Happy This Was Not Another Homeless Death ...

Around 6:30 p.m. yesterday, while walking to Starbucks on Queen Street West near Osgoode Station, I noticed a man lying on a street vent. Guessing he was there to stay warm, I walked over and offered to buy him a coffee and food. I repeated myself several times but he did not move and I wasn't sure if he was breathing.

 

So I went inside and asked the Starbucks cashier to phone someone to come check... on him since the police station was just up the street. In shock that I was concerned, the cashier replied, "Oh, he's been there since 10 o'clock this morning and hasn't moved." My response, "Did anybody check to make sure he's okay?" Puzzled and a bit shamed, the cashier answered, "No. Only you . . . but I'll call someone now." Upon ordering my coffee (which the cashier gave me on the house), I proceeded to sat at the window to keep an eye on the person lying on the ground, in the cold, whom people continued to walk by without even looking down to acknowledge him. AND suddenly a young man walked over with his cell phone and took photos. WTH!?!

 

An ambulance soon arrived and checked on the man who raised from the warmth of the city street vent and slowly walked away. "He was okay, I got a free coffee, some dumb dude got a photo of a homeless guy trying to stay warm for his facebook page . . . life goes on. ~ Gloria