Questions for the Modern World looks at rough sleeping in two rich countries, Australia and Canada. We hear from someone who has lived it, from the people who serve on the streets, and from the staff who go back to the work every day.

At St Mary's House of Welcome in Fitzroy, Richie tells his story. He went from running a business to sleeping on concrete and begging on Melbourne's streets. He describes the beatings, the toilet paper you can't afford, and the help that came with conditions attached. He also describes a moment of grace in Carlton Gardens that held him for years.

From the wider Redemptorist family, Patricia Retuya from St Albans Youth Ministry in Melbourne and Annette Donovan-Panchaud from Ignite Ministry in Toronto talk about the charism of plentiful redemption on the street. They discuss the social anxiety that keeps good-hearted people from helping, and why feeding people has to go together with fixing the systems that leave them outside.

In London, Ontario, Tracey Morton-Sader and Tasha Woods of St Joe's Cafe, a mission of the Sisters of St Joseph, describe a 50-cent breakfast built on dignity rather than handouts. They also talk about a week of mass overdoses, the burnout that follows, and a rehab system that forces people to give up their housing to get clean.

Opening audio from comedian Eric Friedman (@ericjfriedman on Instagram).

Links

• St Mary's House of Welcome, Fitzroy: https://www.smhow.org.au
• St Joe's Cafe, Sisters of St Joseph, London, Ontario: https://www.csjcanada.org/blog/st-joes-caf
• Ignite Ministry, Redemptorists of Canada: https://ignite-canada.ca
• St Albans Youth Ministry: https://www.instagram.com/holyeucharistya