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Do you want to do something about the homeless people you see?

Do you get tired of being asked for money every time you pass a homeless person? Do you get tired of being asked for change on your way to dinner at your favourite restaurant? Or on your way home?

I ask these questions because homeless people are people. They shouldn�t be ignored. We don�t know how they got on the streets nor can we generalize or become desensitized to them. Many of them do not want to remain there. They want the same things you do -- the things you already have: a home, three square meals a day, a job, a bed to sleep on, a chance to eat at a restaurant now and then. Even the simple things we take for granted like getting a haircut or a hot shower.

I am a volunteer for a group named Humanize Toronto (www.humanizetoronto.org). We�re organizing a �Sleep-out in Solidarity� at City Hall on November 19, 2005 from 9 pm to 9 am.

Now before you start to protest or think it�s far too cold to stay outside from 9 pm to 9 am on a November night, think about where you�ve slept the other 364 days. In a warm bed, I�m sure. Okay, maybe some of you roughed it and went camping for a few days earlier this year. However, you chose to do this.

Most homeless people do not choose to be there. They don�t choose to run away from abusive parents. They don�t choose to be kicked out of psychiatric wards and hospitals shut down by the Tories and Liberals. They don�t choose to squeeze the last of their RRSPs to pay this month�s rent because they lost their job and can�t find another.

My point is there are so many factors that lead to the number of people we see on the streets.

Well, I�m not asking for your money. Just your time. I�m asking for you to sleep somewhere else for one night out of 364 on Saturday November 19, 2005. We�ve stayed out partying, raving, having sex, etc., so it�s not like we can�t do this�together.

I�m inviting you to come out for one night, to bring a sleeping bag, a toque, mittens, some snacks, an instrument if you want (or cards and friends) and some resilience. We�re providing hot coffee, a bite to eat, music and chance to do something about a problem we see everyday but feel powerless (or maybe apathetic) about changing. You might be too busy to do it � but even if you come for a few hours it�ll help.

We�re doing this to get (and hold) the mayor�s attention. We just want the mayor and city council to cement a plan with an actual timeline (because they have made empty promises and created "plans" that haven't come to fruition). The only way to get an actual (accountable) plan in place is to get a significant number of people to show some solidarity by sleeping out on Saturday November 19 at 9 pm at City Hall because I do believe there�s a grain of truth to the adage, Strength in numbers.

(For more information, please visit www.humanizetoronto.org.)

I thought we had a natural defence against the homeless...



Winter.

quote:

Originally posted by VERTiG0 I thought we had a natural defence against the homeless... Winter.

HAHAH!

We are going straight to hell!

quote:

Originally posted by cyper HAHAH! We are going straight to hell!

I've got a luxury box reserved, my friend.

quote:

Originally posted by VERTiG0 I've got a luxury box reserved, my friend.

HEY! I totally forgot about that. You said I was invited!!

quote:

Originally posted by VERTiG0 I thought we had a natural defence against the homeless... Winter.

Ah yes, George Carlin strikes again

Re: Do you want to do something about the homeless people you see?

quote:

Originally posted by arek Do you get tired of being asked for money every time you pass a homeless person? Do you get tired of being asked for change on your way to dinner at your favourite restaurant? Or on your way home? I ask these questions because homeless people are people. They shouldn�t be ignored. We don�t know how they got on the streets nor can we generalize or become desensitized to them. Many of them do not want to remain there. They want the same things you do -- the things you already have: a home, three square meals a day, a job, a bed to sleep on, a chance to eat at a restaurant now and then. Even the simple things we take for granted like getting a haircut or a hot shower. I am a volunteer for a group named Humanize Toronto (www.humanizetoronto.org). We�re organizing a �Sleep-out in Solidarity� at City Hall on November 19, 2005 from 9 pm to 9 am. Now before you start to protest or think it�s far too cold to stay outside from 9 pm to 9 am on a November night, think about where you�ve slept the other 364 days. In a warm bed, I�m sure. Okay, maybe some of you roughed it and went camping for a few days earlier this year. However, you chose to do this. Most homeless people do not choose to be there. They don�t choose to run away from abusive parents. They don�t choose to be kicked out of psychiatric wards and hospitals shut down by the Tories and Liberals. They don�t choose to squeeze the last of their RRSPs to pay this month�s rent because they lost their job and can�t find another. My point is there are so many factors that lead to the number of people we see on the streets. Well, I�m not asking for your money. Just your time. I�m asking for you to sleep somewhere else for one night out of 364 on Saturday November 19, 2005. We�ve stayed out partying, raving, having sex, etc., so it�s not like we can�t do this�together. I�m inviting you to come out for one night, to bring a sleeping bag, a toque, mittens, some snacks, an instrument if you want (or cards and friends) and some resilience. We�re providing hot coffee, a bite to eat, music and chance to do something about a problem we see everyday but feel powerless (or maybe apathetic) about changing. You might be too busy to do it � but even if you come for a few hours it�ll help. We�re doing this to get (and hold) the mayor�s attention. We just want the mayor and city council to cement a plan with an actual timeline (because they have made empty promises and created "plans" that haven't come to fruition). The only way to get an actual (accountable) plan in place is to get a significant number of people to show some solidarity by sleeping out on Saturday November 19 at 9 pm at City Hall because I do believe there�s a grain of truth to the adage, Strength in numbers. (For more information, please visit www.humanizetoronto.org.)

