Saturday, January 7, 2012

A Pathetic Sight


This morning, I went past the Siloam Mission on Princess Street.

Self-described as a “connecting point between the compassionate and Winnipeg’s less fortunate,” they are a Christian humanitarian agency providing food and programs for the homeless.

Many people donate their time, money, and articles of clothing to the mission.

Standing outside the mission this morning were a number of their clientele.

They were puffing on cigarettes.

If they can afford to kill themselves, they can afford to feed and house themselves.

It is those people that should find the door locked when they try to go back in.

Siloam Mission is a noble effort, but it turned my stomach to see their efforts so blatantly taken advantage of. The mission has shown respect for the community, now it needs to respect for itself, the time of its many volunteers, and the money of its many donors that include you and me.

3 comments:

  1. Did you know that smoking and wealth have an inverse relationship to each other?

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  2. lock them out because they smoke? how about if they sniff, drink, pee their pants, wear dirty clothes, hell, may as well just shoot them.

    by the way, I donate smokes to whoever asks for one. call me an addict

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  3. This is what you noticed while driving by a homeless shelter? I suppose if 10 people drove by the mission they would each have slightly differenct reactions or observations. But chosing smoking over affordable shelter and food is not one of them. Obviously, not aware of the issues related to homelessness

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