Hi Tony,
Great Post and thank you for raising this complex issue.
I will start with, when I was growing up, we often heard of and saw what were 'street kids'. We were led to believe that these kids chose to run away from a good home and live on the streets. The awful truth was that it was safer to sleep rough than in the house that they had fled.
I chose to be honest with my own children and when they asked me about homeless people, rough sleepers and runaways.
I recall walking through Martin Place with my primary school aged kids and my daughter asked about a rough sleeper outside of the Louis Vuitton store. I told her that he was homeless and it was safer for him to sleep during the day.
As the kids got older and saw rough sleepers in and around the city streets, they too observed that everyone just walked on past. Occasionally some would drop a few coins in their cup. But we all seem helpless in offering any real help.
With the recent fire and flood disasters we are empathic towards families with children having to live in caravans and tents. But what of the homeless men? It appears that they get pushed further and further down our list of priorities.
I changed my own way of thinking, as I too could become homeless. Homeless women of my age are increasing in number. I do worry whether I have enough to sustain me into my elder years. Would my children help me?
The Care Less Society possibly wrongfully believes that someone else will fix it. The government and the charities certainly are not keeping up with the demand. I often was mattresses in and around the car park at my work place. I soon realised that these belonged to rough sleepers. It is confronting and I do care, but what can I do to help?
