We had been warned by the Canadian Weather bureau that the New Year would bring Arctic air down to us in the south, well many cities in Western Canada have seen lows of -40 C and from Central Canada to the Maritimes its -30 C on average. Ottawa at -38 C today with the wind chill factor included which means that your skin should not be expose to the elements for more than 10 minutes if you want to avoid frost bites which are quite painful and can be dangerous to your health.
Last week the Director of the Soup Populaire (soup Kitchen) in Gatineau across the river from Ottawa was saying that it was known that 11 people in his area are homeless and refuse to come in, social workers and soup kitchen people have tried to entice them and speak with them, trying to convince them to come in. They may accept to come in maybe for a hot meal but will continue to sleep on the street at night. I cannot imagine how anyone can do that without risking death from hypothermia. Last winter in Ottawa 25 homeless people died from the cold. It is not that we lack space for people to sleep in warm and clean places or receive medical attention or get a hot meal. No, there is plenty of space for everyone and it is free, the problem as a friend of mine who works in social services explained, many are suffering from mental illness and are unwilling to stay indoors for what ever reason. They are adults and have rights, so we cannot stop or compel them if they refuse help. Sad but this is a reality in the big city.
Some are deranged to the point of walking aimlessly, screaming at imaginary people, cursing an invisible presence, in the summer it is annoying since they often do this in the middle of a busy intersection as people and cars try to go around them. In winter on a very cold day its scary because you know that they will harm themselves by not dressing warmly and suffer from exposure to the cold. What can be done for them is limited again because if they refuse help that is pretty much the end of it. In Ottawa the Police will no longer intervene, after being accused by several self-proclaimed rights groups of harassing the poor. It is up to the under-staffed and financially limited shelters to take care of such people if they can. But they do not have the specialize medical staff, mental illness is often seen as a marginal disease, unlike heart or other medical conditions which have a higher social profile.
All this to say that on a cold day like today I think of such people and what they are facing in our Canadian Cities.
Last week the Director of the Soup Populaire (soup Kitchen) in Gatineau across the river from Ottawa was saying that it was known that 11 people in his area are homeless and refuse to come in, social workers and soup kitchen people have tried to entice them and speak with them, trying to convince them to come in. They may accept to come in maybe for a hot meal but will continue to sleep on the street at night. I cannot imagine how anyone can do that without risking death from hypothermia. Last winter in Ottawa 25 homeless people died from the cold. It is not that we lack space for people to sleep in warm and clean places or receive medical attention or get a hot meal. No, there is plenty of space for everyone and it is free, the problem as a friend of mine who works in social services explained, many are suffering from mental illness and are unwilling to stay indoors for what ever reason. They are adults and have rights, so we cannot stop or compel them if they refuse help. Sad but this is a reality in the big city.
Some are deranged to the point of walking aimlessly, screaming at imaginary people, cursing an invisible presence, in the summer it is annoying since they often do this in the middle of a busy intersection as people and cars try to go around them. In winter on a very cold day its scary because you know that they will harm themselves by not dressing warmly and suffer from exposure to the cold. What can be done for them is limited again because if they refuse help that is pretty much the end of it. In Ottawa the Police will no longer intervene, after being accused by several self-proclaimed rights groups of harassing the poor. It is up to the under-staffed and financially limited shelters to take care of such people if they can. But they do not have the specialize medical staff, mental illness is often seen as a marginal disease, unlike heart or other medical conditions which have a higher social profile.
All this to say that on a cold day like today I think of such people and what they are facing in our Canadian Cities.
