there asked me if I
knew where he could get a sleeping bag. I told him to try Street Help and went
outside for a smoke. While I was out there a stranger came along and gave me a
new sleeping bag. Imagine the surprise of my new friend when I handed him his
new sleeping bag. These are only 3 of dozens of similar miracles that I have
experienced over those homeless years. I didn’t recognize them as miracles at
the time. I honestly didn’t give it
any thought until one day I was walking along and God touched me. It was like
He was saying, “wake up man, do you really think that all that good luck was
just an accident?” At that moment I realized that God had been taking care of
me all along and my life has never been the same since. It’s strange that our
society as a whole, even people who profess to be religious, don’t believe in
miracles. They just don’t happen any more. As I see it the reason they don’t
see the multitude of miracles that happen to each of us daily is they are
looking for the biggie. You know, something like a giant billboard sprouting up
out of the pavement right in front of them saying SEE, I DO EXIST. That kind of
miracle truly doesn’t happen for one simple reason, “God will not be tested.” Once God came into my life
I have to admit that I do not have faith. Faith is something that makes you
believe in something that otherwise you are not sure of. I am sure.
Faith is unnecessary now. It is common among homeless
people to hate God for putting them there, but many others like me have come to
know God as a result of being out there. They realize that they could never
survive that life without Him. And what is that life like? First and foremost it’s
rejection desolation and despair. When a society as a matter of policy rejects
a human being and leaves him homeless and hopeless it is easy to become bitter
and enraged. Eventually self esteem becomes eroded to the point where they
believe in their worthlessness. Homelessness is a death
sentence. Every week a homeless person dies in Have you ever wondered why
drugs are so prevalent in our society. I am convinced that it stems from an
ever widening dissatisfaction with the moral values that have become prevalent.
Greed is good. If it makes money it is good. Now both of these statements are
true if they are tempered with JUSTICE. The only valid reason for government is
to ensure justice for all. Unfortunately, our politicians have sold out to the
forces of greed. Justice has become a moot point. The war on poverty is more
like the war on the poor. When our politicians are no longer concerned with
ensuring justice to those who do not have the power to ensure it for themselves
the only alternatives are escapism or revolution. Many people say that
homeless people arrived in their situation because they are addicts and that is
true for many of us. But that does not address the fact that there are
countless homeless people who had not used drugs before becoming homeless, but
are now addicts. These people were evicted from their homes because the welfare
system does not allow them to afford a home, or they suffer from mental
disabilities which cause them to become financially irresponsible, or they were
in the hospital or jail and found that when they got out they no longer had a
home. When a person is homeless, drugs are the only thing that is left to turn
to for comfort. I’ve never met anyone who woke up one morning and said to
himself, ”What’ll I do today? I know. I’ll become a drug addict.” That’s not
how it happens. They just got bit on the ass by a beast that won’t let go as a
result of making a bad decision. On the streets, I was known
as Pops because I made it my responsibility to keep an eye on the kids out
there. This means that I made sure they had shoes and clothing and something to
eat whenever I perceived a need. I taught them how to build shelters that we
called squats and did my best to ensure that they were safe from harm. I have 3 street daughters.
These are young girls that I took under my protection and friendship. When my One of the most prevalent
threats to the safety of street people comes from bullies who wear badges. Not
all cops are bad, but there are far too many for it to be a coincidence. I
honestly believe that illegal and often brutal treatment of homeless people by
police is if not encouraged by their superiors, at least ignored. I have been
threatened with death by the police. I watched as a sergeant from 14 division
along with another officer poured gasoline on my squat and burned everything I
owned in the world. They then proceeded to burn 2 other squats. Once when I
overheard a cop tell a friend of mine that he was going to plant drugs on her
and bust her, I had to step in and say, “No you won’t.” The power and authority
with which I voiced my opposition caused the cop to leave with no further
harassment of my friend. I never relinquished my
dignity for a moment. When someone, even a cop treated me without respect I
made it clear that I would not accept their disrespect. I spent a lot of time
teaching my street kids self esteem and self respect. It is the hardest task I
ever set for myself. They have spent most of their lives having their self
esteem crushed by people with more power than they had. I was a binger. I would
wake up and immediately go out to make some money to get high. I would stay
high for 6 or 7 days without any sleep until I blacked out from sleep deprivation.
