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 I am so tired of people. I have had more run in's with people against what I do. It is beginning to wear on me.

 Its almost virulent the way it has been increasing, that attitude that I am a bad person because I try to help the homeless & drug addicts. That I am what is that word ah yes enabling them as if If I stopped giving out water and food the issue would disappear. I suppose it would for a few days maybe a week before they would be back causing damage like they did all last winter. 

Without reason to protect this building the helpful ones will disappear which would leave room for other undesirables, the ones that hate everyone and everything. The ones who will cause damage in and around the building because they have no reason not to. 

"Providing sustenance is a compassionate act that allows individuals to focus on other challenges and is a prerequisite for getting back on their feet" 

How food and water are helpful, not enabling 

• Meets basic human needs: Food and water are essential for survival, and providing them directly addresses immediate, life-threatening needs. 
•   Helps prevent harm: Offering food can prevent individuals from having to steal or engage in other desperate measures to get their next meal. 
•  Focuses on the immediate: These actions allow a person experiencing homelessness to have the energy to think about other issues, like finding shelter or a job 
•  Is a prerequisite for long-term solutions:  Having basic needs like food and water met is often a prerequisite for addressing other issues, such as mental health or substance use challenges 
•  Provides hope: For many, receiving food and water is a reminder that people in the community care, which can provide a sense of hope and dignity  

 
 That is from the Google AI and I went and read the responses to the question in  QUORA. There are a lot of opinions out there but they all say the same thing giving water to the homeless is an act of compassion and does not promote harm  only survival so they can get better if they want to. The same with providing food, it is a basic necessity of life.

 

If I could afford to rent one of the empty store fronts around here I could do it out of the public eye but that would defeat the purpose of making people aware that they are humans too. Or even a house with basement access or a porch would work. The problem with that is the same as it is with everything else if it is a shared house then I would run into the same problems as I run into here.

 

Something for future research once I have an idea of what my income will be. I am certain it won't be enough to rent Jerry's but I can dream. 

 

Dreaming against nimbyism

 Remember the Nimby's. Well despite them I am still helping as much as I can but with the financial changes coming I figured I'd better figure out what services I want to provide if I can.

First stage is simple and costs me around $75 per week which includes water, juice crystals, Ritz cracker individual packs with cheese or peanut butter and individual snack packs of cookies. This is what I do right now.

Right now I also have smokes(tobacco), lighters, bandages and some other very basic first aid supplies, pens and paper. The tobacco will be gone soon and I'm not sure if I will be replacing it which means I don't need the cones either unless I decide to get another bag. Tobacco is quite expensive and I have to make a special trip to a store downtown to get it but it is something they appreciate. They appreciate the lighters more so though, enough that they don't mind paying for them. I tell them pay what you can and I get lots of quarters, dimes and nickels which come in very handy.

I don't want to charge them, they are on the street or on drugs for their own reasons and it is not my goal to make them pay for any of the help I give them. That said every bit helps and other than E I have no support from any agency, service or others except the outsiders themselves.

That said if I buy tobacco and the makings for smokes it will be a bit expensive so they will be pay what you can like the lighters. This is one idea I'm kicking around.

I am also looking for a basic first aid kit that I can hand out as well as bandaids and some sort of antiseptic for scratches and such. Blister care is another area I'm looking at as that seems to be something I would think people who are on their feet all day might appreciate. 

Socks and personal care items like toothbrushes, combs and such are another area I'm considering. I am absolutely certain that sanitary napkins would also be welcome and maybe underwear for the ladies. Small dry shampoo and small packs of personal wipes would also be helpful. 

On top of that I am considering adding hot chocolate, tea or coffee as they might be welcome in the cold weather. I have a Kuerig so I can use pods or get the sticks of all in one instant tea and coffee.

All of this costs money and until I know what my income will be they are only ideas. I have talked to a couple of outsiders about them bringing a case of water to help me out. In exchange they would get all services for free for a month. That would be so helpful to them and to me.

Services:

• basic personal care items (comb, toothbrush, toothpaste, dry shampoo, personal wipes)
• water w juice crystals
• basic first aid (bandaids, antiseptic)
• basic foot care (socks, foot powder, blister care) 
• healthy snacks ( or as healthy as I can get)
• paper & pens 
• smokes?
• lighters?
• hot drinks (coffee, tea, hot chocolate)
• warm, healthy food (not sure I want to do this one but it is a need) 

Ambitious I know and wholly dependant on my financial situation, though I suppose I could open myself to donations. This is personal, not a business, I don't want to help to make money I just want to help.

Comments suggestions welcome. Cheap suppliers info would be greatly appreciated.

 

Health Notes

 I know it's been awhile again since I posted, in my defence the first two weeks of October are usually pretty busy particularly between the 6th and the 12th as we have a birthday nearly every one of those days.

This year on top of that I am dealing poorly with the number 65 as it relates to me. I suppose I should explain that a bit more for those of you who don't know me well. I turned 65 on the 7th, I did not expect to get anywhere near that age. It is an easily identifiable important age as it is when my generation was taught old age begins. OLD AGE! who saw that coming?

Obviously I did but it still shook me up. In our minds we are usually somewhere in our teens mentally until we can no longer deny that the years are catching up. Similar to what the 20 something experiences when they first have to start adulting, that mental blow that says we are no longer children but adults only for me I am no longer middle aged I am officially old.

This year has been one long prep for this particular birthday, starting with applying for the Old Age Pension and CPP. For those about a year from that birthday start getting the applications done, it takes awhile for them to process it. Even now though I know I have been approved for the pension I have no idea how much it will be and my CPP is less than $100 per month. Until I get the first payment I have no idea how much I'm going to be living on. 

What I do know is that with ODSP  I live on approx 1400$, I hope the pension is at least that much but I've heard that it may be lower. I won't know until November 1st. Hopefully it is enough because my rent goes up January 1st 2026 for the first time in years.

On top of dealing with that, I managed to end up in the Emerge at the hospital. I cut myself on a vegetable slicer, (took a nice chunk out of my baby finger), and it wouldn't stop bleeding because of the blood thinners. I am grateful to the health care people but the wait can be quite long and while I waited they had to rewrap my finger 3x because I kept bleeding through the bandaid. I had like four layers of gauze around it before I was seen. I know if it had been a dangerous bleed I would have been seen much more quickly and that is some comfort. Still a bit scary though.

Yeesh I just realized I don't think I told you guys about the first trip to emerge in a decade or more. Or did I? Not sure so here is a quick summary. I ended up at emerge for the first time in decades because I looked into my bathroom mirror and noticed my right side of my face was sagging like the way a stroke victims does. It turned out I was ok but they put me on low-dose aspirin as a cautionary measure.

Then on my last visit to the doctor, he commented that my blood pressure was very high. With that on top of the high blood sugar I was informed that if I didn't get physically active again and start controlling my blood sugar I was a prime candidate for a heart attack. A walking heart attack waiting to happen is what I was told. It scared me but not enough I think, I still cheat a lot and my physical activity is very low. I still spend more time in front of this machine than I do doing anything else.

Stage 1 hypertension is where my blood pressure resides and my blood sugar stays around 12 which is at the low end of the danger zone but still nearly twice what it should be. Without the aspirin and the metformin I would be dead I think. Isn't that a scary thought.

Well thats where I'm at health wise right now, well that's not all of but it has been on my mind of late. Tell me about your health issues and your experience with the pension stuff. I'm curious how you dealt with it or plan to deal with it.