When we thanked Shane for taking the time to speak with us, he said it was a pleasure to share his story because if telling it could help even one person feel less alone, his job would be done.
« That’s my goal in life, to give back and… make at least a couple people better. »
Shane loves to give, but he hasn’t often received. From a very young age, he didn’t get the childhood a boy should have. This led him to meet people he perhaps shouldn’t have met and do things he perhaps shouldn’t have done. Until that whirlwind eventually left him on the streets of downtown Montreal.
But Shane is at peace with his past and his current situation.
« I understand that I put myself in this position, now it’s up to me to get out of it. »
Fortunately, Shane doesn’t have to accomplish this colossal task alone. In fact, Shane is so surrounded by people that he spent more time talking to us about others than about himself during our interview. He tells us about his friends on the street, whom he hopes will find peace.
He tells us about his other friends, who aren’t on the street, and to whom he hopes to teach respect for those less fortunate. « It’s pretty simple, really. Never put somebody down. What happened to them, it can happen to you. »
He tells us about another friend who recently died in his arms. He recounts that he still doesn’t know how to break the news to the young man’s mother.
He tells us about the people he interacts with at Résilience Montréal, their reality, and the injustices these First Nations people experience.
« Most of the people around here are First Nation. They’re the ones that belong here. It’s their land. And they’re still getting treated like when we first came here and set them off. »
But mostly, he talks about Lydia, his wife.
Shane has a piercing gaze, he speaks loudly and quickly, and he sometimes gets carried away. By his own admission, he still has difficulty controlling his emotions. But when he talks about Lydia, his tone softens, and his posture relaxes.
« I’m so proud of her. She’s so strong. »
He quickly regains his composure, as if to hide his sensitivity, but it comes back several times during the discussion.
It was actually through Lydia that Shane met Médecins du Monde.
« My wife was passed out one day, because she’s anaemic, and Amanda from Doctors of the World was the only one to care enough to come and see if everything was alright. She’s a blessing. You know, a lot of us don’t have Medicare cards, so just to know that someone cares and can help us out with our health, it’s really something. »
When we finally get around to talking about him, Shane doesn’t dwell on the present. He talks about the future. He wants to open a school « for troubled youth. » He wants to get back on his feet. He wants to help. He’s confident that the more he helps, the more he’ll be helped. A simple karma calculation.
« It might not come right away, but it’ll come. »
Thanks to our partner!
