Why we should be giving all year round
Well, the holiday season is over and it’s time to get back to work. The season of giving sees piles of non-perishable goods and clothing being donated to shelters and charity organizations around the city. It seems that with the first jingles of the Salvation Army bells and the first croons of Christmas carols, we are suddenly inspired to embody all that the holiday spirit is meant to represent: appreciating what we have and giving to those less fortunate than us. Giving a few cans of Campbell’s soup we found in our cupboard will be enough to absolve us for all the times we walked past homeless people on the street, right? Wrong.
While it is certainly admirable to give at any time of the year, the need does not stop with our holiday parties. With reductions in the number of beds available in shelters, such as First United Church, there has also been a rise in the amount of people that are forced to sleep in the streets at all times of the year — be it in rain or shine or snow.
The 2012 Homeless Count found that Vancouver’s number of unsheltered homeless people jumped from 2011’s statistic of 154 to this year’s 306 people. BC’s homeless population is already a high-risk group, with a death rate that is at least 19 per cent higher than the general population. In fact, homelessness was at the forefront of the debates leading up to Vancouver’s 2010 Olympics; several deaths of homeless individuals in the preceding winter drew attention to the fact that maybe this city just wasn’t prepared to deal with “extreme weather conditions” and their effect on the homeless population.
Now, these are all just numbers that prove what we all already know: homelessness is an issue. We’ve heard it before, we’ve seen it before, and it’s not helping the situation to regurgitate these numbers and wail about past mistakes. I would rather draw attention to our own approach in how we attempt to help the situation. Except for a handful of year-round donors and good Samaritans, there seems to be a huge influx in aid around late November and December, as we all rush to atone for not giving a shit all year. I am not saying that it is wrong to give at this time; I am saying that the need is there all year round and we have to open our eyes and give throughout the year, not just when the cockles of our hearts are being warmed by multiple viewings of It’s a Wonderful Life.
Interestingly enough, it is January, and not December, that tends to be the coldest month in Vancouver, with average lows of less than one degree Celsius. The timing falls right around the time we’re all getting grumpy again and exchanging our chipper wellwishing for bitching about the weather.
Homelessness and need in our city are a constant and, while the solutions are more systemic than individual, reaching out throughout the year could provide for some much-needed support. The food banks that are brimming with cans by Dec. 25 are often more barren by February, but the need remains the same. Don’t wait for the mass production of Santa hats to spark your spirit of giving; if you can give anything — be it food, money, or time — do so at all times of the year, not just when you’re feeling like handing out Christmas miracles.
