And if it's hard, just know it's not harder than living on the streets.
Consider a friendly "hello"
Unhoused people (or homeless people or people experiencing homelessness — it doesn't really matter as long as you treat them with dignity) are often dehumanized in the most casual of ways by being ignored, over and over, by everyone who passes by.
When encountering a homeless person, "I think the biggest way in which Montrealers react to the situation is by avoiding it," said Old Brewery Mission CEO and president James Hughes.
"But homeless people are people. When they are not seen, when they are disregarded in that way, with the best of intentions, understandably, they feel invisible. They feel like they don't exist. They don't feel human," he said.
If you’re comfortable doing so, saying a kind hello or giving another simple acknowledgment of life and recognition of someone else's humanity can make a difference not only in their day but in the way you perceive them.
Donate things other than money (and also money)
The best rule of thumb is to give what you can, when you can, without judgment or preconceived biases. Even just a cigarette can be a meaningful gift; Hughes calls it a "lovely, albeit modest gesture."
Giving money, even small amounts, is also always helpful — even if you're not sure what they'll spend it on. Just like their housed peers, unhoused people aren't reprehensible for wanting a beer or a smoke during times of hardship and stress.
People experiencing homelessness "have all had terrible experiences of exclusion from their families and their friends. They're not there on the street or here at the Old Brewery for nothing," Hughes told me over the phone. "They all have three things in common: loss of housing, loss of income and loss of social networks.
"When [you] see someone in the streets who's actually homeless and begging, that's the minimum that they're experiencing."
Have empathy, even for uncomfortable or unusual behaviours
If those three losses are the minimum, Hughes told me, many unhoused people are also dealing with underlying mental and/or physical health concerns, including addictions, that they don't have the support to manage on a daily basis.
You're entitled to your comfort zones; there's no pressure to spend time around someone exhibiting signs of mental or physical distress in a way that makes you feel unsafe. But know that people without homes don't have private spaces in which to have their breakdowns, panic attacks, hallucinations or episodes: the public is the last place available to them.
With that in mind, it's helpful to remember that abnormal or "antisocial" behaviours are not your responsibility to judge or correct.
Get educated about what homelessness actually looks like
Before passing those judgments, consider learning more about the structural causes of homelessness and how marginalization can impact your chances of ending up unhoused.
Canada's Homeless Hub is a set of resources focusing on information about homelessness and features plenty of ways to learn more, including a list of common myths and their disambiguations. It's hosted by the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness (COH), the nation's largest research group dedicated to the cause.
Often, homeless people are experiencing other kinds of structural inequalities or interpersonal trauma. Women are far more likely to be homeless due to family or partner violence, according to the COH. Indigenous people are significantly overrepresented in urban unhoused populations, often living precariously on land that was stolen from their care in the first place.
For further statistics, consider reading the COH's comprehensive article detailing, on average, who is homeless.
Give your time, if nothing else
Even if you're not in a position to contribute financially to local shelters, consider giving by volunteering your time at any of a number of shelters across the island. Often, these shelters will accept donations besides money, including food and personal hygiene products. Doing a little research into who needs what can help you plug into the effort to fight homelessness without stretching yourself thinner than you can handle.
Know your city so you know how to help
As part of your research efforts, consider making it a point to be aware of the shelters near you and what kinds of accommodations they offer. Understanding the difference between a wet and a dry shelter and knowing where they are can give you the tools to help someone in need.
Old Brewery Mission offers controlled access to alcohol as one of the very few wet shelters in Montreal, and Resilience Montreal offers help specially tailored to Indigenous people experiencing homelessness (founded by the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal). There are plenty of other shelters in the city if you know where to look (on Google, guys, they're on Google.)
Build relationships in your neighbourhood
Consider striking up a conversation with someone you see often — unhoused people are still your neighbours, and getting to know them means getting to know how you can help. Asking friendly questions about where someone is staying, if they have plans for their next meal, and what kinds of support they need can be incredibly meaningful.
"This kind of lovely human conversation is absolutely, hugely out of the ordinary in someone's day," Hughes told me, "but could make a huge difference in the life of these people who have now not just been seen, but been helped, by a stranger."
And perhaps that stranger could become a friend — certainly more than just a nameless statistic you apprehensively ignore each time you cross paths.
Look beyond "the homelessness problem"
The bottom line is that homelessness is not a faceless problem we have to fight: it's the combined realities of many people in precarious living situations who are trying to survive each day just like their housed peers. Living, loving humans can't and shouldn't be reduced to a "problem" to be solved with extra police, wire fences, raids or crackdowns that destroy what little home can be built on the streets of a city.
The problem is a lack of access to care, housing, food, and empathy; the problem is that our society is structured to exclude and then punish those excluded. We can be a part of the difference every day just by engaging with someone kindly, sharing a smoke or a meal, and funding the organizations and people dedicated to helping house some of our most vulnerable friends, neighbours and loved ones.
You are much closer to being homeless than you are to being a billionaire. If you won't treat those experiencing it with the care and empathy they deserve, who's to say that you'll be treated any better?
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
