Mr. Dave Murray deserves kudos not only for the hours he put in preparing a plan for and during the Extreme Weather the City experienced but for the example he sets for having one’s priorities in order. He used Food Bank funds to fill the pressing need for mattresses and sleeping bags, knowing the need to replenish these funds would cause extra work. Lives saved vs. extra work? Sadly, experience has shown that all too few in the City have this same generosity of spirit.

With the severity of the snow, cold and wind-chill the Extreme Weather the City experienced had the potential to KILL. Imagine the field day the national media would have had with people freezing to death, from lack of charity, on the streets of a City that prides itself on the number of churches it has.

How should we say thanks? Those who regularly support the Food Bank say thanks, in the most meaningful of ways, with every donation and hour volunteered. For others: why not drop by and say “Thank You”, help in replenishing the funds expended providing shelter from the killing cold and/or help to ensure that the Food Bank has sufficient stocks on hand to not only meet the Christmas Season demands but also sufficient food to make it through the post-holiday bleak period.

I want to take a moment to also offer Kudos to the many volunteers who put in so many volunteer hours to keep the Salvation Army open 24 hours a day during the crisis. And to Dave W. for his decision to keep the building open those 24 hours. I want to make special mention of Mr. Chris O’Neill who put in countless hours helping in the early morning with work caused by the extra people staying at the shelter and spent many more hours serving coffee to keep the Redemption Café open six extra hours a day.

Fortunately we will never know how many lives these citizens, so generous in spirit, saved. Which is, in the end, the best thanks they could get.

I thought of Kevin George Ellis the other night and the abysmal way MSA Hospital treated this dying man (see tribute to the fallen http://www.somethingcool.ca/backissues/073106). Even worse than the way they treated Kevin is the fact that they continue to deliver substandard health care to the homeless putting their lives at risk. And, in the case I am thinking of, perhaps putting the health of the general public at risk.

One of the members of the homeless community has staff infection. The hospital gave him medication and sent him on his way – knowing he was homeless. I am not a doctor but from all the reports I have read of staff infection outbreaks in hospitals it sounds extremely infectious and easy to pass along. Now X is considerate enough that he warns people of his infection rather than trying to hide it. One could wish the medical professionals in Abbotsford had such ethical behaviour.

X also understands why, especially in the vastly overcrowded conditions caused by this life threatening weather he should not be in the Shelter. What I, and others, do not understand is why he is not in the hospital until he is fully well. Instead he is walking around the city leaving a trail of staff germs behind to infect unknowing members of the public. At the very least this would seem to be very questionable public health behaviour. Given the severe weather outside it is definitely a humanitarian issue. Just how many more unfortunates will the hospital contribute to the death of? How many dead will it take until the Fraser Valley Health Authority shows leadership and insists that MSA fulfill its purpose and deliver good healthcare to ALL suffering illness?

It is past cold, into the realm of bitchin’ cold. With all the snow on the ground, the fierce wind and the cold, the weather is life threatening. Many of the Abbotsford residents living on the streets have been sought whatever shelter, at whatever “price” they must “pay”, just to survive. For the first time in Abbotsford there is an Extreme Weather Plan in place and the coordinator of the plan has been checking up on the current population of the Salvation Army’s emergency shelter in case it is necessary to open additional beds.

Why is it that this year, for the very first time, Abbotsford has an Extreme Weather Plan in place? Because some concerned citizens gave their time and effort to get together to develop a plan and to get the plan approved by the provincial agency responsible for overseeing these plans, to ensure that when the weather turns deadly there are beds available to save lives. The City of Abbotsford is so lacking in leadership and vision that a group of citizens were forced to get together to address this life threatening issue.

Perhaps even more disheartening is that, in a city noted for the number of churches within its borders, not one was willing to step forward to open its doors to the poor and destitute when extreme weather threatens their lives. Apparently churches in Abbotsford favour the Inquisition behaviour model, distaining the lesson of the Good Samaritan.

Providentially for those so unfortunate as to find themselves homeless in Abbotsford, there are citizens whose principles and spirit values compel them to step forward to provide leadership and to render life-sustaining aid to those in need. Sadly, for the soul of our City, there seem far to few of these people willing to love their brother – even those brothers so many consider undeserving of love.