The strength of society can be measured in how it cares for its most vulnerable members, so the adage goes. If this is the case, then Toronto will likely come to the same end as Nero's Rome. And the 'Honorable' David Miller will be fiddling as it burns.
This is Al Gosling.
Mr. Gosling lost his home in the inferno this past week. No, he is not related to the notorious dysfunctional family from Pennsylvania and will not see a bailout funded by the Learning Channel. He is alone, he is 82 and he is now 93 pounds.
Thanks to a misunderstanding and lack of communication between the federal government department that dispenses his pension check and the municipal department that subsidizes his once humble, now non-existent apartment.
Coming home one day, he found his locks changed and all of his belongings - save the clothes on his back - confiscated. Sleeping under the apartment buildings stairs that night, he was awoken by a cop who brought him to a shelter, saying it wasn't safe under those stairs. While at the shelter, Mr. Gosling could not sleep for the constant noise and was so depressed he couldn't eat very much. As a result of his advanced age and his living situation, Mr. Gosling picked up a bug and was admitted to hospital because of chronic diarrhea.
He is about to be released, without anywhere to go. This is a man who never collected welfare or unemployment - even when he was out of work. He is an old man who deserves to have a rest for a bit. This should be is golden age. Instead it has been tarnished.
Is this how we treat our most vulnerable?? I hope not. If it is, I hope I never get old.
See the Toronto Star for more details. I have contacted the article's author to ask if there is anything that can be done. Details to follow.
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