I’d be unconscious for a couple of days and when I woke up I’d stuff myself for
a day or 2 then I’d go on another binge. When I finally quit drugs I
weighed less than 100 pounds. Every time I took a blast of crack I fully
expected it to kill me. When it didn’t kill me I did it again. I became certain
that I would not live through the rest of the winter the way I was going, so I
called my friend who is the most caring and understanding outreach worker I
ever met and asked her to get me into detox. That was I’d like to say that people
who think that giving money to a homeless person is only enabling his addiction
are missing the point. The truth is that when an addict needs drugs it’s the
same as a starving man who needs food. He’ll do whatever needs to be done to
get what he needs, even violence. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone,
but he will if he has to, so you see you are not enabling his addiction so much
as you are enabling him to survive without hurting anyone. I am now a digital
photoArtist and spend my time representing the city as I see it in my art. I
have several websites dedicated to my art and to homelessness. If you would
like to take one of my cards, you can see my work on the internet. If you
follow the link to my blog about homelessness, you will find links to over 2
dozen sites dealing with the subject that will serve as a good resource kit for
your information. What can you do? First, give a loonie or
toonie. It will help ease the suffering and it doesn’t all go to drugs. Even
addicts need more than drugs to survive and you will be helping to prevent
crime. Next, tell all the
politicians at all levels of government that the situation is intolerable and
demand that they do something to help the poor. Specifically, a decent minimum
wage that will allow a working person to support a family AND a liveable level
of social assistance for those who can not work. The government can not and
will not build enough assisted housing to solve the problem. The only real
solution is to ensure an adequate income to ALL CANADIANS to be able to afford
to pay market rent for their homes. Is it just that so many have to sleep on
the streets in a city where there is an unending market for million dollar condos?  Young girls attend housing protest meeting at City Hall
 Jesse is usually at the park by 519 Church
I gave this
speech at a C.A.S.T. Canada seminar My Homeless Experience If your group would like me
to speak to them please contact me at ronzig@rogers.com Hi. My name is Ron. Craven.
I’m 62 years old and I was an alcoholic since I was a teenager, a crack addict
for 20 years and homeless for 10 years. I’ve been clean and sober and off the
streets since On the streets, I was known
as Pops because I made it my responsibility to keep an eye on the kids out
there. This means that I made sure they had shoes and clothing and something to
eat whenever I perceived a need. I taught them how to build shelters that we
called squats and did my best to ensure that they were safe from harm. I have 3 street daughters.
These are young girls that I took under my protection and friendship. When my One of the most prevalent
threats to the safety of street people comes from bullies who wear badges. Not
all cops are bad, but there are far too many for it to be a coincidence. I
honestly believe that illegal and often brutal treatment of homeless people by
police is if not encouraged by their superiors, at least ignored. I have been
threatened with death by the police. I watched as a sergeant from 14 division
along with another officer poured gasoline on my squat and burned everything I
owned in the world. They then proceeded to burn 2 other squats. Once when I
overheard a cop tell a friend of mine that he was going to plant drugs on her
and bust her, I had to step in and say, “No you won’t.” The power and authority
with which I voiced my opposition caused the cop to leave with no further
harassment of my friend. There were lots of really
good cops too. They gave me clothes and even money. They would check on me when
it was -25 out there and offer to take me to a shelter. That was long before the
bedbug epidemic, but I had spent a few nights in a shelter and would never
consider going back to sleeping in a room with 50 other men in beds or cots only
2 or 3 feet apart. The snoring coughing and farting were the least of my
worries in a shelter. You can be robbed in your sleep, physically attacked or
infected with any number of communicable diseases there. I always lived in a squat
or tent or found an empty garage to sleep in and I taught lots of others how to
set up a squat for protection from the elements. It was rare that anyone could
live in a squat for more than a few months. Once the authorities found a squat,
the city would send in a crew of men to destroy it and take everything to the
dump. I never saw tent city. I preferred setting up in a hidden location away
from others. Some of the unruly members in a group would bring the heat down on
everyone. I rarely ate in soup
kitchens. I had a camp stove and got food to cook from the food bank. I met
several outreach workers over the years. Most of them seemed more interested in
making me conform to society’s idea of what I should be like than in helping
me. I met 2 who tried to get me to go with them to a shelter. When I told them
that I would never live in shared accommodations, they told me they could get
me a private room. They drove me from Spadina and Lakeshore up to somewhere
near Dupont and Lansdowne and then tried to tell me that I would have to live
in shared accommodations for at least a year before I could get a private room.
