The Rejected Among Us

I was inspired to start this blog to write about one subject in particular, the poor people in our society.  Today I was watching some videos on Youtube about homelessness in Toronto and I was shocked at the content of the comments left at the bottom of the page.  People were saying it is the homeless peoples' problem that they are on the street and suffering; that they would spit into their cups that should be filled the money of the rich.  This is despicable for several reasons.  If you want to be completely insulting and unmerciful to the poor people in our society who actually go through rough times in their lives then you should keep those feelings to yourself and not discourage those people who are actually being a helpful member of society.  Another reason, you should not have those feelings at all since it does not really matter why people are on the street-only that they are on the street.  We cannot possibly know all of the individual stories of these people and so cannot come to the conclusion that all of them are lazy bums who just want to live off of our freewill.  No, these people are suffering through troubled times, mental conditions and broken hearts.  Our hearts should be broken for those who have nothing while we have everything.  What is five dollars less going to do anyway?  Any homeless person would benefit from five dollars and we will not suffer from the lose of a little blue piece of paper.  I wish people would have a heart. 

I worked at a Drop-In centre in Brampton this summer.  It was a really great experience.  We served homeless people donuts and coffee, sat with them and talked with them.  We saw many people come off the streets with mental disabilities.  Many of them were wearing layers upon layers of clothing and were dehydrated.  For the most part every individual I met was drained, depressed, uncertain of what to do and without hope in society or anything else.  They are a rejected people and it breaks my heart.  

The drop-in centre was located in a plaza which had an outer level facing the road and an inner level which reminded me of an indoor mall.  The drop-in centre was on the far side of the inner- isle of shops so it was a really great area for homeless people to get away from the blinding sun and occasionally sleep at night.  Within days of arriving in the city I overheard the complaints of our neightbours in the plaza.  They were upset that homeless people hung out in that area during the day so much and slept there at night.  Apparently their presence was detering customers from coming to their shops.  Their complaint is understandable- yes those shopkeepers need customers but the people should not be avoiding the shops on account of the homeless people.  That is disgusting!  Why are you avoiding the homeless people? Why are you afraid of them?  What do you think will happen if you get out of your rich people comfort zone and treat them like a human being?  When you see people sleeping on the streets you should not be afraid, you should be wondering why they have to sleep there and what you can do about it.