Do Any of Us Really Have the Right....

Hi again. Like I said, I may have a few things to get off my chest... sooooo, hopefully y'all are hanging around for the babbling of my somewhat lucid mind today!!!

I know I have written quite a bit about the homeless and the encampments... people who have constantly bitched about them, even expressing that the homeless are almost sub-humans, and the world is better off without them.

BLOWS MY MIND!!! WHAT HAPPENED TO HUMANITY?!!

Maybe I view things a little different because of my own personal experiences; maybe it's the empath in me. I don't know why this is something I am sooooo passionate about, it just hits me different. I guess another thing that boggles my mind, is the commercials at this time of year. 

There is one that's about Covenant House, a youth shelter they have here in downtown Toronto, the commercial is basically about an infant left in a bus shelter, saying how that would effect people, so how wouldn't a young teenager not; asking people to donate to Covenant House. I can get with that; BUT first off, it is not only homeless teens who need help. It is not only abused children who need help. There are women and men, families who are in desperate need to help and NOT just during Christmas season!!

As most of you know, I do not watch the news because it truly triggers something in me, it hits like a MACK truck. I can't deal with all the pain and anguish on people's faces around the world. 

There is so much tragedy everywhere... wars, famine, natural disasters, diseases, incurable illnesses, happening, yet those who sit in a warm home with all the amenities they need (and then some), complain how the homeless are making their city look bad...

WTF???

I am by no means sitting on mounds of money. (I didn't really feel this until I went to my parents' place a few days ago). I was very humble and grateful. People don't realize how good they have it, simply by living in a first world country. I struggle with finances. I am grateful to have a roof over my head. I am grateful I can pay my bills, and have food every day. I am blessed to have an amazing community around me that we all help each other.

I guess what I am trying to say is this... ALL of us are one paycheque away from being in the woods, or on some city side park, out in the elements with, (if you're lucky) a tent to protect you. I don't know where you all live, but here in Canada, the elements can be very harsh. Winters can get bitterly cold, and summers can get unbearably hot. 

The homeless do not only have to worry about the elements, they have to worry about where their next meal is coming from, or IF there even is one coming. They need to protect themselves and anything they possess, worry about being attacked and as we have seen, worry about fires, as people are using any means to keep warm, including propane.

 (Yes, I acknowledge some could, and have been using it for more unsavory things), causing explosions in the encampments.

Yes, I understand the encampments are unsightly, but what is the alternative??? The government has made things impossible for people to make ends meet. They have shut down access for most places that help with mental health, there are very limited spaces in shelters (nevermind the invasive process it takes to even stay in a bed for one night)... and even for those who seek help in getting clean; there are even less options.

I wish people of privilege (I mean anyone who has all their bills paid, a roof over their head, a car to drive, food in their belly and those who don't worry about losing everything, anytime soon), would see that many people do not choose to be homeless, anymore than someone chooses to deal with an illness or terminal sickness. 

They need to wake up and see that the homeless are people too!!! They are not rabid animals, where the cure is to "put them down". If that is your solution, than you are no better than the government that has been destroying our beautiful Canada these past 8 years!!!

I know I am just being repetetive at this point, but when are people going to understand it... when are people going to grasp the magnitude and dire straits we are truly in... all of us ~ as a HUMAN RACE!!!

WAKE UP. PLEASE. I BEG YOU

~Phoenix