Talk about being homeless.Growing up in Utah I never had any dealings with someone who was homeless. My first encounter with seeing someone panhandeling or sleeping on the street was when I lived near Las Vegas. Then when I got the deli in downtown Baltimore I saw a whole new side to people living on the streets. This is when I realized there is a difference between, what I call "street people" and the "homeless".
Working in an urban environment I saw people everyday who lived on the street!
They would often come into the deli and ask for food or coffee. To be honest, before this I was like most people and would avoid street people. I wouldn't even look them in the eye, I would turn from them and ignore them the best I could.
But here were several who were coming in to my place of business asking for food.
My business where
my paycheck came from
selling food! My partner would give them coffee after the breakfast rush and he would let one or two sit for a minute. This kind of bothered me, but it got me thinking. These are real people! I got to know a few of them by name and I wondered about their stories; how did they end up here? But, I also didn't want 'word' to get out that I was giving food away.
I was talking about this to one of my regular customers who worked for the Catholic Charities around the corner. She mentioned that there was a soup kitchen just up the street about a block away. She suggested I contact them about what I could do. I ended up taking a lot of the leftover food up there as a lot of restaurants would. Then when someone would show up in my business asking for a handout I could direct them up the street to the kitchen. I noticed that these "street people" often had mental problems. Most people don't know that in the 1970s, the deinstitutionalisation of patients from state psychiatric hospitals was a factor which increased the homeless population, especially in urban areas.
When I moved to Denver I went with a church group to work at a homeless shelter just before the holidays.
This is where I met the true "homeless". People who had a bad stroke of luck and didn't have a home. They had jobs that they went to during the day or evenings, but who lacked housing; because they could not afford, pay for, or were unable to maintain a home. It was very humbling to see. This made me realize the old adage: "there but for the grace of God go I". The staff there also turned away the "street people" who wanted to bring alcohol into the shelter. Theses street people would rather find a place to sleep outside in the snow, than give up their drinking for a few hours.
Thank God I have always been gainfully employed! Thankfully I have not had injuries that have not let me go back to work. Thankfully I have always had a place to live and a back-up plan ready, whenever a change has happened in my life.
For the last 13 years I have worked in downtown Dallas, another urban environment. I see homeless and street people everyday. I don't turn away anymore and try to ignore them as so many people do. I try to at least make eye contact and mutter some apology when asked for money. I think they at least deserve a little respect and understanding.
I couldn't go in the spring since I had my nose stuck in my books, but now that the studying and exams are behind me I can get back out this fall. I drove past a couple of lakes yesterday on my way back from my friend's home and it made me yearn to get the camping gear out and dusted off. There is even a lake within 10 miles of my home called Joe Pool Lake where I could get to very quickly.
This weekend I also realized that I can still get my Project Runway fix! Yeah! I don't have cable TV anymore and thought I might have to miss out on one of my favorite shows that I would watch. Well, Lifetime has full episodes on their website! Woohoo! Although it is way slow if I have anything else running on the computer at the same time, and the words don't always sync to their movements, but hey... it's good enough that I know what's going on.
