VANCOUVER – The Association of South Asian Professionals of British Columbia (ASAP), held a Hotdog Day for the Homeless event on Sunday at Oppenheimer Park in East Vancouver. It was a cloudy day as a line of hundreds formed around the building awaiting the food distribution to begin. Coffee was kindly donated by Mandeep Kandola, owner/operator of Tim Horton’s locations at Commercial Drive, Terminal Avenue and West Pender. A dozen ASAP members served up hotdogs, coffee and bags of clothing to the less fortunate. By raising awareness, ASAP hopes others will join in to make a meaningful difference in the lives of the approximately 2,300 homeless people in Vancouver.
It was a pleasant surprise to see another group lead by South Asian community members, set up to help the homeless as ASAPBC was wrapping up. “Caring Cuz You Can” is a group of friends from all walks of life that get together every last Sunday of the month to give back to the community. Since 2012, they have been doing food and clothing drives. Harry Dhaliwal and Selena Sandhu commented: “We look forward to getting together with our friends to give back. We don’t ask for money, just food and clothing donations. We like to keep it fun and informal. All we ask of our team is to bring a smile and participate with a good attitude. It seems to do the trick and our group continues you to grow, and with that our ripple effect stretches even further.” It was heartwarming to hear all the ‘thank yous’ and ‘god bless you’ comments from the Downtown Eastside residents.
“It is clear when you spend time in the downtown eastside that the issue of homelessness is closely connected with the lack of adequate care for those suffering from mental illness. Until this underlying illness is treated, we will continue to have a very serious homelessness problem in British Columbia. There are several reports suggesting that the number of people that will be homeless could triple in the Lower Mainland in the next few years. This needs to be addressed now before it gets any worse and we encourage everyone to contact their political representatives to raise this issue. ASAP and its members are doing their part by getting involved, giving back to the community and raising awareness. We encourage and challenge others to join us to help resolve the plight of the mentally ill and the homeless.” states Mr. Jindy Bhalla, President of ASAP.
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