Re: 鈥淩egion needs plan to deal with tent city,鈥� editorial, Sept. 21.
Poverty is not 鈥渘ormal.鈥� Normal people don鈥檛 fall so far. Normal people have homes, families, supports and options.
We fear homelessness because we know that it could be us. A bad decision, adversity, another setback, more bad luck and, suddenly, all the choices are hard choices. Compound that with untreated mental illness, addiction or abuse, and survival narrows to shelter, food and safety.
What if you can meet only one of those three necessities every day? Who do you turn to when you slip through the cracks and no one is there to help?
Our fortune is a fragile illusion, and homelessness reminds us of that fact. To make it go away, we pile on the refusal to see it, condemning and judging, demanding that it be someone else鈥檚 problem 鈥� be that police or social services or just a bus ticket away from here.
If misfortune isn鈥檛 staring us in the face, we can get back to normal.
But instead of fearing it, hating what it means, hating those who are victim to it, why not take all that anger and call your MLA or call your MP, and ask why isn鈥檛 more being done to help, more being done to house? This is sa国际传媒 鈥� a civilized society 鈥� so surely we can do more for the vulnerable. I don鈥檛 have to like homelessness, but it would be nice to know that if I fall, somebody will catch me.
Edward White
Victoria
