Friday, October 19, 2007

18e Nuit sans Abri


Spend a Night with the Homeless

It's a cloudy, windy day here in Quebec and this week 22 towns and cities across Quebec are inviting you to spend a night with the homeless--you know, those people who sleep outdoors all year round in cardboard boxes, on park benches or in alleyways or find themselves crammed in among dozens of others in a homeless shelter and told they have to get out during the day, the space is only available at night time.

Similar annual gatherings, called "Night without a Home" are also being conducted by communities in the US and other parts of Canada, to call attention to homelessness and poverty and lack of affordable housing, and to the "down-and-outs" among us who struggle daily just to get something to eat and a place to sleep. Their number is increasing. What's that old saying, "Don't criticize someone unless you walk a mile in their shoes". Try walking around all day searching for food or work or a place to lay your head at night, lugging your entire life possessions in a plastic garbage bag or backpack. The scary thing is, it could happen to anyone.

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