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 |   The plight of the homeless. |
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Documentaries: Life on the Heater (2000) http://sawvideo.com/programming/mediatheque/video/life-heater From Homelessness to Home http://www.endhomelessnessottawa.ca/homeless-to-home/homeless-to-home.cfm Homelessness in Ottawa http://www.endhomelessnessottawa.ca/compilation/compilation.cfm Throughout the past year I have come to know many people, now friends, who for various reasons, are or were homeless. Giovanni, sleeps on a park bench and was beaten, had his teeth kicked out, for no other reason than his choice to sleep outdoors. He is a small, gentle man who has a phobia about enclosed spaces. Greg, sleeps on the sidewalk in the freezing cold. I see him every morning and am never sure if, when I lift the corner of his sleeping bag, I will find him dead or alive. Sometimes, he confided, he would prefer never to awake. Mo, is a close personal friend who fell on hard times. She has slept behind a dumpster in back of Starbucks. I have seen her with blackened eyes, bruised legs, cracked ribs, cut and swollen lips. I usually see her sitting on the sidewalk 'panning' for change. http://invisiblepeople.tv/blog/2011/09/mo-homeless-ottawa-ontario-canada/ In the past six months I have witnessed an upturn in Mo's fortunes. She now has the proper credentials to obtain medical assistance for her epileptic seizures, bouts of schizophrenia, pneumonia, fibromyalgia, kidney failure and mental disorders. Through diligence she has saved enough money to share, with several other people, a warm, clean, safe house. I can't do much for these people except to show them love, compassion, an ear to listen, a hug to comfort, perhaps a breakfast sandwich and a coffee. I would like to do more. To know them is to love them. What has been seen cannot be unseen. I have started to write an account of their daily lives. I intend to turn this into a book and have it published. That is my goal. I am writing articles and biographies of Mo and other street people. They have been informed that they don't have to use their real names, that any profits would go back to the homeless and that it could be a vehicle to say whatever they want to the population at large. 22 December 2012 An Update: Giovanni is apparently staying with a friend in an apartment in the west end of the city. He is almost never seen downtown. By all accounts he is happy, has his own room and seldom ventures far from his building. I've seen Greg only once or twice in the last year. He has parents in the suburbs, who will only invite him home if he is taking his medication. Mo is presently in the General Hospital. She has been hospitalized for the past three weeks, suffering from fibromyalgia, epilepsy, kidney problems and high blood pressure. She has lost strength in her right side causing her to require a walker and wheel chair. Even with the walker she drags her right foot. In physiotherapy she is able to walk up four steps, but has difficulty walking down. I have visited her three times in hospital as have many of her friends. She was very disappointed that she would not be allowed home for Christmas. She now has her own apartment, but has no furniture; hopefully that will be corrected in the new year. Frank, Darrell, Sparky, Scottish Dave,and Rhino all have their own apartments. Emile is scheduled to have his own apartment January 1. Erwin and Dave are both in alcohol recovery programs. Nobody, that I know, is currently sleeping on the street. 2013 looks positive. I continue to write biographies of these friends who I see on an almost daily basis. I have gained their trust and friendship. Dave invited me to his place for Christmas dinner. My family obligations have prevented this, however I look forward to visiting his place in the future. {/quote} |
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