Showing posts with label Christmas holidays.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas holidays.. Show all posts
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The Go Green bottle depot is closed December 25 and 26 this year -- like usual.[/caption]
For many "homed" people -- and homeless -- Christmas retains it's deeply religious meaning: marking the birth of Jesus, as Easter marks his death and resurrection. For people living on the streets, Christmas also marks the annual death and resurrection of their city and all it's services -- both public and private -- libraries and restaurants. Almost everything shut down on December 25th -- actually doors close early on the evening of the 24th.
The city shows a slight pulse on the 26th and consciousness returns on the 27th. But the Body Civic doesn't fully come back to life until January 2nd.
Christmas itself is very much a celebration behind closed doors with friends and family. If you're homeless, living out-of-doors, then this is the one holiday that really leaves you out in the cold because Christmas Day is the one day of the entire year when city life truly takes a back seat to home life.
To a person living on the street the city is home. Christmas for them is a little like when the power goes out in someone's home or apartment. And the city is also, very often, a homeless person's home-based business.
Christmas and Boxing Day are the two days a year when a homeless person can't earn money from collecting bottles, because all but one of the bottle depots that I know of are closed. I've just been told that the Regional There aren't a lot of free meals Christmas Day. And never mind if a homeless person has some money put aside, there aren't a lot of restaurants open. Umm... so what looks good at the 24-hour convenience store?
Basically for a few days over the impending Christmas holidays a homeless person has to live off their hump, and even if things have been lean and they don't have much surplus, we can all take heart from the fact that it's virtually impossible to starve to death in two days. Click the image to enlarge.
The Go Green bottle depot is closed December 25 and 26 this year -- like usual.[/caption]For many "homed" people -- and homeless -- Christmas retains it's deeply religious meaning: marking the birth of Jesus, as Easter marks his death and resurrection. For people living on the streets, Christmas also marks the annual death and resurrection of their city and all it's services -- both public and private -- libraries and restaurants. Almost everything shut down on December 25th -- actually doors close early on the evening of the 24th.
The city shows a slight pulse on the 26th and consciousness returns on the 27th. But the Body Civic doesn't fully come back to life until January 2nd.
Christmas itself is very much a celebration behind closed doors with friends and family. If you're homeless, living out-of-doors, then this is the one holiday that really leaves you out in the cold because Christmas Day is the one day of the entire year when city life truly takes a back seat to home life.
To a person living on the street the city is home. Christmas for them is a little like when the power goes out in someone's home or apartment. And the city is also, very often, a homeless person's home-based business.
Christmas and Boxing Day are the two days a year when a homeless person can't earn money from collecting bottles, because all but one of the bottle depots that I know of are closed. I've just been told that the Regional There aren't a lot of free meals Christmas Day. And never mind if a homeless person has some money put aside, there aren't a lot of restaurants open. Umm... so what looks good at the 24-hour convenience store?
Basically for a few days over the impending Christmas holidays a homeless person has to live off their hump, and even if things have been lean and they don't have much surplus, we can all take heart from the fact that it's virtually impossible to starve to death in two days. Click the image to enlarge.
You can help a homeless person this Christmas season by giving them something that shows you personally care, or I suggest you can help by giving them something completely impersonal. Or you can just wish each of them a "Happy Holiday" -- that never hurts.
There are a lot of blog posts and Web pages devoted to preparing Christmas care packages for homeless people. Every page includes a list of items, wrapping in warm sentiments. After asking a handful of homeless, and formerly homeless individuals for their opinions, I see they mostly agree with the online lists:
- white socks
- underwear
- deodorant stick
- disposable razor
- Medium, or Large T-shirt
- Chocolate bar
- mini Flashlight with batteries
- disposable rain ponch
- Something called "Weed"
- Rolling papers (Zig Zag white)
- Disposable lighter
- Zipper-lock bag
- Gift card
I know of four homeless, or formerly homeless women, but was unable to get their input for this post. Several guys agreed everything should be in a small backpack. That's sensible. The papers, lighter, and chocolate bar could be in the zipper-lock bag -- any herb should probably be in it's own zipper-lock bag. Food choices should be made on the basis of non-perishability, and two plain facts: homeless people, by-and-large are not adventurous eaters, and a lot of homeless folk -- myself included -- have lousy teeth, and many have no teeth at all.
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