As I walk down the street with my pedicure, my salon dyed hair, my brand new cell phone attached to my ear, and an ipod attached to the other, I suddenly look around. I walk this road every day. Sometimes 2 to 3 times. Why haven't I taken it in. Thats when I realize that I don't want to take it in, because perhaps that I acknowledged my surroundings that I would try to do something about it.



I stop and smell one of the many lilac bushes that line the street. "Hello." A voice from inside the bush says. After the shock has subsided, I realize that I am envading into ones home. This woman had set up a matress and tarp inside this bush. "Sorry." I replied hurriedly and went on my way.



Thats when I look around. It is like I am seeing things for the first time. There are matresses, and clothes, and garbage bags all around this area. Sure, I see homeless people all the time. Which is tragic. But I look around at the majority of these people, and they look normal. In fact I recognize some of them. I ride the bus and the train with them, I see them going into work.



These are the working homeless class that I read about. I didn't know or maybe I just didn't care before. But these people are my neighbours. They live in the ravine across from my house. I live in the richest province of Canada. Yet this province has the lowest minimum wage. There is a major housing shortage at the moment. And the houses and appartments that are available are so overpriced that it has forced 'normal people' on the streets.



This is absolutely unacceptable. What can we do about this? How can we change this?

So I wrote this yesterday. Well today I walked down the road again. Things were different. What changed? Oh yes that lilic bush that I had refered to, where the one woman was living. It was gone. Is that how we are dealing with the problems in society? Just pretending they don't exist. If there is no place for the person to go they won't stay in that area..is that what we are doing? Just sweeping this problem under the rug?

What can I do? What can we do?