Daily, my attitude swings from compassion to frustration. Homelessness is a real issue; past, present and future. I am not a homeowner, I am a renter. Throughout the years, I have been “renovicted”, had my rent raised beyond my ability to pay, and been forced to move due to landlords selling their homes.
I have been a single parent, and a few times had to break open my child’s piggy bank in order to buy milk. I’ve had money at the end of my month, and also had month at the end of my money. I’ve known abundance, as well as lean years; gainful employment and unemployment. I’ve been healthy, yet I’ve also battled depression and anxiety.
My compassion for others is present most of the time, and my heart goes out to those less fortunate than I. But not once have I ever believed it to be someone else’s responsibility to put food on my table or a roof over my head. I just wasn’t raised that way. What is becoming clear to me is this: there is a perpetual attitude that the current housing crisis is the fault of the economy, government and/or hardworking homeowners.
Economy has its ebbs and flows. What to do? Demand more from the government and penalize homeowners? When I was growing up, work ethic, respect, responsibility, resourcefulness, dignity and perseverance – these were commonplace. Any social program was temporary, not a way of life. It saddens me to see this paradigm shift.
I don’t know what the solutions are and I may be naive in many ways. Everybody’s situation is different. But I pray our adult children hold fast to what we’ve taught them and that they never adopt this ever-growing attitude of entitlement. I’d hate to see my compassion for mankind fly out the window. May it never be so.
Tamara Goosney
Saanich