Episode 13: The Jewish Response To Homelessness

In this episode, Rabbi Yossi talks with Cari Kozreiok of Ve'ahavta which provides much needed support to the homeless Jewish community of Toronto.

Cari shares some of the struggles that the homeless community of Toronto has been experiencing in recent months in combination with the pandemic, and what Ve'ahavta has been working on in order to bring stability back to the individuals.

"We have a mobile outreach van and it's primarily serving a specific subset of the homeless population known as "rough sleepers". These are folks who are living outdoors. Since the pandemic began, there's been a marked increase in the number of people who are living outdoors, many of them left the shelter system out of fear for their safety.

"They are braving the pandemic outside on the streets and it has presented tremendous challenges. Combined with the closure of so many of the formal and the informal amenities that enable people who are rough sleepers to survive in these harsh conditions, we're finding that people are going without food, without access to bathrooms and places to wash their hands.

"Things that enabled them to survive in the past are lacking, and there are many more people on the streets today. So it's a perfect storm and there's tremendous need."

Learn more about Ve'ahavta: https://veahavta.org/