Who would have thought that Vancouver, the world’s most livable city, would have a serious problem with poverty and homelessness? Not I.

When I came here from Australia last year to live I was shocked when my wife drove me through the eastside of Downtown Vancouver. Never before in a first world country had I seen people in such obviously poor health and living in such a horrible way. The pictures in this article (all courtesy of Dtes People) will give you an idea of the area, but I still don’t think they truly capture the extent of the problems.

Working Gear: My Story of Making a Small Difference

Last year I arrived in Canada in July, but my work visa did not come through until November. I enjoyed this “mini-retirement” - in particular the opportunity to spend time with my son Xavier. But after a few months our savings were low and I found that not working was really beginning to hurt my confidence and confuse my self-identity. It was then that I went in search of some volunteer work and happened upon Working Gear, a newly formed non-profit organization that described its mission as:

At Working Gear we know that there are many barriers faced by unemployed men seeking employment. Many times this barrier is simply a clean suit or pair of steal toe boots. For men who are determined to attaining employment, Working Gear is there to reduce or eliminate this barrier.

Given my unemployed status at the time this was just the type of volunteer work I was looking for. Working Gear has a small space located in the eastside of Vancouver that I posted pictures of above. What this meant was that instead of simply driving through this area, once a month I would venture into this neighborhood on foot and come face to face with the people who called the eastside home.

I was somewhat surprised that I never felt unsafe. I did, however, feel a constant sadness to see people in such a bad state. “How does this happen?” I would frequently ask myself. I know there is no single answer to this question, but there are common themes in these peoples’ stories: a long list of poor decisions, lack of education, bad luck and so on.

What You and I Can Do

Working Gear has shown me there are many people who have a genuine desire to change their situation, but unfortunately face a number of barriers. It has also demonstrated that poverty is not simply a problem “out there” (growing up I always associated poverty with Africa for some reason). Chances are there are people in your city or town who are genuinely struggling to get by and could really use some help.

The following are a few  thoughts and ideas for what you and I can do to make a difference.

Save yourself. In Make the Impossible Possible (great book btw - I highly recommend it), Bill Strickland advises:

“I’m often approached by idealistic young people on fire to do good for others, all hungry to save the world. I tell them the first step is save yourself. Make sure your own life is lined up right, that you know what’s important to you and why it matters, before you set out to make your mark on the world. Do that, I assure them, and everything else will take care of itself. And I am convinced that is true. I never saw a meaningful life that wasn’t based on passion. And I never saw a life full of passion that wasn’t, in some important way, extraordinary.”

When you sort your own life out - whether it be in terms of your finances, relationships, work or happiness - you have both a greater willingness and capacity to help others. This is certainly true from my own experience.

Donate money. While it is important to “save yourself”, I also believe if you are reading this article your lot in life can’t be too bad. It is important to realize that small amounts can make a big difference in the lives of those less fortunate. If you are in the US, one idea is to donate to an organization that puts on Thanksgiving Dinners for the homeless. I recently gave a little bit of money to the Union Gospel Mission who say they can provide a complete Thanksgiving dinner for as little as $2.59 (in Canada we just had Thanksgivings on October 13th).

Donate your time and used goods. As I hope my story with Working Gear shows, there are ways to make a difference in peoples’ lives other than donating money. Community organizations are always looking for help, whether it be painting, gardening, helping kids with their homework, being a “big brother” or “big sister”, visiting an elderly person or serving food to the hungry. And your old clothes and shoes that are getting little to no use can make the difference between a person being able to work or not. As a sidenote, there is also a worldwide organization called Dress for Success which does the same thing as Working Gear, except for women.

Lend your voice. Don’t underestimate the importance of your voice. Make other people aware of poverty and homeless by writing a letter to the editor of a newspaper, contacting your local Member of Parliament (or equivalent), publishing a blog post or simply discussing it with people. Also, think carefully about who you vote for for. The Canadian elections have just been and gone, but if you live in the US and are concerned about poverty I think it is fairly obvious which of the Presidential candidates would do more to address the problem.

Remove your own barriers. I have mentioned a number of simple ways each of us can make a difference. However, you may find that despite having good intentions you are resistant to taking action. If this is the case, I suggest being aware of this resistance and looking closer at what is holding you back. Perhaps you think you don’t have enough time? Or you don’t feel you spare any money at the moment? Maybe you just automatically assume you don’t have anything you can give away? These points may be true, but perhaps you have just haven’t given these questions enough thought. Writing this article has helped me realize I still have a few mental barriers holding me back from doing more.

Final Thoughts

When I first arrived in Vancouver, I saw at the problem of poverty and homelessness in the the Downtown Eastside and thought to myself“isn’t that sad”. Then I kept driving on my way.

I have written this article for people who would like to help out, but for whatever reason aren’t doing so at the moment. I would like to remind you good intentions are only good in so far that they lead to positive action. Over the past year I have learned the importance of not just driving past a problem, but instead getting out of the car and finding a way to make a difference, no matter how small. So why not do something today that will help those less fortunate live better lives? It’s easier than you may think, and I guarantee you will make you feel good about yourself.

If anyone has any other suggestions or would like to share their own stories please do so in the comments below. I would love to hear them!

This post is part of Blog Action Day 08 - Poverty. As I was finishing this article I was also made aware that it is Homelessness Action Week here is Canada. If you are interested in learning more about this problem I encourage you to visit the website Stop Homelessness.

Tags: Making A Difference //