On The Streets
The homeless encampments in downtown Edmonton are starting to remind me of Hastings Street in Vancouver.
They mostly seem to pop up around the Marian Centre and Hope Mission (in Edmonton)… both of which try to help our marginalized population with food, clothing, and shelter for the night in the case of Hope.
It is distressing to drive through the area not only for one’s safety but because it is so heartbreaking to see these poor folks, some strung out -and out of their minds- most needing a bed for the night when I drive by.
When we left for our month away in Vancouver we left snow and our homeless downtown had started to build elaborate encampments , some with actual heater vents out the top of the tents.
How can you pull these down when it is minus forty?
The garbage is everywhere and some of the things I might think are garbage are probably precious commodity to our homeless people.
But we can’t think of the people as garbage. They too had/have parents, maybe siblings, friends, and even good jobs at one point in their lives. What brought them to this point? Abuse? Loss of work? Mental Illness? Possibly all three?
Can you imagine trying to survive even one night in a flimsy tent in our winter and on the hard ground?
Even within the mission we hear stories about personal property being stolen and the folks perhaps choosing to sleep outside rather than risk that or disease.
And this year quite a few of the ‘homes’ burnt down due to careless use of fire, heaters, and smoking.
During our years at the Marian Centre we’ve been aware of homeless folks who have died overnight from exposure. And our friend, Mark, almost lost his life due to an altercation with a fellow not in his right mind.
What can we do to alleviate the problem of living on the streets?
Let’s give what we can …be it an ear for a person who wants to talk, some food, water, or toiletry items badly needed, and of course money.
How about we start today with prayer?
