Tag: homelessness

Another nail in my coffin…

Well, I had been feeling good and optimistic about a job prospect for which I had a second interview last week. Then this morning I got the “thanks but no thanks” letter from the employer. And while I guess I should be at least grateful to not have been ghosted like I have been so many times in the past 11 months, it’s very hard not to feel like like the proverbial “light at the end of the tunnel” has been snuffed out altogether now. At least getting hit by a train would have been quick and painless.

Since I’ve moved back to Montreal I’ve lived in a place where homeless people congregate, because the complex used to host an emergency homeless shelter during the COVID crisis. Since it’s a public place, people know they can hang out here (outside the complex) without being constantly hassled by security guards. I see them every day. I see them get very old, very quickly. Just hanging out here drinking and doing drugs because they have literally nothing else to do. I’ve written about it on my blog before, it’s very sad.

But now it’s dawning on me that I could end up part of that crowd. I’m running out of money for the necessities — rent, food, communications. At least, with the laws protecting renters here I know that it’ll take a while before I find myself on the street. But I also know I can’t survive there. Do I have a contingency plan? Sure, but let’s just say that at this point it involves writing a will.

So how’s your Tuesday going?

On Homelessness in Montreal

Here’s something I posted this past week on reddit but I feel it really needs to be reposted here.

I live next to the Palais des Congres, basically ground zero for homelessness in Montreal because it’s a public space so unless someone gets violent or annoying to the public they’re left in peace. For the most part the homeless don’t bother the residents, and vice-versa.

But it’s really depressing. Once you see someone new hang out here, you get to see them grow old really quickly. The general population thinks that “they messed up their lives with drugs”, which is true in some cases, but in most cases it’s the reverse — imagine that you have nothing to do all day (who’s going to hire the homeless?) and nowhere private to go to, ever. Well then, drugs quickly become the cheapest ticket to feeling good, no matter in how limited a capacity. They don’t have any “entertainment options”. Even assuming that a lot of them go to the Old Brewery Mission at night, the mission closes during the day, so they come right back. There are 2-3 distinct groups, overall they seem to respect each other’s “turf”.

Thing is, the general population — “normies” — really have no idea how close they are to being in this situation themselves. Yeah, we all dream of being millionaires or whatever, but we’re all infinitely closer to being out in the street than we are to owning a big yacht. One illness, one screw-up at work, one mistake in behavior, and that can be it. Much as people like to lie to themselves about this type of utter destitution being due to moral failings, unless you’re born into old money you’re probably teetering on the edge of that existence.

Yes, there are government programs. But we need to recognize that every year those programs are less funded than the previous year. Since the 1970s the percentage of the tax burden assumed by corporations and rich people has been on a steady decline, and that of “normies” has been rising. That started in the USA, but Canada quickly followed suit, because “we must be competitive”.

Well, “being competitive” sounds great as long as you’re on the side of the “winners”. But it necessarily also means that every year, there are more and more people on the “losing” side of the equation. It’s a sad reality.

That’s capitalism for ya.