Outreach Experiences

Well...
A few interesting things happened during outreach tonight. Saw G... drunk... he mooned Doug and I and then kicked a huge dent in a car that was turning at the intersection we were at... I forget what it was that he was trying to prove. We walked away from him because he was dishing out his usual insults that Sanctuary wants to control everyone on the street and that we see him as an f-ing project.. etc. etc. We went around the block cause we knew our friend C. was down the street. G. met us int he alley and continues to yell at Doug while I met with C. and a bunch of other street folks who congregated while I was there. I handed out socks and water and we chatted about what was goin on - Doug and G. eventually joined us and we went on our way. I found out later from a couple I ran into as I was heading to the subway that G. and a friend who had come up as I was chilling with C. got into a big fight. I think he was just looking for someone to punch... and for someone to punish him the way he believes he deserves to be.

We ran into a lot of people we know tonight... but nothing way out of the ordinary went down... just short conversations and updates on life over socks and water. We did get a free show from a kid who couldn't be more than 17-18 who walked on his hands on the road and sidewalk for us... then told us about the horrors of the last shelter he was at.. and how much he hates CAS because they wont help him out financially unless he gets a fixed address... right now he's living on the streets.

Last week we met a man on outreach who absolutely broke my heart. He was panning just north of Bloor on Yonge street and we asked him if he could go for a pair of socks or some water. He started telling us about how he used to own a house in Montreal but then his wife and two kids were killed in a car crash 6 months ago and he cant find a reason to live. He burst out into tears on the side of the busy street and I didn't know what else to do than just hug him and listen. He spoke of heartbreak and suicide attempts. His daughter was a lawyer, and engaged. He'd just come to Toronto from Montreal and had no where to go. Heartbreaking. I tried to encourage him that there really were reasons to keep living, though I was racking my brains trying to think of one that wold suffice. What can you tell a man who is pouring out his soul to a complete stranger? All I felt I could do was hold his arm and give him a hug. And then after a few moments we had to walk away. We told him about our services, offered our prayers.. but none of it really seemed like it could do anything for this man who was just.... in such anguish.

I saw A. a lot last week, an older native man confined to a wheelchair who, thanks to the dedication and friendship of folks at Sanctuary now has housing and a trustee to help him manage his ODSP check. We did groceries for him last week among other things. His sister just got out of jail and is back turning tricks and deals in his room... which is hard to see cause it makes his life less manageable and more chaotic for him... but she did clean the place up, and offers company... its a bittersweet situation.

I saw the woman who threatened me at the end of outreach today... I just saw her form across the street. She was panning in front of the strip club near the church. I really want to talk to her, but she was very obviously drunk, so Doug went to say hey and I headed back to the church... her boyfriend was on the bench in the park near Sanctuary asking for prayer.

Tomorrow is the monthly homeless memorial... always hard.