let all that is falling also be pushed

I truly feel for all the homeless people...we should all do something to help them out. The next time I walk by a homeless person I will be sure to reach into their cup and take as many quarters as I can. They have more money then I do.....they have no debt.....and yet I owe over $100,000.00....sure I may have a house to sleep in.

quote:

Originally posted by ChemEnhanced I truly feel for all the homeless people...we should all do something to help them out. The next time I walk by a homeless person I will be sure to reach into their cup and take as many quarters as I can. They have more money then I do.....they have no debt.....and yet I owe over $100,000.00....sure I may have a house to sleep in.

this deserves a big giant

while i can understand not giving money to INDIVIDUAL homeless people, to blanket-compare yourselve to "them" is just ridiculous. the various reasons why people end up the street are probably things a lot of us have never had to come close to, most debilitating of them all being mental disorders.

don't try to spend a day in their shoes without trying to spead a day in their mind.

and no..u being a crackhead is NOT the same thing

quote:

Originally posted by chanoa the various reasons why people end up the street are probably things a lot of us have never had to come close to, most debilitating of them all being mental disorders.

While it is true that most homeless people end up homeless due to mental illness it is also true that many of them were being treated for their illness prior to or subsequent to becoming homeless. Most of those on the street have elected to go off their meds thus resulting in the progression of their conditions and their current circumstance. While I agree that we should offer assistance I do not feel any sympathy for those that refuse to take it. Moreover, I must ask myself, is the benefit received from helping these people equal to the resources expended? I don't know, however, the utilitarian in me says if it is then we should not only continue to help but we should increase our aide, if not then we should not only withdraw our aide but hasten their demise.

i think we should have a dedicated area in the city where all the homeless are confined and we can urinate on them.

i am impressed arek. and here i thought you were on TA just to post funny pictures and embed sounds and backgrounds into out lovely conversations.

i am one of those people that truly feels sad for the homeless because i guess i haven't been in toronto long enough to turn my feelings off.

a lot of things can be done to help them. there just isn't enough shelters around Toronto right now.

quote:

Originally posted by chinamon i think we should have a dedicated area in the city where all the homeless are confined and we can urinate on them.

Now THATS crossing the line

quote:

Originally posted by chinamon i think we should have a dedicated area in the city where all the homeless are confined and we can urinate on them.

It would be hilarious if a year from now you became homeless, and in that same year that dedicated area was created! I'm going to hold my piss until that day, and hit you with a bionic stream that will blast your eye out the back of your skull.



p.s. - i think the original post is a very creative idea.

i feel bad for the homeless.

quote:

Originally posted by Moral Hazard While it is true that most homeless people end up homeless due to mental illness it is also true that many of them were being treated for their illness prior to or subsequent to becoming homeless. Most of those on the street have elected to go off their meds thus resulting in the progression of their conditions and their current circumstance. While I agree that we should offer assistance I do not feel any sympathy for those that refuse to take it. Moreover, I must ask myself, is the benefit received from helping these people equal to the resources expended? I don't know, however, the utilitarian in me says if it is then we should not only continue to help but we should increase our aide, if not then we should not only withdraw our aide but hasten their demise.

Wether it is our homeless people or people dying of disease in third world nations it all boils down to how they will help the society they are in. If funding is given and the funding allows them to become a productive part of society then I agree that the funding is well worth it. If I see no return on my investment then why would I continue investing in it.

For example, there is a lot of money that is spent on giving medication to people in third world nations that will never get better. The medication may prolong their lives a few years or make their final days less painful but they will never be anything more then a drain on the society. Better to cut your losses right away then to continue to throw money at it.

quote:

Originally posted by Floorwhore i feel bad for the homeless.

I think you should hold off on feeling bad for them until you know why they are homeless. many are homeless due to there own actions....and refuse help when it is given to them.

quote:

Originally posted by ChemEnhanced I think you should hold off on feeling bad for them until you know why they are homeless. many are homeless due to there own actions....and refuse help when it is given to them.

