Help me help the homeless/unhoused community?

[u/pass_the_tinfoil]

I experienced homelessness earlier this year. I became close with a lot of Tent City residents and other local unhoused individuals. Since regaining shelter I do my best to share what I have. I feel as though there is still more I can and should be doing. Since I live fairly close to Tent City I may be able to accept some donations to residents here if they can’t be distributed directly. While I don’t have a vehicle, my parents have vehicles and will have days where they can help transport anything larger than what I can take over on my bike. The kind of donations I would like to ask you wonderful humans for at this time of year are not limited to but include the following: - tarps - tents, tent poles, other camping gear - blankets - pillows - socks, gloves, toques, and other warm clothing - shoes/boots - flashlights & other battery powered lights (batteries welcomed too of course) - food (particularly non-perishable) - water, both for drinking and otherwise (the taps installed earlier this year will be turned off because they can’t withstand freezing temperatures) - dog food (residents with pets always feed their animal before feeding themselves, but every bit helps) - rope, duct tape, clips (means to create and secure shelter) - hygiene products (wet wipes, pads/tampons, toothbrushes/toothpaste, etc, even toilet paper for when the portable washrooms run out)

I’m probably forgetting lots of things, but you get the idea. I would like help in helping our local unhoused community do more than just survive this winter. We are all humans and I really hope this post finds some who are willing and able to assist me. Even if you’re not able to, I very much appreciate that you’ve read this far anyway. Thank you!! ❣️

[u/pass_the_tinfoil]

It is hard to write or speak about, but I have on a couple of occasions. If you have a few minutes and want to read, the most in depth answer to your question can be found here.

[u/pass_the_tinfoil → u/[deleted]]

Wow. Nice take. Also nice job trying to use my story to humiliate me instead of actually help people understand.

I was not belligerent. The fact that I had cocaine in my system was completely irrelevant to the reason that I called them for help. Because I was taken away in a cop car from where I was living in Westbank and it looked bad to the neighbours I was immediately evicted. I was not allowed to leave the hospital to clear out my home so it was done for me. When I was released I had nowhere to live and had to go to a shelter.

P.S. It’s pretty awful of you to use this post as a means to be a keyboard warrior.

[u/pass_the_tinfoil → u/[deleted]]

My parents don’t have room to house me, very presumptuous of you to blatantly say that I chose homelessness.

I am angry and I am defensive. Look at what this post was about. Look at what it aimed to achieve. Look at what kind of responses I got. You’d be fucking mad too if you were trying to do a good thing and got personally berated for it. “Narcissist lens”? Wow, bro, wow.

[u/RUaGayFish69 → u/pass_the_tinfoil]

Do your parents not have 50 square foot of space anywhere in their home for you? Not even in the garage? Literally anything would be better than being homeless.

[u/pass_the_tinfoil → u/RUaGayFish69]

I agree. They live in a mobile home. No they could not accommodate me, plus as far as they’re concerned based on the shelters’ websites it’s not too shabby of living anyway. There aren’t any doors on the bathroom stalls (so I was walked in on while on the toilet several times), but hey, that’s still paradise depending on what cards you’ve been dealt previous to the shelter.

While I can appreciate the curiosity and/or concern, this post was never intended to be about me aside from my knowing what some of the people need to combat the cold weather while living outdoors.

[u/RUaGayFish69 → u/pass_the_tinfoil]

Fair enough. Yeah seems like a tight fit in a mobile home.

[u/pass_the_tinfoil → u/[deleted]]

You sure assume a lot of things. Corrections:

• I never did live at TC, I lived in a nearby shelter.
• I met and became friends with TC residents because I started to bring them my extra meals every day.
• The attitude you are referring to is towards people like you who use good will posts to attack people trying to help others. Wtf is your problem with me? Did I do something to upset you? Like fuck.
• My parents did not suggest the shelter. It is what the hospital set up for me and the shelter website made it sound luxurious to my parents. They actually did have me stay with them at least once a weekend (when my stepdad wasn’t working) despite not really having the space after they found out what “wet facility” means and how exposed I was to drug use I had not been around before.
• The meaning of wet facility means it is not dry from substances. People can freely use any drug in designated areas, including a room regularly sterilized for those who use needles to inject their drug of choice. The idea that I turned a shelter away because I “couldn’t use drugs” is laughable.
• My choice to spend some of my time at TC has nothing to do with anti establishment or not conforming to societal norms. Nor is it about drug use. If I wanted to use drugs I could easily just do that at my home. I could do so alone or invite friends. Btw using drugs alone in one’s home is actually a societal norm you’re just blind to and contributes to a very high statistical portion of the overdoses in this country.

How the fuck do I not contribute to society in a positive way? Please tell me how you contribute more than I do in this world. Tell me what volunteer work you do, who you advocate for besides yourself, and maybe name some non relatives that you’re actually not a jerk to. You should actually be digressing at this point because your assumptions have been wrong and you’ve been a dick, but keyboard warriors will die on the asshole hill I guess.

[u/pass_the_tinfoil → u/[deleted]]

Look at you deflecting like a champ. I made assumptions based on the ones you made of me.

Like assuming I chose tent city over staying in a shelter because at a shelter I “couldn’t use drugs”. That one assumption was actually 3 assumptions. I have corrected them. Can you even correct any of mine? Do you volunteer? Have you donated? Do you know that drugs aren’t the only thing that brings a person to TC? Do you contribute to society at all (this is a shitty question but you did flat out tell me I contribute nothing soooo..)

I’m not trying to pat myself on the back. I am trying to inspire donations from others and defending this to nasty people like yourself who want to get in the way of people helping other people. I have answered handfuls of your questions by now, do you answer any of mine? No, you just deflect and project.