homelessness

Len points out that:

This week is homelessness awareness week in our town. Kelowna is rapidly becoming a place of intense contradictions. On the one hand it is a four seasons playground, and there are more new vehicles on the roads in this city than in any city of comparable size in this province. On the other hand poverty is alive and well here, and more than half of the 30,000 people who access the foodbank every year are employed at low paying jobs. The latest figures from the statistics office are that 20,000 people here in 11,000 low income households are at risk of becoming homeless. With the real estate market booming for the past three years, rents have been increasing, raising that risk factor.

In live in Waterloo, Ontario. Over 15% of the population in Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge lives in poverty. While the average family earnings in K-W are greater than the national average, earnings for families living in poverty are lower in this region. [Ray of Hope]

waterloo region homelessness network points out:

Homelessness is a serious problem in Waterloo Region. Many people cannot easily find affordable places to live. Those who need assistance in everyday living often go without the supports they need to ensure health, safety and quality of life. There is a need to seek solutions to the growing problems of access to affordable and appropriate housing and to reducing the risks of homelessness experienced by many individuals and families in Waterloo Region. community plan

It's one thing to recognize the need. Sadly, I was talking with someone recently, who didn't see a need for geared to income housing in Waterloo Region. It bugs me (I'm using a mild phrase) when Christians go through life with their eyes closed and don't see what is happening around them.

It's good that there are groups like Habitat for Humanity. This summer Habitat for Humanity celebrated the mortgage burning for three families.

In another conversation this week, I was talking with a medical nurse in our community about how we as a church / network of churches in Waterloo Region can work to minister effectively in this area.

I'd love to hear what other churches/communities are doing?