It's Expensive to Help People

This is the coverpage of the Free Press a while back:

This whole thing bothered me quite a bit and so I wrote a letter to the editor that went like this:

Dear Editor

When do we care about the homeless? When they make us
feel uncomfortable, or guilty. When do we decide that we should do something
about the situation? When we realize they are costing us money. This is a sad
reality of our culture. We are not concerned that there are 38 people who
obviously are in a very rough situation, who really need our help…we care that
they are costing us.

By presenting the story the way it was on the cover
of the Winnipeg Free Press, you are perpetuating this societal reality. The
result of the cover is that people will be angry with the homeless people who
are burdening us taxpayers. The reality is that we as a society have failed
these people. We have not provided them with the support they need to beat their
addictions. We have not distributed our resources in a way that helps them. I
know that the article (that was tucked away in section B) briefly discussed some
of these issues…but I believe the damage was done by having a cover that loudly
declares “How 38 street people are costing us millions” and breaking down all
the things that they do that cost us money. There are many great things that are
happening and that organizations are doing, there are things that work, and we
need to support those.

Gord Steeves says, “as a society we have an
obligation to get out there and make sure (these people) are forced into care.”
I disagree, instead I would say it like this:
as a society we have an
obligation to get out there and make sure these people know we care…not just
about OUR money.

Trevor Berg

As far as I know it didn't get published.

Comments

Kris, Mike & Cohen said…

I was also sickened (for the same reasons) by that article. I felt like I should write them a letter too, but never got around to it, so I'm glad that you did!

8:12 am

Anonymous said…

way to stick it to the man bro. I'm proud that you did something.

7:50 pm

Coffee Drinking Bullies

I feel as though I am about to have a fight with a bully, I fully expect this post to be read as hurtful and condemning to many. That may be the case but here goes anyway. I have long been frustrated by coffee drinkers. I realize that probably 95% of those who are in the blogosphere are those who are regular coffee drinkers, actually *ahem* probably not regular coffee drinkers, they are people who are very particular about the coffee they drink. Most times they take one sip of coffee and declare it to be horrible, or wonderful, or somewhere in between. They do NOT drink any free coffee, especially the coffee served at churches, they do not just go to the corner store for coffee, their coffee must meet very specific requirements and standards. If they make it at home they do not just use a coffeemaker, they must use a various assortment of grinders, presses, and perhaps going as far as to roast their own beans. I know that I am not cool for criticizing coffee drinkers and their habits,

My Work Against Homelessness

I have been thinking quite a lot about homelessness (over the last two years especially) and have come to all kinds of conclusions about myself and the things that I (and the church) need to do in order to help people who are in that situation. I have been involved in a few organizations who work with homeless people and met with many people to discuss what I/we should be doing to help. I finally discovered something very important that I can do right now. I am reading t his book called Bent Hope which is a really interesting read. The author is a Youth Worker who works with young people who live on the streets in Toronto. He walks the streets and hangs out with them and helps when he can. He basically just tells the stories of his encounters with people and talks a little bit about what he has learned from them. I am loving it! So, I know what I am supposed to do to help homelessness. In his book, pretty much everyone he encounters he mentions how they come from a family situa

Mustachio

I have entered the dark underworld of a mustache growing contest, having been drawn in by Nicky's (my wife's) brothers. This is a picture of how put together I looked without a mustache. If you look at the picture below, it would seem that the mustache itself has gotten to me. I am not saying that growing a mustache means you become a drunk, sleazy, stuck in the 80s, trying-to-be-young-but-not-being-successful-at-it type of person, but that is what it has done to me. I find that when I walk I have a different gait, one that I tried to use back in Jr. High...to look cool. I find that I have a renewed passion for wearing hi-top shoes with the laces undone. I have a need to wear brigh t coloured clothing, and I have been looking for acid-wash pants at Value Village (unsuccesfully). The thing is that I also have many good friends who are growing mustaches, and have had mustaches for a long period of time, it doesn't seem to have this kind of impact on them. I work at a churc

TREVOR'S WRITING

Search This Blog