Winters in Toronto can be brutal. This season, we’ve experienced temperatures feeling as low as -16°C with piles of snow on top of it, but we’re fortunate. I will always complain about the cold when I’m outside, especially at night when the sun is down, but I rarely think of those who aren’t able to warm up as they get home. I have periods where I’ll be walking and freezing, but then I can look forward to sitting on the bus or subway where it is warmer, I don’t think of those who don’t get to experience warmth in their sight.

This year, The Toronto Homeless Memorial at the Church of Holy Trinity announced its thousandth life lost on our city streets. One thousand lives that held potential, that had parents, or maybe children and lovers, one thousand lives that I’ve sadly never thought about.

These are the lives of the people we ignore on the streets, the ones we see as inhuman as we make an effort to distance ourselves from them. These are the lives that we could have taken care of, where the city could have provided more services in their need, basic necessities such as shelters, food banks and physical and mental health care. But again, we distance ourselves from these people, we try our best not to see ourselves in them, but they are human just as us.

Forty-three year old Paul did an interview with CBC’s Nick Purdon explaining his experience as a homeless man. Paul had been living on the streets for six years as of October 2019, he lost his job due to a back injury, something that could happen to anyone.

http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1658800707660/

This is a video of Paul explaining how the way he has been treated as a homeless man has significantly impacted his mental health and how he sees himself in a negative way.

Canada is known for its high quality of living, but how are we to ignore our citizens who are struggling behind the curtain? Turning a blind eye to the homeless in our city feeds the stigma that those without homes are “aliens” as described by Paul. Leaving those who are struggling to obtain their basic necessities with a stigma that dehumanizes them worsens their mental health.

The city of Toronto has a homelessness crisis, and factors that contribute to the negative being of the humans that inhabit our streets needs to be addressed. A humanizing conversation needs to happen, but not just that; the city has to work hard to make those who feel alienated believe they are a welcomed part of our society as they should be. The stigma needs to be reduced, to make humans feel human.

Sources Used

Frankish, C. J., Hwang, S. W., & Quantz, D. (2005). Homelessness and health in Canada: research lessons and priorities. Canadian journal of public health, 96(2), S23-S29.

Meet some of the homeless in Canada’s largest city – who they are may surprise you | CBC News. (2019, December 26). Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/homeless-in-toronto-1.5400781

Smart, R. G., & Walsh, G. W. (1993). Predictors of depression in street youth. Adolescence, 28(109), 41.