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Homeless Initiatives

For two thousand years the Jews were a homeless people. Only since the establishment of the State of Israel do the Jewish people now have a national home. And only since the establishment of the State of Israel has the Canadian Jewish community reached a level of security and well being, to have practically banished the experience of homelessness from the Canadian Jewish psyche. However it is easy to forget what it means to be homeless.

At Ve’ahavta we believe that serving the homeless of Toronto (regardless of race, creed or color — and we have discovered a few Jews among the homeless) is part of Tikkun Olam or repairing the world. Our van goes out four times a week to provide food, clothing, medicine, and psychological support to the homeless of Toronto. Since the beginning of the program, we have fielded more than one thousand volunteers from the Jewish community of Toronto and have participated in more than 5,000 charitable interactions with homeless people.

Nir Baraket

There are three things which make our program different from other programs:

  • The first is that the homeless perceive us as Jewish people working for a Jewish organization. The homeless of Toronto are among the poorest of the poor and they experience direct Tsedakka from the hands of Jewish volunteers.
  • The second is the time we take with each homeless person. Over the years the many hours of just talking and giving the homeless emotional support has contributed to their self esteem and desire to live, for they know that we truly care for them as individuals.
  • The third is that as most of the Jewish community of Toronto lost direct contact with the experience of poverty, our volunteers have told us again and again that the experience of serving the homeless with a Jewish organization has reminded them of the fragility of life, its value and the mitzvoth which are demanded of them as Jews.
Rabbi Akiba used to say, “Beloved is humanity, for it was created in the image of Hashem; a greater love was shown when we were made conscious of being created in Hashem’s image, as it is said in Torah, ‘For in the image of Hashem was the human made’.” He also said, “Everything is foreseen, yet freedom of choice is given; The world is judged by goodness, and everything depends on the abundance of good deeds.”

Click here for more information on the Mobile Jewish Response to the Homeless van.

Nir Baraket