YIMBY Week – Humanizing Homelessness

by | May 13, 2019 | Blog, YIMBY

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Earlier this year, I saw the tweet pictured here: “You have more in common with every homeless person than with any billionaire. Pass it along.”

And the response: “People want to believe this isn’t true, but it is. It’s far more likely any of us could become homeless than become fabulously wealthy.” 

Neither homelessness nor billionaire status should define an individual. First and foremost, they are human beings, and at Redwood we feel pretty strongly that every person has worth. 

Stereotypes of those experiencing homelessness persist, however.
Many of us have seen this video from Rethink Homelessness where people living on the streets hold up cardboard signs of what they did before they became homeless, ​and stories like the one of Olympic Medalist Rebecca Twigg now homeless in Seattle help us see that homelessness really can happen to anyone.

This short video from the #HumansForHumans campaign by Raising The Roof in Toronto humanizes homelessness well: 

Once we see ourselves in others, recognize what we have in common with people we thought were so very different from us, we can empathize more easily.

And hopefully, with that empathy comes action.

Get Involved
May 27-31 is YIMBY Week, and you are invited!

It is a great chance to celebrate that people in Barrie take care of one another, get to know our neighbours even more, and let those around us know that we support safe, affordable, hopeful housing for all. 

YIMBY week is about the idea that everyone should have a safe, affordable, hopeful place to live. And that our whole community benefits when this is the case. ​​

Use the hashtags #YIMBYBarrie and #IamaYIMBYer to follow along and share posts, ours or your own, that communicate this message! Be on the lookout for opportunities to speak up in support of housing for all. 

Want to do even more beyond YIMBY week? You can become a donor, or if you are a homeowner, take a look to see if creating housing through Redwood Second Suites is for you!

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