I left and walked for over 2 hours to get back to my squat. There were other workers
who really understood. They knew that I would never accept what they could
offer in housing so they just did what they could to make life out there
easier. Unlike many outreach workers they were discreet in their approach and
didn’t make my location obvious to police. Those people understood and we
existed on a level of mutual respect. I never relinquished my
dignity for a moment. When someone, even a cop treated me without respect I
made it clear that I would not accept their disrespect. I spent a lot of time
teaching my street kids self esteem and respect. It is the hardest task I ever set
for myself. They have spent most of their lives having their self esteem
crushed by people with more power than they had. I was never into crime out
there. At first I made my money panhandling, but one of my squeegee kid friends
told me I could make more money that way. He invited me to work at Spadina and
Lakeshore with him. I tried it but wasn’t any good at it, so I invented asking
the drivers for change with a cup rather than a squeegee. That was how I made
my money for most of the time I was homeless. I was a binger. I would
wake up and immediately go out to make some money to get high. I would stay
high for 6 or 7 days without any sleep until I blacked out from sleep
deprivation. I’d be unconscious for a couple of days and when I woke up I’d
stuff myself for a day or 2 then I’d go on another binge. When I finally quit drugs I
weighed less than 100 pounds. Every time I took a blast of crack I fully
expected it to kill me. When it didn’t kill me I did it again. I became certain
that I would not live through the rest of the winter the way I was going, so I
called my friend who is the most caring and understanding outreach worker I
ever met and asked her to get me into detox. That was I am now a digital
photoArtist and spend my time representing the city as I see it in my art. I
have several websites dedicated to my art and to homelessness. If you would
like to take one of my cards, you can see my work on the internet. If you
follow the link to my blog about homelessness, you will find links to over 2
dozen sites dealing with the subject that will serve as a good resource kit for
your information. Thank you for hearing my
story. I would be happy to answer questions now.  Comforting contact from a friendly soul
I Gave This Speech
at a Recent CAST My Road to
Addiction & Recovery If your group
would like me to speak to them please contact me at ronzig@rogers.com I’d like to speak
to you today about how I drifted into addiction and in order to do this I have
to look back to my early childhood. Our household consisted of my father, my
stepmother, although I wasn’t aware of this until much later, myself, the
oldest, my step brother, one year younger, and my half brother, the youngest.
Also present was my stepmother’s mother, my grandmother, who took on the
responsibility of baby sitting and trying to raise 3 unruly boys. There where 3
factors which affected me during my childhood years which pretty much set my
course. 1) My father was a
real estate salesman who used to supplement his commissioned earnings by
purchasing cheap houses in need of moderate repairs or decorating. We would
move into the new house while he worked on it and a few months later he would
sell it and we would move into another one. Sometimes we would move 2 or 3
times in a year. Prior to attending
school, I didn’t find this a problem, but I never went to the same school for a
whole year. I began to make friends and then we would move to our next house
and I would never see my friends again. After a few years of this I came to a
decision. Since friendship was so transitory and leaving my friends behind was
so painful, it would be better not to make friends. I became introverted, anti
social and rather sullen. I had a dog who was my only friend and I would spend
all my free time with him. As a result of
this situation, I failed to develop any interpersonal skills and once I decided
to attempt the formation of a friendship, I just didn’t know how. 2) My parents were
both heavy drinkers who loved to party. They had several parties every month at
which the booze flowed freely. I found a new way to feel good. After a party,
when the guests had left and my parents were asleep, my dog and I would roam
the house and finish drinking the booze that remained in glasses and bottles
everywhere. I began smoking the left over cigarette butts around the same time.
Then I would teeter off to bed with a big smile on my face. As a result, I
became accustomed to drinking at a very early age, would probably be classed as
an alcoholic by the age of 12 or 13 and have smoked pretty much ever since. 3) There was very
little love in our family. My father provided adequate food and shelter, but
had very little time or inclination to nurture us. My stepmother was a party
girl who showed no interest in the kids. My grandmother was the only one who
actually showed any love to us, although I didn’t realize this at the time. I
didn’t know what love was, although I could sense that there was something
missing. I had never been aware of love until after I left home and began a
relationship with a girl who brought me to Sunday dinner at her parents’ home.
There was so much love at that table that I broke down and cried. I’d finally realized
what had been missing. When I left home,
I was full of ideals and believed that if you worked hard and did a good job,
you would succeed in the work place. I took a job in a large financial services
office at Bay and My disaffection
with the socio/economic system resulted in my becoming a Hippy in the mid 60’s.
