People who are looking for food in rubbish bins often find leftovers of the so called “happy meal” but how often do they really get a happy meal….?
Many homeless people
eat what they can find and often the best meal they can get is in our trash!
Malnutrition is a
common problem among homeless people. It´s a daily challenge to fulfil basic
needs and the uncertainty of whether there will be enough food creates
psychical pressure.
18% of homeless people
are sleeping rough on the streets. They are often begging for money but if they
can´t gather enough money for a “happy meal” they have no choice and get a
CRAPPY MEAL!
Homelessness has
greater impact than we can image. It is not only a matter of affordable housing
but also about some basic human needs! Who wants to eat from a rubbish bin
while other people are watching and pretending not to see it...?How healthy
might a crappy meal be..?
Eating rotten meals
can be dangerous and food poisoning is only one of the diseases homeless people
can suffer from.
Did you ever think
about that someone else might drink the remaining ice cubes of the coke you
bought from Hungry Jacks...?Or the fries you didn´t like or couldn´t eat
because you were too full...
EVERYONE DESERVES A HAPPY MEAL! Don´t you
think?
By supporting
homefulness YOU can give a person in
need a happy meal!
Thanks to the St Vincent de Paul Society's soup van
services more than 632 people (in need) in Victoria get a
happy meal each night. More than 193, 000 meals are served per year. Help
people in your neighbourhood!
Providing a meal to homeless people is the first step
of increasing their quality of life.
Give everyone a choice and make them happy J
Jana
Since taking a meal is not only a matter of getting good and healthy food, but also a social activity which is one of the basic culture foundations in societies all over the world, the goal of giving everyone a "happy meal" is a very good initiative.
ReplyDeleteBut to improve our generall problem with homlessness, the reason for people living on the streets needs to be identified and fought against. Homeless people need to be integrated back in the "visible society", which totally can start by having a meal. To create a connection between the two different world, it could be possible to integrate homeless people in the process of making and delivering the food to their friends and "family". Helping out once in a while could be a criteria to be able to use the social facilities. It will also create a better connection between the helping organisation and the homeless people, and maybe help them to become visible again. In every relationship you have to give for getting something!
Improving the social activity of homeless people and integrating them in the actual process of creating something is a very important element. The idea about integrating homeless people in making and delivery food is very interesting. I think you are right about a “happy meal” being more than just good food. The social activity is very important and we all know that eating alone is not as much fun as having dinner with friends or family.
ReplyDeleteHomefulness is at the moment focusing on a lottery for homeless people. The lottery is employing homeless people and is helping them to sell lottery tickets on the streets in our cities. The money homefulness earns is used to support homelessness organisations in Victoria.
The organisations we are supporting have a variety of programs and initiatives which directly help homeless people. Homefulness is also providing social activities such as group work and training programs.