One On One Is A Solution

Governments at all levels pour millions and millions into the homeless problem and it would be interesting so see how much goes for administration and how much actually goes to helping individuals and families. In the City of Toronto something like $16-32K is allocated per homeless person and it makes you wonder how that money is spent. Bottom line is evident....most people are concerned but only a few are actually doing anything concrete.

Donors get web wish lists from homeless

Needy receive practical gifts in Vancouver and Calgary

JANE ARMSTRONG and DAWN WALTON

Globe and Mail Update

VANCOUVER, CALGARY — The simply written, personal biographies hint at the terrible loneliness and longing that visit the homeless each Christmas.

Heartbreaking, too, are the humble requests penned by those who live and sleep on the streets of two of Canada's most prosperous cities.

Dwayne A., a 49-year-old Vancouver roofer, wants bus tickets and gloves. Jerome L., 50, a transplanted Newfoundlander living in Calgary, is a would-be poet who wants a dictionary. Kari H., a 38-year-old widow who has battled drugs, wishes "my kids and family would talk to me again."

Their stories and Christmas wishes can be found on two websites set up in Vancouver and Calgary, which provide homeless men and women the opportunity to make a Christmas wish list.

Donors can scroll through the profiles, then purchase a gift for a specific person rather than hand over cash or a cheque to a faceless bureaucracy. The homeless, in turn, get a present they specifically requested.

The sites (http://www.homelessvancouver.com and http://www.homelesspartners.com) have touched a chord with residents in both cities: Last year in Vancouver, where the Web wish list originated, donors showered shelters with more than 2,000 requested presents. In Calgary, the earmarked gifts are piling up in shelters.

"Most people want to do something for the homeless," said Rich Duimstra, who manages the Vancouver website. "Or rather, most people think something should be done for the homeless. When people see that they are real people. When people make that connection, then they really do want to help.

"We're not giving loose change. We're giving practical gifts."

One on one.......