I began smoking Marijuana and doing LSD and experimenting with all the other
forms of drugs that were available then. Now, acid for many people can drive
them mad and really screw them up, but it saved my life. I still hadn’t been
able overcome a severe inferiority complex and was struggling with learning
interpersonal skills. I didn’t like myself, much less love myself and often
contemplated suicide. Then I began doing acid and this changed almost
immediately. I opened up and found it easy to communicate with people and
realized that I was a pretty good person after all. I began to love myself and
life, so you see; I figured that if acid could do that for me, other drugs may
be able to do even more. Besides they made me feel good and where fun. I tried
them all. MDA, Mescaline and Peyote I liked. Heroin I didn’t like, I didn’t
realize until later that I gravitate towards uppers, and away from downers. I was living in This was before
Big Brother had computerized, but he was in the process of preparing for that
eventuality. Social Insurance numbers had been assigned and it was not possible
to get a decent job without one. At the time they were being introduced into
society, the government swore they would never be used as identification. What
a lie that was. Try to get a bank account or cash a cheque without one. Well, I
thought I had an idea how to defeat the Social Insurance concept. I invented a
name and a complete family history and sent in an application for a new card.
Much to my surprise, the card came in the mail and I was in a new business
selling id’s to draft dodgers. I created quite a few new Canadians that way. The other thing
that happened was the murder of a group of American students by the National
Guard at My disaffection
with the system from that point on was more active than my previous policy of
withdrawal. I was no longer satisfied to withhold my services from the system’s
masters. I wanted to change it, although I was never a radical and still
naively believed that change could be accomplished peacefully. Eventually I tried
Crystal Meth. WOW, it made me feel like a God. I began shooting it daily, going
on runs that lasted weeks at a time. Runs are periods of staying high every
waking hour. My friends were all doing it too and eventually I realized that
many of them had died of overdoses or were in jail for major crimes such as
murder and robbery. I was lucky enough to realize that the side effect of
paranoia combined with the huge expense of maintaining an ever increasing habit
was just too dangerous and I quit using before I became fully addicted. Speed
as it was called is still my drug of choice and if it was innocuous, I’d
probably still be using it. Eventually I quit
using all drugs except tobacco and alcohol and tried once again to integrate
myself into the social structure. I started selling real estate and became a
millionaire within 10 years. As you can see, I had learned a few things over
the years, but in spite of my financial success, I was not happy. When I was 40, I
met a girl who introduced me to Crack. You couldn't buy it ready made then. You
had to buy Cocaine and cook it into Crack yourself. It was almost as good as
Speed and at that time it’s nature was not really known. The government said it
was addictive and dangerous, but they said that about Marijuana long ago. Who
can believe a government that never tells the truth? Within 1 ½ years I was
bankrupt and a full time addict. It took 10 years of graduated decline before I
became homeless. I remained a homeless addict and alcoholic until My activism has
taken a more positive direction since I got off the streets. I now divide my
time between Digital photoArt; photography based and digitally altered art
work, an ever expanding website dedicated to educating the public about
homelessness and addiction and a series of video documentary interviews with
homeless people and addicts. What you saw preceding my talk was a 10 minute
clip taken from a 40 minute audio interview that I did before I purchased a
video camera and graduated to doing full video interviews. This is an ongoing
project and I plan to do about 20 more before the project is complete. If you
take one of my cards you
will find the URL to my photography site. From there you will find a link to my
homeless site. On both of these sites you can view my videos. I believe that
you will find both sites well worth exploring. My story is a
Recovery Success story, mainly because I was fortunate enough to have
experienced an alternate life which I could recover parts of. Many addicts
don’t have this advantage. They have never had or even been aware of any
lifestyle other than addiction. Telling them to imagine a life in recovery is
tantamount to imagining a life in Heaven. They have no reference points to make
that leap. This afternoon you will hear from people who instead of achieving
Recovery, had to achieve Discovery. Thank you for taking
the time to hear my story. I’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have
and there is no question that will offend me. I promise to answer all related
questions honestly and to the best of my ability, so please don’t be shy.  His look of stern determination says it all
Index of Ronzig's web pages Website: As well as Ronzig's Gallery, Ronzig built and maintains Down But Not Out,
a website dedicated to social activism and providing information about
many of the current issues that threaten to destroy our planet and the
social structures we have developed. This link will take you to the Home
page of Down But Not Out
which was recently ranked as the 12th best website about homelessness
on the internet and the following information will explain each of the
pages on the website. You will have the opportunity to comment on what
you learn here and read the many comments of other visitors to the site. Whenever I have time I try to post notices of significant events
that you may wish to attend including rally's, protests, political
meetings, or other relevant items here. I also use this page to post
notices of upcoming art shows where my work will be on display. View some of Ronzig's best work in a slideshow or individual images from Ronzig at Ronzig's Gallery of digital photoArt and photography. Ronzig has done work for a wide range of clients
from law firms to developers, health services facilities and the City
of Toronto, all of which would certainly provide excellent references to Ronzig's Gallery.
All Rights Reserved No part of this page may be copied
without the express written consent of the author Ronzig |
