Now that the lazy gloriousness of the holiday season is well and truly over — students have gone back to school, businesses have opened up again and I think (although I’m not positive) that I’ve paid most of my bills — we’re back to normal.
Or at least, some of us are. We lucky few on the West Coast have the luxury of slipping back into business as usual, while the rest of the country is waiting for the magic spell that will free them from the grip of the Ice Queen.
We’ve heard terrible stories since Christmas coming from the Atlantic provinces, central Canada and the Prairies: lengthy power outages, delayed flights, Christmases ruined and, worst of all, 911 calls going unheeded as authorities scramble to recover their footing.
Two of my friends spent their holiday vacation trekking to Tim Horton’s every morning just to warm up with coffee, and ended up pitching the ingredients for their failed Christmas dinner into the snow so the raw food wouldn’t spoil.
If those are the stories we’re hearing from the people who are lucky enough to have roofs over the heads, then I cannot imagine what things are like for the people who aren’t so fortunate, the people who have nowhere to go and no way to protect themselves from the elements.
Things get hairy when the chips are down, and a lot of homeless people were and are still suffering from the storms.
So yeah, we’re pretty lucky in B.C. I haven’t worn my winter coats since early December, and 6 C (even with the overcast) is paradise when you compare it to -40 C.
Our warmer climate is one of the reasons, though certainly not the only one, that Victoria and Vancouver have a comparably larger homeless population than other Canadian cities — but this doesn’t mean that they don’t still need help.
It’s a truism that the majority of winter charity drives focus on the holiday season, and certainly there’s nothing wrong with capitalizing on seasonal generosity.
Many of Victoria’s great charity organizations are active all year round, but do much of their major work during the lead-up to the Christmas season.
The spirit of the “season of giving” can remind us that it’s been a while since we donated. Or perhaps people find themselves, as I did this year, flush with a Christmas bonus and decide to share the wealth based on the feeling that they suddenly have more to give.
But it’s worth remembering, as we watch the rest of Canada freeze, that people are going to need assistance all winter long, not only at Christmas. This is on its way to becoming a truism as well, but I felt it particularly forcefully this year.
Giving at Christmas always makes me feel reflective (“Am I only doing this because it’s Christmas? Why didn’t I give in November?”). The act of giving — the part of charity that most of us engage in — is one of those things that does, or should, remind us how uncertain life can be for those living on the edge.
I chose to give this year because I had a bonus, because I was having a good day, because I was walking down the street and it was sunny. Someone else was dependent upon the whims of my generosity — and my consciousness of that was as good a reminder as any that there are people in need at all times of year, not only when I’m feeling generous.
This is hardly a new observation, simply a reminder — for myself — of the precariousness of the charity model.
The entire “season of giving” framework is problematic. We’re still facing months of winter.
Not that we shouldn’t give. I’m not arguing for that at all. In fact, it was hearing that the Victoria Cool Aid Society is holding a warm clothing drive that got me thinking about this topic.
(Cool Aid is accepting coats, gloves, hats, socks, blankets and other cold-weather gear at 1509 Douglas St. from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on weekdays until Tuesday, to be given away for free to those who need them.)
Charity is great, but it’s a halfway step, and it’s no substitute for the long-term systemic change that we need to end homelessness. Even worse, charity can make us feel complacent, and I needed a reminder of that.
The coldest days of the year are yet to come.
