I just had a colleague of mine in my office, and we were both chatting about a shared passion for trail riding. Yup - hopping onto a pretty darn cool 2-wheel, human powered trail/mountain bike and tearing the terrain up!
He mentioned that one of Toronto's neatest spots would be the Don River trails - an urban oasis for hikers and mountain bikers. What he also mentioned is that, if you go at certain times of the day - dusk, really - you will see that the Don River trails also host some of Toronto's homeless.
These people live under the bridges, on the trails, by the river. Some take their daily baths in the river, some start fires and cook what they found (or fished) during the day. And, though to us, it sounds like a summertime camping perfect picture, it is not for these people... it is their life.
It reminded me that, the summer is an easy time for us to help out... We may feel - perhaps - more guilty or more touched by the plight of the homeless in the winter. Of course, the cold - the biting Canadian cold - will do that to your psyche. But, in the summer - we have a bigger window for opportunity.
When I was lifeguarding (years ago), one of the important things to remember about triage was that you should help those people who had injuries which were quick to resolve so that you could make the biggest impact in the shortest amount of time.
So, in the summer... since you're likely to be out on these trails (or any trails) anyways, why not pack an extra sandwich, or loaf of bread? I still firmly believe that the solution to homelessness and poverty overall is to provide education and hope - but, it's hard to learn on an empty stomach, and harder to have the will to learn when you're daily fight is to get food.
So, if you're on the Don River trails this summer... can you make a difference?
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