A very weird, mundane, pointless little thing to share.
I’d gotten off the bus and I was walking towards the reference library when I spotted a woman in a heavy overcoat and toque handing out the Outreach newspapers–small two or three page newspapers, costing a dollar, the profits help the homeless. I only had 75 cents on me, so I shook my head when she offered me one.
She patted me on the shoulder. “It’s okay, dear… you’re still young, you save up your money for college.” She chatted with me for a little bit, with a big friendly smile, before turning to the other people on the corner with her papers. Everyone shook their head, looking away or shrugging.
I stopped after that for a moment and looked around. Bloor St. is one of the richest, glittering-est, schmaltziest places in Toronto. Jewelry shops sparkle alongside glitzy, glamorous clothes stores like Harry Rosen and Chanel and Zara. The people who all walk along this road are well-dressed, carrying big purses and wearing loads of makeup. And in the midst of it all, you have people seated on the street in rags, carrying their cardboard signs and holding out their hats or coffee cups. All this wealth and splendour and such poverty. And nobody–not me–can look it straight in the eye. I had to avert my head as I was walking by.
I don’t know what to do. It disturbs me and I can’t think of how to respond.
Not having walked on Bloor for a long time, I don’t recall it very well. But the phenomenon you decribed, well, it’s common everywhere. The majority of the people who are seen and want to be seen on Bloor St. are there for themselves. Everyone else outside of their circle is noise to be ignored. This is a gross generalization, but true to an extent.
The problem of homelessness and malignant poverty is a very complex one with many interdependant causes. It is rare for an individual to make much of a difference, unless they are truly dedicated and have the charisma to marshall the manpower and money needed to truly make a difference. Europe and Canada have better social welfare networks than the US does for several reasons, among them an understanding of Socialism. In the US, we have government programs, but they are a small fraction of the federal budget, leaving the slack to be taken up by the private sector. It works in some cases, but utterly fails in others.
So what to do? As an individual, probably not much. Many of the homeless have specialized needs that require a team to address. There are many organizations that help out, The Salvation Army being just one. Charity has to start in the heart, but I have come to believe that often the best way to practice it is with an organization that knows what to provide and how to do it.
I used to shy away from the homeless as well, and steer clear of those who act as through they may be a danger to me or themselves. I am not qualified to help them on the street corner. But I have learned to look in their face and eyes, and look for the divine presence that I believe exists is everyone. When I speak to them, I speak to that presence. If they need help, I will get them to someone who can help them, if I can’t.
Once, when Hamish had fled his abusive parents, he had to beg for change in Vancouver so that he could eat. He tells me that the hardest thing is not even the fact that people don’t give you money, it’s when they ignore you. Even a smile and “sorry, I don’t have any right now” was enough to go on for a little while because it made you briefly feel human again.
Without getting into the bigger issues the OP raises, it makes sense you’re going to see people begging in the most affluent shopping districts. Begging for money is a business and it makes sense to work where you’re most likely to see lots of people with the most amount of money.