Homelessness is a state nobody ever wants to be in yet some people end up being homeless and a number of them remain that for years. In December 2020, the Associated Press suggested that writers replace the words “the homeless” with “people without housing” or “people without homes” because the first two words dehumanize the person who’s at the end of his rope. In other words, refrain from using the two words to refer to the person.  Instead, describe the state he is in. This denotes a temporary situation and indicates hope that it will improve.  I wholeheartedly agree.

When you look into the eyes of a homeless person, they don’t show any expression. It’s like looking at a statue, the difference being you’re looking at someone breathing the same air that you do but who is at the bottom of the pit, so to speak, and is settling for whatever is there, be it cardboard to sleep on for the night, a vent from the underground which provides some warmth, or just a corner wherein he can sit and lean on while looking at a far distance. It’s a sad sight. Heartbreaking.

There are so many factors that lead a person to be homeless. Some lost their houses and families because of an earlier misjudgment in life. Others are ex-convicts who can’t go back home either by choice or the people they used to live with do not want to have anything to do with them. Others might have come from out of town and wanted to try their luck in the city yet were unlucky and think there’s nothing waiting for them where they came from. Lately, mental issues and addiction have been the causes of chronic users of shelters.

In Toronto, the homeless people camp out in parks, sidewalks, islands of the main arteries of the city. If you notice, all of these places are public places, owned by the municipal government. They’re careful not to pitch their tents in private properties where they’ll surely be asked to move. Shelters have facilities to house these people overnight. Some churches even have out of the cold programs which provide dinner, breakfast and a bed for the night but some hesitate on spending the night amongst strangers, probably because of some unpleasant experience they’ve had in the past, like being mugged or robbed by other homeless people.  Not every homeless person thinks right. There are those with mental issues who definitely do not belong in a shelter/church facility but then again, if you’re running the out of the cold program or a shelter, you can be blindsided when accepting people who will spend the night in the facility. Some eleven years ago, the man managing a men’s shelter in the downtown core of Toronto was stabbed to death by a homeless person.

The issue of homelessness is universal. First world countries like Canada have this same issue with developing and poor countries, the only difference being that Canada provides a social net or fall back on while developing and poor countries do not. Toronto sidewalks are not for sleeping yet homeless people prefer to rest their eyes there. Walking during the day and encountering sleeping people on the sidewalks is uncomfortable for any city dweller yet there it is. They’re not to be mistaken for panhandlers though some of these homeless people panhandle. A few years ago, a reporter wrote an article about why people ask for alms. Surprisingly, the replies had nothing to do with them being in a homeless state. Definitely, some had homes to go to at night. Some were panhandling to buy breakfast at McDonald’s, others to support a habit, and others to buy food for their pets. This begs the question, do I want to give to panhandlers?

When Mel Lastman was elected mayor of Toronto, squeegees practically disappeared from the downtown core. They had become a major issue and a nuisance to motorists. I felt sorry for them because they were people without any dwelling and they just wanted money in exchange for polishing the windows of the cars while waiting for the light to turn green at major intersections. They risked being sideswiped by cars and there was a serious concern for their safety.  Homeless people don’t want freebies except they’re already at the end of their road and have nowhere to go. They need understanding and sympathy.

Last month, Toronto city staff proposed the erection of more than 1,200 new units to house chronic users of shelters, many of whom with mental and addiction issues, but they need the provincial government to help in this undertaking. These 1,200 units will integrate health services and employment help to homeless people which the present shelters are unable to provide. In the meantime, a carpenter has offered his services to build a small box for the homeless people but this was shot down by the city government. If you walk along the Sherbourne side of Allan Gardens you will see some four boxes made of wood and built by a said carpenter, sitting side by side on the grass of the park and occupied by people without houses. With the city on its third wave, it may take a while before the issue of homelessness gets top priority. One positive note worth mentioning about homeless people is that there is a campaign to vaccinate them and this is being implemented as of this writing.