Homelessness in Steinbach

Following my previous post, I did a quick internet search using “Steinbach” and ‘homeless” as my search criteria.

Most of the results directed me to someone named Steinbach who was either writing about the homeless or advocating for homeless somewhere in California.

In a blog post from 2009, someone wrote that there were 3-5 homeless people in Steinbach, a long way from the alleged 82 in 2010. Another site stated that the number rises sharply in summer and added that our park benches become beds at night.

The majority of the sites simply mentioned homelessness in passing like it was a dirty word.

Interestingly, there were plenty of sites urging the community to assist the humane society in caring for homeless pets.

Upon first hearing that there were homeless in Steinbach, my first reaction was disbelief, and then amazement. How can a town that is this wealthy have homeless? Is there not enough wealth present in this rich community to ensure that we don’t have this issue?

My biggest question is not directly related to finances, but related more to the religious concentration in this town. There is a church on every street corner, many of which have missionaries in numerous exotic locations around the world. Why is it necessary to send people out of the country to improve the lives of others when there are lives to be improved on right here? Shouldn’t we take care of our own homes and town first?

Note that I am not referring to any of the homeless who have chosen to be homeless, if there are in fact, any of those included in this number. Nor am I referring to the ones who refuse any type of assistance. When I refer to the “homeless,” I am referring to those who are legitimately without a place to live and those who would genuinely appreciate a non-condescending form of assistance.

Homelessness in Steinbach and other locations is a much larger social issue than I could even begin to address here; the concerns and contributing factors to homelessness are endless. Rather than each individual being to blame, it is a system that has failed.

Since I’m sort of new to blogging, and totally new to actually addressing a social issue, I’m a bit afraid of offending the wrong people, or people laughing at my opinion, and so on, having not yet developed a thick enough skin to withstand harsh criticism. Regardless, please comment, tell me what you think about this issue, imaginary or not.

Thanks for reading.