News

The simply written, personal biographies hint at the terrible loneliness and longing that visit the homeless each Christmas.

Heartbreaking, too, are the humble requests penned by those who live and sleep on the streets of two of Canada's most prosperous cities.

Dwayne A., a 49-year-old Vancouver roofer, wants bus tickets and gloves. Jerome L., 50, a transplanted Newfoundlander living in Calgary, is a would-be poet who wants a dictionary. Kari H., a 38-year-old widow who has battled drugs, wishes "my kids and family would talk to me again."

Their stories and Christmas wishes can be found on two websites set up in Vancouver and Calgary, which provide homeless men and women the opportunity to make a Christmas wish list.

Donors can scroll through the profiles, then purchase a gift for a specific person rather than hand over cash or a cheque to a faceless bureaucracy. The homeless, in turn, get a present they specifically requested.

The sites (http://www.homelessvancouver.com and http://www.homelesspartners.com) have touched a chord with residents in both cities: Last year in Vancouver, where the Web wish list originated, donors showered shelters with more than 2,000 requested presents. In Calgary, the earmarked gifts are piling up in shelters.

"Most people want to do something for the homeless," said Rich Duimstra, who manages the Vancouver website. "Or rather, most people think something should be done for the homeless. When people see that they are real people. When people make that connection, then they really do want to help.

"We're not giving loose change. We're giving practical gifts."

The websites were the brainchild of Dan and Jennie Keeran, a Vancouver couple who set out to provide a vivid window into the lives of the men and women who don't have permanent shelter.

By writing a small profile of each person, including their hopes and fears, the Keerans hoped to forge an emotional connection between potential donors and the homeless.

The couple, who are in Calgary this Christmas to oversee the Alberta city's website, said they hope the concept spreads across the country.

"The focus is the connection," said Ms. Keeran, 56, who was moved to tears this week when she walked into a gift-filled room at the Calgary Drop-In and Rehab Centre, which is one of the organizations participating in the wish-list program.

"People are naturally afraid to approach the homeless," Mr. Keeran, 59, said. "But they are just normal people a lot of the time. Half of the homeless are working poor."

The Keerans started the site last year after they moved from the woodsy Vancouver-area community of Deep Cove to downtown Vancouver. They were immediately struck by the number of people sleeping in doorways and pushing shopping carts though the city's streets.

At the urging of their daughter in Calgary, the Keerans moved the concept to the prospering Alberta city.

Back in Vancouver, the Keerans handed the reins to their friend Mr. Duimstra.

The married father of two young children always found Christmas to be stressful and busy. He didn't need a second, unpaid full-time job.

But with the Keerans in Calgary, Mr. Duimstra, a Burnaby city employee, knew that if he didn't take it on, no one would. Despite the hectic pace and endless phone calls, Mr. Duimstra said the website helped his family better appreciate Christmas.

"For the first time, we're not caught up in the rush," he said, during an interview on his lunch hour. "We're caught up in something worthwhile." His children, age 5 and 7, say they're proud of him.

Scrolling through the websites, the desires of the homeless appear remarkably simple. Combined, there are 500 wish lists from people in Vancouver and Calgary.

Joe V. is hoping to unwrap black jeans (requested size: 30 waist, 32 length), a backpack and Calgary Flames tickets on Christmas morning.

The 31-year-old Halifax native works the nights at Calgary's Pengrowth Saddledome and sleeps by day at a homeless shelter as he scrambles to save money for his own place and forget the breakup with his fiancée. The arena, he says, helps keep his spirits high as he adjusts to life alone in a new city.

"To say hockey did keep me alive would be the truth," he said.

Other stories are depressingly similar. Many arrived in the big cities in search of work, only to find themselves unable to afford a home or find food. Some list their challenges as simply staying warm and feeling secure. Others confess to drug and alcohol addictions. Yet others request phone cards, blankets and treats.

Homelessness is a growing problem across the country and in Calgary, there were 3,436 people without permanent shelter at last count. In the Vancouver region, it's estimated there are least 1,200 homeless people, but most say the number is likely much higher.

Right now, there are dozens of people on the websites still waiting for at least one of their wishes to be filled.

Louise Gallagher, the resource development manger at the Calgary Drop-In Centre where the homeless sleep on every inch of available floor each night, said she has been coming in every morning to gifts stacked in front of her office door.

"We've been so incredibly blessed by the largesse of Calgarians," she said.