I wrote this a few days ago because I needed a brain dump and I wasn’t going to post it anywhere but I realized I needed to “put it out there” even if no one reads it or they think it’s ridiculous or whatever.

I spend an awful lot of time, too much, thinking about or trying to help the 'have nots'. I don't judge why someone is on the street but it makes me upset to see them there and I can’t shake it by walking away and pretending they’re not there. I feel bad knowing there are people without a warm, safe place to go to at night. I worry about people who don't have enough to eat. I feel sad for children who don't always have heat or food let alone the simple joys that make childhood fun. Most of all I can’t stand seeing people walk by them as if they’re invisible or hear them trash talk those who are homeless or struggling as if that makes them less of a person.

I'm a bleeding heart or whatever label you'd like to put on it, but whatever you call it I can't stand that in this country of riches we treat so many people like garbage, we make fun of them, we put them down, we pretend they’re not there, we close mental hospitals so they have nowhere to go, we let them what days in hospital hallways and sometimes let them die there as if they are animals. 

For over a year I lived in Yorkville, on the boarder of Rosedale. It’s safe to say that aside/along with the Bridle Path that’s the most affluent area of the city. Among the regular homeless persons on the street in the swank neighbourhood was a disabled man, middle aged, with an amputated leg. I'm not sure if he had mental problems or why he was on the street, maybe he was injured in a war? His usual spot was propped up on his crutches outside Shoppers, a block away from Yonge & Bloor, the most expensive corner in the country.

 Sometimes he was angry, who can blame him, it's hard when people pretend you're invisible, worthless, a nuisance. Sometimes he didn't make a sound. He would always thank you if you dropped some change into his palm or ratty cup.

 He spent his days and nights on the street. I don't know if he was unsavoury, maybe he drank, maybe he didn't – I'm not saying he was an angel but he was a person, you know. I don't know what his story is or why his leg was amputated. I don't even know his name. I saw him very often for 2 years, sometimes I gave him a dollar and every time my mom saw him she gave him money. You have to understand the anyone who is disable hits home even more after my mom was disabled in a car accident because now I live with that everyday and I also see how people treat someone who isn’t 100% able bodies first hand and frankly it’s deplorable.

I don't know how he got to the corner of Yonge and Charles but I know that he had nowhere to go, not much to eat and not many possessions. I also know that in March of last year we had a terrible storm, one of the worst we had in one of our coldest and longest winters. I know that this man huddled in a stairwell that led down into the valley and that he froze to death. I know that I cried when I heard the news and that I've thought of him often over the past 9 months and every time I walk by the empty corner. To me he's the face of the millions of people, including the 1.2 million children, who live in poverty in this country. (FYI - that's about 1 in every 6 kids in this “rich” country).

I’m not being overdramatic when I say my heart broke when I heard that he froze to death a block from where I live, someone I “knew”, something that should have never happened.

It's a busy time of year with Christmas coming up next week but, if you have a minute, light a candle and give thanks for all that you do have and say a quick prayer for those who are in need.

If you want to do a little more think about adding one more gift to your list for someone you don't know. Maybe it's a toy, food, or something for another cause that's near and dear to your heart, I know many of you do something already. If you don't know where to bring donations you can go here and donate to a cause you feel is worthwhile from the comfort of your home, daily bread is a great one. Charities are really hurting this year… Last year Tina Z and I got a group from Marketing to go to the Salvation Army around Christmas to help sort and hand out food/toys. This year our VP turned our idea into a marketing event, all 40 of us were going to go and help sort toys and food and then we got a call that they didn't have enough for us to do so we couldn't even donate our time. Even more people don’t have enough this year, if we could all contribute 1 item or 1 hour of our time, think of what a difference we could make.

I hope each and every one of you has a blessed and happy holiday, all the best for the new year!