I am so saddened by the needless death of a human being when it was totally preventable. The woman was outside, the temperature was at least -10 C. or about 15 F with a wind blowing. She just wanted to find some way to keep warm under her meager belongings, and asked for a candle. Instead of finding an alternative to an open flame, people told her “No, you cannot have a candle, and I will not give you any matches either.”
Somehow, that woman did find or get a candle, then borrowed a lighter, lit the candle and tried to sleep. She was huddled under her grocery cart, with cardboard and other covering over that, and yes, the candle caught the material on fire, the woman burned to death.
One time when someone may have used some brains, maybe just gone out of their way to find her some way of getting some flameless heat, and that woman would be here today. But, no, people won’t go that extra step, even the people who worked for the local police. Yes, the police did TELL her to get to a shelter, but unless you know someone who has experienced the local homeless shelters or seen photographs of people sleeping on wooden benches and matresses that even gymnasts would avoid, as well as hearing about the theft and mentally ill people crying out all night because they have not had medication, you too would tell the homeless to get to one of these hellish places.
Some of the local agencies try their hardest to give some semblance of decency and respect to the shelters, some of the places are clean and afford a mimal amount of privacy, but the carts are the lifeline, the possessions, the entire storage for any food, socks, and other goods these people have, and the shelters refuse to allow the carts inside the buildings, and there is no means to securely store the carts anywhere.
Burning to death is a very harsh sentence for anyone, but when it comes from the very basic need for warmth on a very cold, humid night, it becomes tragic. Someone saw this, went in to call the local emergency and they were basically given a cold shrug, the same cold shrug that most of those living on the streets where millionaires walk during the day. Yes, the woman burned to death on a corner where the condos sell for over half a million dollars, there are boutiques and designer shops nearby.
This will just be a passing note, not even worthy of concern to our governmental agencies here, mostly because they figure the poor, those who are so impoverished that they become sub-human, non-existent in any monetary or political power, that this type of death can and will be dismissed.
The 2010 Winter Olympics are getting billions, the city is putting millions into window dressing, the province is pumping out ads that call this place, “The best place on earth”. There are millionaires here that will lobby the government to reduce the purchase taxes on high cost property, yet every person who has volunteered for charity knows very well, they give much less than the poorest. Why? Because they all just do not give a damn, and the impoverished do not have monetary or political power, and certainly don’t have lobbyists working for them.
I guess the ugly truth is that the government will ignore this death, maybe count the money they might save now, and just carry on. That is why British Columbia is nicknamed “Bring Cash”, because if you don’t have it, you will not survive here.
If anyone does give a thought to those who live on the streets, in Vancouver the agency that helps out these citizens is:
- Blankets
- Bus tickets
- Winter coats
- Long-sleeved shirts and thermal underwear
- Wool socks
- Sleeping bags
- Tarps (preferably small)
- Hygiene items (combs, toothbrushes, soap, shampoo, nail clippers, etc)
- Boots
Donations can be made to Gather and Give, a non-profit charity. It is open Tuesday-Saturday, and is located at 105-418 East Kent Avenue South — just east of Main and south of Southwest Marine Drive. Or visit their website: www.gatherandgive.org.