Homeless Push: 12 for 12K - Make an impact in your community

We are now 2 days into the 12 for 12K Homeless Push. The premise: take the 12 days before Christmas, and do a little “sumthin’ sumthin’” to help the homeless in your community. This shouldn’t be too difficult – it’s the month (and weeks) of the year where everyone is facilitating your ability to participate. So, I encourage you to do so…

1/ Register with the 12 for 12K community and share what you, your friends, your family, your colleagues are doing.

2/ Think beyond a monetary donation. Money is great – it helps a lot of the organizations run, but people who are homeless could use things made easy. Take a look at some of the suggestions put forward at 12 for 12K blog. (My personal favourite: the bake-off! Who would not like some home-baked cookies? You could even cheat and get some Pillsbury Holiday Cookies - mmm.)

3/ Go beyond what you would have usually done… Let’s face it, it’s the Holiday season. Every year, at the very least, you dig out one can of soup from your pantry and donate it to some food drive, somewhere. So, this year – can you do a little bit more?

Why? Let’s start by stating that the economy of the past couple of years has put an incredible strain on all our services for the homeless and the “less fortunate”. Canada’s unemployment rate is 8.5%, and although the economy appears to be turning around, the reality is that most of the indicators are still below 2008 levels. This is not good – and this also means that the “homeless population” in Canada has new residents…

What does this mean for my ‘hood? Let me try to provide some insight from a GTA (Greater Toronto Area) perspective:

• First, scroll to the bottom of this article and you will see that food banks and all major communities in Ontario have seen significant increases in use!
• Each year, an estimated 50 young women with no permanent home give birth at St. Michael’s Hospital in downtown Toronto. (National Post, November 09)
• From a CBC News Report (granted from 2004 – though I’m not sure things have gotten better):

Estimates of the number of homeless in Toronto range from 60,000 to 70,000. But advocates for the homeless say those numbers are low because they are based on shelter use and don't take into account those who live in parks or encampments, such as Tent City.

A planned census of Toronto's homeless was put on hold after advocates said street people were afraid the count would reveal their hiding places and make them vulnerable to eviction.

Now, I‘m a firm believer in the ripple effect… make changes immediately around you, and those changes will ripple out – like throwing a stone in the water. I also believe that if we can make a positive impact on youth today, we can make a difference for tomorrow. In light of this and what we are trying to do with 12 for 12K this December, you may want to get to know these shelters:

• Covenant House
• Eva’s Initiatives

On that note – check out 12 for 12K, and let them know Chief Lemonhead sent you…

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!