We also have a homeless guy .. WTF? .. He lives in an alley about a half a block from me.  He used to live in someone’s carport, but the house was sold and the new owners built a garage, so he sleeps on the ground. He seems harmless, just wanders around, pushing his shopping cart full of his worldly possessions. AND WE ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN. As far as I know, no-one (including myself) has taken the time to find out how he became homeless, or what we can do to help him. We’re willing to take the time to save the environment, but we’re too busy to save a human being? HOW THE HELL DID WE GET HERE?

My conservative friends from the ‘burbs tell me some bleeding heart years ago convinced the government that warehousing people with mental health issues was inhumane, and that we should integrate them into society. I’m pretty sure that bleeding heart didn’t consider turning them out on the streets without any support humane. It isn’t just people with mental health issues that are homeless, there’s also people who’ve lost their jobs, who are just one paycheck away from being destitute, families .. FAMILIES .. and we sit quietly by and ignore the issue. Surely THEY caused their own downfall. It couldn’t happen to someone like us .. could it?

At Thanksgiving and at Christmas, we see scenes of long lineups at the Union Gospel Mission, waiting for a holiday meal and some of us haul out our credit cards and make a small donation and feel good for another few months. We did our part. Unfortunately, the people who live on the street live there all year long, not just during the holidays.

It’s estimated that between 6 and 8 thousand people are homeless in Vancouver. Between 6,000 and 8,000 people are homeless in the Greater Vancouver area. The provincial government bought a few hotels on the Downtown East Side a few months ago, but that didn’t take anyone off the street, just prevented those who live in these hotels from becoming homeless. That let us all off the hook. The affordable housing that was promised for the 2010 Athlete`s village was too expensive, so the government let the developer off the hook. And we sat by with our hands in our laps. There were a few letters to the editor, but we politely ignored them.

There are a couple of radical groups that care about the homeless. Unfortunately, they choose to get our attention by staging stunts like defacing the 2010 Countdown clock. HOW DARE THEY? Thugs!

Then there’s the drugs .. that’s how they got to be homeless isn’t it? It’s really their fault after all .. Why can’t they just stop taking drugs and get a job like the rest of us?

We endlessly debate whether Safe Injection Sites are effective. Oh, I forgot, the Provincial Government has struck yet another committee .. they found the money to pay some consultant to study homelessness. I think the study is due in a year or so.

Meanwhile the Food Bank is bankrupt, more and more people are made homeless every week, shelters turn away dozens of people every night. When it gets unacceptably cold, the city opens up “emergency” shelters and the community donates warm clothing and bedding. It makes us feel good that we’re “doing something”.

WAKE UP!

Between six and eight thousand human beings live on our streets, they have nowhere to sleep, or shower, to sit down to have a meal .. to relax, to be safe. No one cares about them. Not you, not me, not their families, nor society as a whole.

We have runs to save kittens and puppies, telethons to save Stanley Park, but I don’t remember any fund raising efforts for the homeless.

We’re overwhelmed, so we sit paralyzed. What if we all make eradicating homelessness a priority by supporting organizations that provide services to the homeless and by pressuring the government to provide provide low-cost housing, medical  and social services? Will we turn everyone who lives on the street into the kind of person that makes us comfortable? .. absolutely not .. does that mean that we shouldn’t even try? I think not.

What if we could take even 10% of the homeless off the street in the next 12 months? Would that get you to get involved? To ask questions? To write a letter?

I wish I had answers .. I do know that if we continue to ignore the problem it’s only going to get worse. Find a group that you feel comfortable supporting. Make a donation. Donate your time. Become a Board Member.

This Post is part of Blog Action Day 08 Poverty