Powerful photo from Housing Not War protest

The Torontoist site did a photo essay about Thursday’s "Housing Not War" protest in Toronto.

The lead photo is very powerful.

Each time I look at it and it forces me to think about the issue. Hamilton, my hometown, and Toronto both have a housing crisis.

I have lived in downtown Hamilton many times adding up to likely five years. I often go downtown. I have seen the homeless. I find myself conflicted over how to solve the problem. Many of the people that are homeless are due to mental health illnesses or addictions. There is a lack of treatment options for them - we has a society seem to prefer to ignore the problem. Yet, housing them in a group home environment is not the solution I prefer either. It does not integrate people into the larger society.

It is such a complex problem, there is no easy solution.

All I can say for sure is that picture got me thinking about the problem.