The Martys of Canada are ignored
By JOHN MOHAN

This Saturday Siloam Mission hosts our second annual Inner-City Challenge.

Nearly a hundred people will raise sponsorships to volunteer at Siloam and walk a four-kilometre tour of inner-city haunts where Winnipeg's homeless concentrate. Hot 103 is helping get the word out and World Financial Group is also behind the day-long event in a big way.

If someone asks you to sponsor them, please do.

Siloam Mission programs that serve our needy will be better for your generosity, and it's going to be a true test for the participants as they see firsthand the challenges of the less fortunate -- people like Marty.

Marty (not his real name but a real person) started coming to Siloam Mission this spring. Six feet tall, well-groomed white hair and beard. I first noticed him standing alone outside our administration doors. As I hurried into the building for another busy day, I whisked by with a hurried hello, not breaking pace or noticing how or if he responded. The next day and the day after, the scene repeated itself. Marty standing in the same spot alone and me rushing in the door with a passing greeting, but not taking the time to notice his reaction. He was used to being invisible: not seen, not heard, not noticed. A week later though, as Marty continued his station at the same spot, I slowed my pace while offering my customary greeting of "Good morning, sir." He didn't respond, just stared straight ahead. Was he rude or in deep thought? The next day, the same. But a week later he looked back at me and quietly responded with a barely audible "good morning." Every day afterward we'd make eye contact as we exchanged greetings. I think he looked forward to being noticed, or was at least getting used to it.

As he made Siloam Mission his day and nighttime home, he always sat alone and seldom engaged with anyone. But he seemed to need to be with us. It was more than food, shelter and health care -- we were Marty's community and safety zone.

Marty didn't volunteer much information about himself or his past. He said his birth date was 1969, but he was actually born in 1946 making him one of the oldest homeless people in our city. He was articulate when he did speak but suffered from mental illnesses, sometimes asking the shelter staff to turn off the tape recorders, which didn't exist. He was a sound sleeper and slow-moving when he got ready to start his day, needing several wakeup calls.

There were so many unanswered questions: What did he used to do for a living? Was he ever married? Does he have children somewhere? Which political party would he vote for?

A month ago people began noticing conflicting messages from Marty. He clearly wasn't feeling well, but was much more interactive and seemed happier. A staff person mentioned Marty recently gave them a piece of gum and a cough candy wrapped in a tissue and some advice to help them with their cold.

Twelve days ago as Marty entered the men's washroom at Siloam Mission he suffered a massive stroke, passing away two days later.

For someone who kept to himself, he's left a deep impact on Siloam's staff and volunteers -- perhaps me most of all. Too bad Marty and those like him aren't being discussed in this year's election. Maybe we'd be a better country if they were.

Originally printed in The Winnipeg Sun September 24, 2008.
Reprinted with the permission of Sun Media Corporation.