Homelessness is a prominent issue, even in very developed countries such as our own. In 2013, there were at least 30 000 homeless people in Canada on any given night. You may think : “Well, it’s their problem. What could I do to help them?” Of course, you could donate food, clothing, and volunteer at homeless shelters, but I think that before all of that, we need to change our perspective on homelessness.
On Sunday Sept 13, I was volunteering with Youth Central at the Parkinson’s SuperWalk, an annual event held to raise money and awareness for Parkinson’s disease. We were doing course marshalling, and I was placed at a tunnel with my friend. We were shining flashlights through the tunnel (ensuring people’s safety) and guiding people to where they needed to go. We were also spreading positivity, cheering people on, and we were having lots of fun.
At first, everyone was very polite and appreciative, thanking us for volunteering, cheering with us, and it was just a really positive environment.
After a couple hours, when the walk started to come to it’s end, my friend and I decided to sit down. We were still shining our flashlights, encouraging people, telling them where to go, and doing everything we were doing before. But I instantly noticed how people started treating us differently. People were quickly walking past, ignoring us, no-one acknowledged that we were volunteers, no-one spoke to us, and we got these funny looks.
I was pretty confused at first. Why were they suddenly treating us so much differently? But then it hit me. I turned to my friend and said: “They think we’re homeless.”
Naturally, we were both a little shocked at first, but I honestly wouldn’t blame them if they did think we were homeless. We were wearing baggy volunteer shirts, slouched against the inside of a tunnel while it rained outside, and we had our slightly dirty backpacks on the ground beside us.
A lot of people walked by, trying really hard to ignore us. We got some of the most disgusted looks that I’ve ever seen, which was hilarious, but also slightly hurtful. Some parents even shielded their kids from us.
It wasn’t the fact that they thought we were homeless, or the disgusted looks that really hurt me. What really hurt me, is that no-one stopped to help, or ask us if we needed help.
This kind of stuck with me throughout the day. My friend and I are both young, and we both appear to be young. Yet out of so many people that walked by, not one stopped to offer us help, or ask us if we were okay.
I was quite upset about that, but later, as I sat in my room, completing my homework, I realized something.
I was disappointed that no-one helped us, but I asked myself: how many times have I stopped to ask someone if they needed anything, or to offer them a hand. Furthermore, how many times have you ignored a man sitting on the streets asking for change. How many times have you purposely changed directions to avoid a group of homeless people? How many times have you been shielded from your parents from a homeless person?
A lot of people think that it’s the homeless person’s fault. That it’s because they took drugs, or drank some alcohol, got addicted, and now they’re out on the streets. But we all make mistakes, and the only difference between us and them is that they happened to make more serious mistakes.
You don’t have to go up to someone who’s homeless and buy them an apartment. All it takes for you, is to stop, give some change, and smile. Maybe split them a part of your sandwich. That may seem like a tiny gesture to you, but to them, it’s that push they need to get back up on their feet and go for that second chance.
Think about it.