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A homeless man who many said had touched their lives passed away at age 51 of a heart attack on Canada Day. For the last 10 years or so, many downtown office workers were greeted by Mr. André Hamel and his dog Muff at their favourite spot on O'Connor Street. "He never asked me for money," said a woman interviewed by CBC Radio. "He was always cheerful and humorous. We will miss him."The sentiment was shared by the hundreds of people who attended a community-initiated memorial service for Mr. Hamel on July 10th. Many wept and remembered the man who had brightened up their days. "I wish I had talked to him," admitted the CBC interviewer. "Instead of treating the homeless as human beings, some people "see" them as part of the city landscape."
Mr. Hamel's dog Muff is currently cared for by another street person, Mr. Darryl Dempsey. "Every time I take him for a walk, he thinks I'm going to take him to see André," said Mr. Dempsey. It is evident both Muff and many downtown office workers will miss Mr. Hamel's smiling face for a long long time.
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Sources of information:
* http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2008/07/09/panhandler-dies.html?ref=rss
* http://ottawa.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20080710/OTT_Homeless_080710/20080710/?hub=OttawaHome
* http://www.care2.com/c2c/groups/disc.html?gpp=780&pst=756809
* The Ottawa Citizen: Article by Jennifer Campbell, Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Related References:
* My previous blog article dated Dec 21, 2006:街頭露宿者的心声 / Homeless Man Speaks
Chinese: http://lotusandcedar.blogspot.com/2006/12/blog-post.html
English: http://lotusandcedar.blogspot.com/2006/12/homeless-man-speaks.html
* Please see the blog "Homelessmanspeaks" by Philip and Tony at http://homelessmanspeaks.wordpress.com/
Photo Credit:
* http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/photogalleries/template.html?topic=08-07-10-hamel (Pat McGrath, The Ottawa Citizen)
2 comments:
加拿大有的福利社會制度
還有露宿者實在令人驚訝
還有是在首都一國之京城
奇怪是否他佢絕接受援助
Just because there is a social safety net doesn't mean everyone will therefore take advantage of it. There are poor people who absolutely refuse to receive any kind of welfare assistance, including shelters. They would rather die (and some of them do) than to lose their freedom as street-people.
Although Ottawa is the nation's capital, it is no different than any other cities in Canada - it has its own share of social-economic problems. The city's welfare system is largely under municipal/provincial jurisdiction. The federal government works with the provinces and territories to resolve homelessness, poverty, and other issues at the national level, but not at the local level. Under the city's bylaws, pan-handling and living on the streets are legal as long as the individuals do not hassle passers-by or disturb the peace.
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