While many of us are preparing for a well-deserved holiday, busy pondering our vacation plans, hotel stays and of course budgets - we know that the brief reprieve from home will be an adventure and rest from the daily routine of our lives. For most of us vacation time - is one of the most anticipated times of the year - camping, hitting the open road, no chores, routines, work schedules or worries. We double check our medical travel plans, make sure we have our sunscreen packed and load our cell phones with out-of-province coverage to ensure we dont add roaming charges to our holiday bills - then were off on our adventure knowing at the end of the day we will be glad to return to the comfort of home. During the summer months, as we plan for the cooler ones ahead, we reflect on the gifts that we, as staff, sometimes take for granted! Time off of work, even the little nuisance things like extra insurance, additional mobile coverage and getting a neighbour to bring in the mail and keep an eye on the house. It is also during our travels that we are acutely aware of the homeless, those for whom camping is not a choice, a medical plan does not exist and a cell phone for communication is a luxury beyond reach - those who have no home to return to. It is during these times we are most grateful to operate in a community with a ten year plan to end homelessness and commitment to primary health care for all. I know that for many a vacation means that we have earned time off from our job and that if we dont have a job we dont get vacations, cell phones or a place to return home to. This is why today, as I sat in the lunchroom with my colleagues, we wanted to remind folks that the assumption that people chose not to work, chose to be homeless, simple is not true. An estimated 1/3 of Canadas homeless struggle with a mental illness and 20% are our countrys youth - many of whom have aged out of child welfare systems and find themselves alone and without the skills required to secure employment or housing. So as you take your vacation we ask you to remember that the homeless you will encounter did not choose their plight and if the need arise - to pass on our contact information to a person in need. thealex.ca
Posted on: Mon, 28 Jul 2014 20:56:13 +0000
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