Hello.

I should have expected this theme to come. Throughout my entire university career, one of my major focuses was on the subject of justice; the anarchy of American corporations, the irony of the American Dream, the hypocrisy of people's morals and ethics. Ever since my first university semester, where I learned of the realities of people not just abroad in Africa or in other third world countries, but the local area in which we reside was as much filled with poverty, insecurity, and darkness as the other "poor" countries.

I did help out a bit at Mission Possible. I did a few things down at East Hastings and Downtown. Yet I know that the few actions that I have taken are not close to being sufficient. I know that one of the most crucial factors in helping out the poor, caring for the community, etc, is consistency. Anyone can be temporarily fired up to feed a hungry group of people, or bring them to a shelter for a day or two. But how many are there that can devote much time, even their entire lives, to fight against injustice?

I know my friend works at Mission Possible now part-time. I know there are opportunities. I hvae been using excuses such as not having a car, East Hastings being too far, etc, to avoid the opportunities. I have felt just a glimpse of what being homeless is like after being there in person and talking to some of the unfortunate. Really, they are unfortunate, despite the mistakes and wrong decisions they may have made in the past.

I always challenge the comments such as, "They deserve to be in the streets if they became addicted to drugs or alcohol or whatever". The thing is, you expect them to be perfect human beings, while those who make these types of comments have made countless mistakes in their lives. In fact, the "forunate" ones are the ones who are more addicted and more in darkness because of the commodities that we value and the realities in which we live. Computers, iPhones, entertainment, etc are just a few broad things of which many of us have become slaves. More specific issues like pornography, video games, electronic accessories, raves, etc control many people's lives. Not all of these are necessairly "bad", but it can lead to terrible results if it becomes the centre of our lives.

With that in mind, how different are the homeless compared to us, the more lucky ones? When Susie talked about injustice, some of the points she made are from the same studies that I have stumbled upon in my Communications courses. I can understand why she also majored in Sociology, because Sociology has direct connections to Communications in the area of justice, ethics, morals, and the harsh realities of life that we most often choose to ignore.

And the fact is, Vancouver itself will be even worse as time progresses, due to the 2010 Olympics. The issue is that Vancouver wants to represent itself as a peaceful, calm, beautiful city in which many happy people live. They want to get rid of the homeless as if they were a pile of garbage and place them in a place where they can be overlooked and forgotten. There are a few minority government and NGOs that are attempting to prevent this and make other Vancouverites aware of these facts. However, it is extremely difficult. To stand up against the Olympics is an extremely difficult task, especially if the Olympics is so widely accepted all around the world. Even though some people may be aware of these harsh facts, the reality is, they are not WILLING to move into action.



When we die, can we really say that we have impacted the world? What do we want to be known as? Someone who went to school, got a job, married, had kids, and died? Everyone has the potential to change the world. Only a handful really see the opportunities to do so. And only a few take upon such opportunities.

I suggest starting with Mission Possible. It will really open up your eyes to see what being homeless is really like. Some of them DO have apartments and jobs. They just don't have enough finances to pay for every meal. For their kids. Some of them are married, but have no home. Everyone has a story, as both of the LTW guest speakers have mentioned. It's always different, shocking, intriguing, moving, saddening. Do something.