Homeless nation

Having lived in the confines of the country, and a somewhat gated community, for the past year, I've missed out on the misery that is the ever-worsening homelessness situation in Montreal. 

As winter quickly approaches and being homeless takes on life or death proportions, I can't help but feel that I (and everyone else for that matter) should be doing a lot more to help those that this city seems to have forgotten.

Or chooses to ignore.

Last week, as I made my way from the metro to the office (I'm talking about a very short, maybe three-minute walk max) I counted over five homeless men sleeping on the ground. In the cold. With nary a blanket in sight.

I'm not ashamed to say it made me cry.

But crying won't help anyone.

With municipal elections about to head to the polls (November 3), I thought I'd go online and see what our city's politicians are doing saying about the sitch.

I was surprised glad to see that each candidate had, at the very least, taken the time to formulate a policy re: poverty. I was surprised shocked to see that l'Equipe Denis Coderre had not even announced a position re: the environment.

But I digress.

The Coalition Montreal Marcel Cote seems to have given the issue the most thought. According to the (handy-dandy) diagram created by the Montreal Gazette, his team plans to "build 15,000 social and community housing units over five years with assistance from (the) Quebec government, including a proportion adapted for the disabled or infirm. Develop a bank to make cooperative housing ventures more affordable as needed. Hire inspectors and create (a) database to track landlords and properties which aren't being maintained. Support organizations (that are) fighting poverty."

McGill's Centre for Research on Children and Families recently (2012) reviewed literature on homelessness in Canada. According to their findings, Montreal's homeless population was anywhere between 10,000 and 28,000 people in the early 2000s, with males making up a disproportionate percentage of the visible homeless population (and accounting for 91% of shelter users).

Those who know me well know why this issue is so important to me - and why it touches so very close to home. 

A home that I, unlike so many others, am lucky enough to call my own.

if you'd like to help Montreal's growing homeless nation there are any number of ways you can. From simply 1) respecting them as human beings (a simple smile and/or hello works wonders) and 2) education yourself about the homeless to 3) passing on gently-used clothing, bringing food and/or donating money to 4) volunteering... there is definitely something YOU can do to improve at least ONE PERSON'S lot in life.

For a list of resources (mostly shelters), click here and contact the one that speaks to you to find out what else you can do.

Thank you!