Street Walk

So I started a post on a different topic the other night, but I did something with the Youth group last night that I felt the need to share. This will probably be a long one - bare down!

What an eye opening night last night was. I mean, I've done downtown, homeless sort of walks before, but last night was different. The Salvation Army's Gateway http://webhome.idirect.com/~kclayton/salvation - a shelter for homeless men and women - has started a program where groups like mine(middle class suburban churches) can meet with someone who works there, talk a little about what its like to be homeless, be given a scenario to put ourselves into and then, to walk the streets as if we were the person in the scenario. I think it really did a lot of good for many in my youth group...myself included. Try putting yourself into our scenario and join in on our journey.

We were asked to place ourselves in the mind frame of a 15 year old who has run away to the city because his/her mom's boyfriend has been sexually abusing him/her. We only had enough money to get the bus into the city and still be left with a couple of dollars in our pockets. What would we do? Where would we go? We walked, hitting five areas of the downtown core that are regular spots for runaways/homeless people - looking around to figure out where we would sleep, go to the bathroom, try and get food...etc.

The temperature in Toronto last night was about -25 with the wind chill. Not a good night to be on the street - but a perfect night to get the point across.
We walked out of the Gateway and went towards College Park(my group initially went the wrong direction b/c downtown messes me up! Oops!). College Park has been a regular hangout for people on the street. We looked around and wondered why. Just down the street from us we saw Evergreen, a drop-in for street kids. As well, there was Covenant House, a homeless youth shelter.

Our next stop on the map was Church street. That's where we enter into Toronto's gay community - also refered to as "The Village." This is a residential and retail neighbourhood that caters to the gay community. Think about this(we did): Imagine yourself as a girl in our scenario. What might you be thinking here in terms of your own sexuality? If you have questions about it, where can you go? Could you have felt safe to ask these questions in your church? How do you think this community would welcome you? How do you think you will accept a friend who is gay?
Issues of sexuality and sexual orientation are sensitive and difficult. Many men and women come to this community because they feel safe here and are not welcome in most other places. Regardless of our personal feelings and beliefs regarding sexual orientation, we must love people for who they are - ALL OF THEM-ALL THE TIME.

We then headed to a specific address on Church street - #519. This is a drop-in centre. In the park behind it is Toronto's AIDS memorial - we stopped and looked at the monuments. The years dated from 1981 to present and the first name we saw was of a reverand; which caused me to remind the group that just because these people all dies of AIDS, it doesn't mean that all of these people contracted AIDS through sexual contact.
These names are all of people who have died with AIDS in Toronto. Has the church had an effective response to this issue? Is the church at memorial services for those who have died with this disease? How do you think this community views the church? Is their view accurate/fair?

From Church street we walked past Maple Leaf Gardens *sigh* It hurts me to see it all closed up - but I digress...We then walked to Shuter street, also known as 'high track.'
High track is where high end sex trade workers work. These are younger, very attractive girls who can charge a lot of money for sex. Many have pimps. Many are mothers and/or students who are trying to make a living selling sex on the street by night and live a 'normal' life by day. They see it as a job.
Shuter street from where we were to River street is known as 'low track' or 'crack track.' Most girls who work here are doing so in order to support a drug addiction(crack or heroin). They work to buy their drug of choice. Use it until it wears off and then go out to the street again to work for their next fix. These girls are all someone's mother, sister, daughter, who have ended up here as a result of circumstances outside of their control.
From Shuter street we walked back to the Gateway, which ended out evening.

In terms of how I felt when we finished - wow. I would never want to live on the street. I was walking around in my nice coat, warm mitts/scarf/toque, brand new(brand name) shoes and warm socks. Yet, I was still freezing. We all complained, at least once, of being cold. I spent most of the evening having to pee, and spending 1.5 hours in the middle of winter walking into the wind will put the chill into anyone's bones.
When we were finished(hmph, we got to finish), we headed to Tim Horton's for Hot Chocolate(where I had a nice man offer to buy my tea for me!). This is where we all started to thaw. When you thaw from a deep chill you get this burning sensation on your skin. It doesn't feel normal.
However, I didn't feel the full effect of the night until I arrived home(after getting to drive in a nice warm car for 30 minutes). When I finally got back into my apartment the real chill set in. This was when I started to feel just how cold the night really was, and I think a portion of how a person on the street would feel. I didn't think I was all that cold. I was wrong! VERY WRONG! I was frozen through to my bones. I took off my coat, wrapped myself in my favorite warm blanket and threw myself onto the couch. I had taken off my coat and left my toque on! That's how cold I was.
When my roommate arrived home a few minutes later, he made a comment to me that helped me to think about all this and sum it up in my head. He told me that I looked like a homeless person - all balled up, hat on, wrapped in as many layers as I could get my hands on. What it left me with was a broken heart for the people on the streets, a new awareness of what they are possibly feeling, and a yearning to be a 'Homeless Jesus'(see previous post).

We are not winning the war on the streets. I hope that everyone will think about this and be courageous enough to do something.

HEART TO GOD, HAND TO MAN

Blessings.