It’s no secret that the pandemic has taken a toll on everyone this past year. Many people lost their jobs and were put in unfortunate financial situations that they could have never seen coming. Homelessness in Canada has only gotten worse, with a new 'type' of homelessness arising, while trying our best to help keep homeless Canadians safe.
How Bad is it Really?
With the pandemic in full swing over the winter and many homeless shelters cutting capacity, many homeless Canadians have been at risk. The Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness (CAEH) has conducted research suggesting that 5% of Canadians (1.6 million) have been homeless and 31% of Canadians know someone who’s been homeless.
The president of CAEH has explained that these numbers are higher than what he’s seen in previous years and believes that the pandemic has only made matters worse. Lower-income Canadians working as essential workers or who have insecure employment have been disproportionately affected. Although there was a delay on evictions in a few provinces such as Ontario, Alberta and BC, most of them have come to an end, leaving many Canadians unable to pay rent and eventually becoming homeless.
A New Type of Homelessness
With housing becoming incredibly unaffordable in big cities such as Toronto, many people have resorted to living in tents or encampments. An outreach worker in Halifax explained that he’s met more people than ever who are likely to become homeless for the first time ever since the pandemic began. With an enormous amount of people failing to pay rent and struggling to find work with many businesses closing for health and safety reasons.
We need to take a new approach to dealing with homelessness in Canada. Dr. Andrew Bond explores the importance of building trust among individuals in the community. By looking at our homeless population with respect and treating them as we would any other human being, we can begin to make a difference.
Helping Canadians One Toque at a Time
All it takes is one.👆
One simple item to help keep someone else warm.
One step further to do something good for someone else.
One simple conversation to show you care.
We had one of these conversations with this man in Downtown Hamilton at the start of this winter. He was outside Salvation Army with his guitar that day when he saw we were handing out toques. You could tell he wanted one but he didn’t say anything at first.
We approached him and asked if he’d like one and immediately his face lit up. This man was incredibly grateful he put the toque on on right away over his cap. He asked us why we were taking the time to hand out toques. We let him know that there are people out there supporting him. This man was the most appreciative man we’ve spoken too.
Sometimes all it takes is one toque to make a small difference in someone’s life.
While working to help fight the crisis of homelessness in Canada seems unmanageable at times with nearly 35 000 homeless on any given night, there are many ways we can help support those in need. At Toques From The Heart, our goal is to support Canadians one toque at a time. Everyone deserves to stay warm during the winter months and providing a clothing item as simple as a toque can go a long way!
It’s more important than ever to help those who can’t help themselves. When you purchase one of our toques, we give a toque to a Canadian in need. You can learn more about our mission and find a list of our products here.
Classic Black - Toque with Purpose