I WAS BORN IN OAKVILLE ONTARIO AND LET'S USE THE NEIGHBOURS FOR AN E.g. WHAT IF EVERYONE IN TORONTO TAKES THE DAY OFF!!THERE ARE HOLIDAYS AND NAMES FOR DAYS AND REASONS WHY MANY PEOPLE WILL NOT WORK SOME TIMES!WHAT IF ALL OF TORONTO,INSTEAD OF GOING 2 WORK THAT DAY,THEY ALL HIT THE STREETS AS ONE BIG COMMUNITY WITH A PURPOSE AND GOALS AND NOW WITH MILLIONS OF NEW FRIENDS AND THAT WHOLE DAY THEY ALL COMPLETELY ERASED THE HOMELESS'S PROBLEMS!I FIND IT HARD 2 UNDERSTAND HOW IT WONT WORK?!LOL ITS THAT EASY.TORONTO HAS MILLIONS OF PEOPLE LIVING THERE SO LETS DO THE MATH.LETS JUST SAY TORONTO HAS A POPULATION OF AROUND 5,000,000--GIVE OR TAKE.LETS EVEN LOW BALL IT--LETS SAY THERE IS A MILLION PEOPLE WITH JOBS THAT GO 2 WORK EVERYDAY AND HAVE NICE THINGS AND GIVE CHANGE 2 BUMS ON THE STREET AND THINK THEY HAVE DONE A GOOD THING AND FEEL LIKE THEY MADE A DIFFERENCE IN THAT PERSONS LIFE!?WELL THE DIFFERENCE I SEE IS THEY ARE NOT BUMS !THEY ARE PEOPLE WITH NAMES AND GOALS BUT I BELIEVE THEY ARE HERE TO SEE HOW WE REACT AND IF THERE ARE 100,000 PEOPLE LIVING ON THE STREETS STEALING ,HURTING ,AND DOING HORRIBLE THINGS TO SURVIVE-WHAT IF THAT DAY (EVENTUALLY EVERYDAY) THOSE MILLION PEOPLE APROACHED NOT SOME BUM BUT A NEW FRIEND AND I WILL BET MY LIFE IF YOU HAVE THAT MANY PEOPLE TALKING 2 YOU IN YOUR FACE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WITH IDEAS AND HOPES AND WAYS FOR THAT PERSON 2 IMPROVE I KNOW THAT DAY FROM WORK WILL CHANGE THE WAY WE LOOK AT LIFE AND OUT OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE TALKING AND FINDING OUT WHY HE OR SHE IS LIVING IN THE STREETS AND WHAT THEY ARE GOOD AT AND WHAT THEY ALWAYS WANTED 2 DO,I KNOW THERE WILL BE A SOLUTION DONE THAT DAY!!!WE CAN CHANGE THINGS AND MAKE THIS PLACE PEACEFULL!!AS I AM TYPING THIS I HAVE NOTICED ON TV THAT I HAVE MUTED,THAT JERRY SPRINGER IS ON TV AND BRINGS ME TO MY NEXT ONE!THIS IS CALLED A TALK SHOW BUT ALL THEY DO IS FIGHT AND HE JUST STANDS THERE AND SMILES AND WATCHES AND AT FIRST I JUST WOULD JUST CHANGE THE CHANNEL AND LAUGH BUT NOW THIS MUST STOP!YOU WANT GOOD RATINGS THEN GIVE ME MY OWN SHOW!INSTEAD OF APROACHING SOME BUM ON THE STREET,I WILL APROACH A NEW FRIEND AND FIND OUT ALL THEIR THOUGHTS AND GOALS AND DREAMS,AND THEN TEACH THEM THAT SKILL OR TRADE AND APPLY THEM TO THE WORLD LIKE NO OTHER CAN WITH MORE MOTIVATION YOU EVER THOUGHT POSSIBLE!WHEN THIS PERSON'S LIFE HAS DONE THE 180 AND INSTEAD OF LIVING ON THE STREETS,HURTING,STEALING ,AND ALL THE THINGS THAT BRINGS US DOWN(THE WORLD)THEY IN RETURN ARE ON THE NEXT SHOW HELPING WITH THE NEXT PERSON'S LIFE CHANGE!Eg. ON THE TENTH SHOW YOU WILL HAVE 9 FORMER HOMELESS PEOPLE NOW WITH JOBS,HOMES,A PURPOSE ,AND MOST OF ALL, A NAME,HELPING THEIR NEW FRIEND GET IT TOGETHER!AND THE SHOW AND THE LOVE GROWS TILL IT CAN'T GET ANY BIGGER, AND BY THAT I MEAN THAT THERE ARE NO MORE PEOPLE LIVING ON THE STREETS!!PERSONALLY I KNOW THE HOLIDAY IDEA WOULD BE THE ONE!THAT ONE SHOT WOULD CHANGE THE WORLD IN SUCH A WAY IT BRINGS TEARS 2 MY EYES JUST THINKING HOW SIMPLE THAT WOULD BE FOR THE DAY IF WE ALL JUST HELPED THAT OLD STRANGER NOW A FRIEND GET UP AND MOTIVATE TO HAVE A PURPOSE AND WANT TO HELP OTHERS!IT'S SO SIMPLE!!WE HAVE HOLIDAYS AND DAYS OFF FROM WORK FOR REASONS THAT I DON'T EVEN KNOW SOME OF THEM, BUT IF MY HOLIDAY WOULD BE OUR HOLIDAY AND THAT DAY WE ALL GOT TOGETHER AND HELPED OUT WITH SOMEONE ELSE'S PROBLEMS, THEN WE COULD--YES--WE COULD CHANGE THE WORLD IN ONE DAY !!!!YOUR NEW BEST FRIEND....Pacian(man of peace)..!!!

Easy reading. TX for yer thought!

I am sorry...but i did not even get as far as bliss. I tried but kept getting lost. Gonna give it another try ..

*edit...made it through.

I was homeless and mentally ill for about 5 years from the age of 18 to 24. I was one of those unwashed, unkempt, never a change of clothes bum that you seem to refer to in your letter. In the end I, myself, had to pull myself out of that hole alone. The only help i got was from my friend Red, who was also homeless, as nobody else was interested.

In the end i had to take pills to get "normal". I know the stigma attached to taking happy pills but for some this really is necessary and not an option. Some people are even lost after taking pills becaue they cannot get into the habbit of taking them.

If everybody gave these people some food instead of money that might help but too many of the people i saw just drank their lives away. Drug addicts and people like me who were, are, ill and not using drugs do not need pity but help so the next time you walk by some homeless guy think twice before you pass as it could be you next.