the weather has been unbelievable recently, the coldest I've experienced since i moved to Toronto.  I can't begin to imagine how the homeless are trying to make it through. They definitely need our help, not only physically, but mentally and spiritually as well. The guy that I pass by everyday on my way to school is still there, I don't know how he's making it through considering how little money he receives from these that have sympathy on him everyday. I haven't gotten a chance to really talk to him yet because I'm always late for class so I'd always rush to school. There's also this lady that's living in a bus shelter on Spadina. She's 60 years old and speaks only Cantonese. It puzzles me how she became homeless in the first place though, since Chinese are usually more considerate of their elders. Nevertheless, a 60 year old woman simply should not be living on the street in a weather like this. There are near by homeless shelters but she refuses to go in, either for pride or for other reasons I do not know. In December we gave her some blankets and canned foods. I don't know how she's making it through but yeah, we'd definitely have to keep her as well as the other homeless people in our prayers.

 

If you are complaining about how cold and slippery it is and how you have to walk in the cold or wait for the bus everyday, think again, there are always those that have it much, much worse than you. I'm sitting here, typing this on my laptop in front of a heater in my room, it's warm inside here. But outside I see a world of white. The wind is just unbelievable. -40 degrees celsius is definitely not a good environment to live in, especially if you don't have a coat to even wear, and you are hungry, cold, and lonely...

 

One more point I want to make: people have such a misconception on the homeless, they think these people are just lazy bums. Think about it, these people CANNOT get work because you need an address and a phone number in order to get any job, and you cannot go to an interview smelling like garbage. Plus the already inclining job loss rate, how much of a chance do they have of getting a job, even labour work? And labour work wise, if you have gone on for days without eating and you are weak and hungry and thirsty, how qualified will you be to get the job? How did most of these people end up on the street in the first place? A lot of the younger ones came from broken abusive homes. The older ones were usually unsuccessful in careers and had depressive problems, but of course not all fall into this category. As a society though, I am angry at how inconsiderate and selfish we are.