I feel bad no matter how they became that way. To see someone curled up in a ball on the streets in December always makes me feel like shit, i dont care how they got there. I'm sure a lot of them are in the position they are in because of their actions, but that doesn't really change how i feel.

quote:

Originally posted by Floorwhore I feel bad no matter how they became that way. To see someone curled up in a ball on the streets in December always makes me feel like shit, i dont care how they got there. I'm sure a lot of them are in the position they are in because of their actions, but that doesn't really change how i feel.

This is the worst thing you can do! Don't pity them, pity does nothing but make their situation worse! It is because we pity them that we do just enough to help them survive but not enough to correct the problem. Pity has never helped anyone.... it only prolongs suffering.

�Pity thwarts the whole law of evolution, which is the law of natural selection. It preserves whatever is ripe for destruction; it fights on the side of those disinherited and condemned by life; by maintaining life in so many of the botched of all kinds, it gives life itself a gloomy and dubious aspect.� -- Nietzsche

�� that by means of pity life is denied, and made worthy of denial� -- Schopenhauer

quote:

Originally posted by Moral Hazard This is the worst thing you can do! Don't pity them, pity does nothing but make their situation worse! It is because we pity them that we do just enough to help them survive but not enough to correct the problem. Pity has never helped anyone.... it only prolongs suffering. �Pity thwarts the whole law of evolution, which is the law of natural selection. It preserves whatever is ripe for destruction; it fights on the side of those disinherited and condemned by life; by maintaining life in so many of the botched of all kinds, it gives life itself a gloomy and dubious aspect.� -- Nietzsche �� that by means of pity life is denied, and made worthy of denial� -- Schopenhauer

I dont think tossing a loonie to a homeless kid who wipes the shit off of my windshield really makes the situation worse.

quote:

Originally posted by Floorwhore I dont think tossing a loonie to a homeless kid who wipes the shit off of my windshield really makes the situation worse.

That's because you think too narrowly. If sufficient people give that kid a dollar that he can sustain life but nothing more then the kid survives another day. You see this as a good thing... the kid didn't die. However, the kid will never earn enough that he can improve his lot in life, never escape his situations. Subsequently, while you feel good about yourself for parting with a dollar, this kid continues to live a life of disease, mental illness, near starvation, violence, hopelessness, pain, and fear. Well, congradulations.... you have succeeded in helping to allow his mysery to continue! You're such a good person!

quote:

Originally posted by Moral Hazard That's because you think too narrowly. If sufficient people give that kid a dollar that he can sustain life but nothing more then the kid survives another day. You see this as a good thing... the kid didn't die. However, the kid will never earn enough that he can improve his lot in life, never escape his situations. Subsequently, while you feel good about yourself for parting with a dollar, this kid continues to live a life of disease, mental illness, near starvation, violence, hopelessness, pain, and fear. Well, congradulations.... you have succeeded in helping to allow his mysery to continue! You're such a good person!

Well i guess i could hold on to my loonie next time, so he's forced to do something more drastic to survive like say.... get a hold of a gun, hold it to my head at the intersection instead of a squeegy to my windshield, and rob me of my possessions!!?? Or blow my brains out. He doesn't really have anything to lose does he? I'll keep feeding the loonies to the squeegy kids. Keeps my windshield bird shit free, and the kids from snapping out and doing something violent.

quote:

Originally posted by Floorwhore Well i guess i could hold on to my loonie next time, so he's forced to do something more drastic to survive like say.... get a hold of a gun, hold it to my head at the intersection instead of a squeegy to my windshield, and rob me of my possessions!!?? Or blow my brains out. He doesn't really have anything to lose does he? I'll keep feeding the loonies to the squeegy kids. Keeps my windshield bird shit free, and the kids from snapping out and doing something violent.

or you could do something that actually helps them rather then something meaningless that simply serves to allieviate your guilt.

quote:

Originally posted by Moral Hazard or you could do something that actually helps them rather then something meaningless that simply serves to allieviate your guilt.

I think it does help. It helps them from not completely losing their minds, and makes them feel like a human being, and not a disease infested street pigeon that shits on windshields!!

quote:

Originally posted by Floorwhore I think it does help. It helps them from not completely losing their minds, and makes them feel like a human being, and not a disease infested street pigeon that shits on windshields!!

I don't mean to be personal here, however, your flawed thinking is indicitive of how most people think and is exactly what allows this horrible situation to continue. If no one felt pity for these people then they would be forced to either a) find a way to improve their situation, or b) die. Either is preferable to a life of mysery.

Your little bit of charity doesn't help them it helps you... you don't feel bad about yourself because you "helped" someone else. You haven't helped them feel human, you've allowed them to continue their life as a "disease infested street pigeon" as you so elequently described them.

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