Christmas is coming and I’m thinking about anyone who doesn’t have safe shelter.
But it doesn’t take Christmas for me to think about our homeless.
Recently, Chris Walker, of CBC’s Daybreak, drew our attention to the plight of a group of homeless people in Kelowna. They were shuffled from one place downtown to another place near Knox Mountain.
Nobody was consulted, so there was some NIMBYism (Not In My Backyard) happening as a result.
Not surprising, as we know that mental health issues when combined with addiction and poverty can sometimes make people behave in ways they wouldn’t normally behave. And it tends to create fear in others.
Last year, as part of a writing project I spoke to a young woman who lived in a tent with her boyfriend all winter.
They lived just outside of town on someone’s private land, so they knew they wouldn’t be asked to leave until the spring.
They had semi-security for a few months. They stayed warm with tent heaters and blankets. (Although warm might be a relative term when you live in a tent in the winter.)
They had a 30 to 40 minute walk into town to access food and showers at the mission.
She shared with me that sometimes she had to steal in order to survive. I could see the shame and guilt in her eyes and I believed her when she talked to me about how horrible she felt having to resort to that.
It is not a dignified way to live. It would be easy to start to despise yourself and join the others who sit in that place of judgment as well.
She said she understood why people would dislike her.
Can you imagine having to do this? I can’t. It would be a soul-destroying existence.
That is existing — not living. How could you enjoy life if you knew that for every single solitary second of the day you had to beg and claw your way along to find the things you needed to survive?
Now think about that for a moment. Do you believe someone would choose to live this way? Of course they wouldn’t.
These people get caught in the spiral of addiction (or job loss, or health challenges) due to many factors, and that journey inevitably leads to loss of everything, including your self-worth.
So as you go about your Christmas preparations, please stop and think of those who do not have the luxury of “preparing” for Christmas because every day to them is an exercise in survival.
There are different levels of poverty and they all impact a lot of people.
I believe that poverty creates a special type of hell. Never quite having enough money, feeling “less-than,” being non-stop worried, feeling like that proverbial wolf is always at your door.
Keep that in mind as you make your way around this Christmas. If you can, donate to the food bank, or the Upper Room Mission.
If Christmas is your thing, remember the reason for the season.
It’s about love and kindness and caring. It’s not about judgment.
Think about what you might be able to do to help someone.
Let’s use the power of our boomer demographic to see if we can make a difference in another person’s life.
I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanukkah!
Carole Fawcett is a freelance writer, photographer and humourist.
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