The Homeless

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*amy*

Washing Up
Joined
Jun 18, 2007
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I had an appointment today & decided to wait for my ride outside, since it was such a beautiful day. I noticed two men (about middle aged, clean clothing etc), walking down the street (in the gutter) with shopping carts, piled with overstuffed Hefty bags & whatnot. Most, if not all, the bldgs on my block are security bldgs. (You need to be buzzed in to enter.) Thought I noticed one of the men coming out of a bldg to the shopping cart. I'm a little embarassed to admit, one of my first thoughts was, wonder what they're doing in this neighborhood. (It's a quiet street, & you only see people when they are walking their dogs.) I usually see Homeless people in run down areas or Downtown, but never here.

My next thought was, what, if anything, should/could I have said or done? Should I offer him a few bucks, ask if he wanted to make a few $ & offer him some handyman work - which I do need. A single friend of mine (an older gal), would go to a nearby park or the front of Home Depot, where men who are out of work, line up - to make some money. She would take them home, put them to work, feed them & pay them. I don't know that I feel as brave/comfortable. Guess he noticed me looking over at him, as he said "Good morning young lady." I nodded & said good morning back. While I was still ruminating about what to do/say, he disappeared around the corner to join his friend, who was calling out to him. I started to feel a lump in my throat, & have thought about it off & on today.

I know the economy is bad - foreclosures, grocery & gas prices going up, etc. Yesterday on the News, heard Ford laid off many employees. I feel that not all Homeless people are lazy, mentally ill, or suffering from substance abuse. I can see where one can be a productive member of society one day, & get laid off or ill the next day, & quickly lose everything.

What, if anything, would you have said or done? What is your honest reaction when you see a Homeless person? Do you look away & go about your biz, offer to help, etc. With the way the economy has taken a downward spiral, I have to wonder if a larger Homeless population is going to emerge.

ETA: For whatever it's worth (& it isn't worth much), I received my economic stimulus check. It was half the amont I expected for single homeowner no dependents. Not to look a Gift Horse in the mouth, but the amount won't even make a dent in my property taxes. No political statements here, but think the monies to "stimulate" the economy, could have been put to better use.
 
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Amy, first let me thank you for this open sharing of your thoughts and questions. Wow, did you ever call it - the confusion and doubt. Would I take a total stranger in, from off the street, to do some handi work or for a meal or even to hand them a twenty if I had it. Have I any answers? - no, but you have made me realize that I had better come to grips and have some answers ready.

About this "stimulus" money - it's all _ _ , just votes bought with more debt for our children and grandchildren to try to pay off. I'm afraid the gang in Washington has us figured out - we have swallowed so much from them we will buy anything they do or say.

You know, it's said that if we are prepared to let the government take care of us we had better be prepared to be disappointed. Which means also, those guys collecting rags or cans or what ever - we better be prepared to help rather than expect government to do it all.
 
Amy, I never offer money, but I will offer to buy them a meal or something. One day I was approached and had a grocery bag in my hand. I offered it to the guy and he said no. Hmmm...wonder how hungry he really was? In any case, I wouldn't be brave enough to have a stranger come into my home. I generally just offer food and go from there.

PS, lets be careful with the political stuff guys. I think this is a great thread and I don't want it to get lost in a political debate.
 
Thanks for your input, David & Alix. My close friend that I mentioned (now departed), had a very big heart. She was more courageous than I, and as mentioned, brought people into her home & put them to work. I'm sure it helped them to care for their families as well. She told me her husband used to say, "Are you opening a soup kitchen?!" She brought home a younger fellow she met in the Park. Gave him a roof over his head, & he was able to eventually buy a car & train for a job with the airlines. He would have given her the shirt off his back, had she needed it. There were times when she was ill (her kids grown & gone), & he took care of her. So part of me wishes I had the courage she had. Reminds me of the movie Pay It Foward.
 
Amy, you were privileged to know someone like that. I think that kind of person has a very special blessing. I'm afraid I'm too cynical to be like that.
 
One of the nicest things my sweet daughter ever did: a few years ago (she is 39), she was shopping late at night in the dead of winter at a well-known local super-store (Fred Meyer, sort of like Walmart) and there was an elderly homeless man in the entryway trying to keep warm. The store manager was trying to get him out of there. DD walked up to him and said "How dare you talk to my grandpa that way! She took the guy into the store with her, bought him some fried chicken and potatoes, a coat and a blanket. Then they went their separate ways. I'm sure he never forgot her.
 
I was in Chicago on a cold winter day, I was going in McD's for a breakfast (I know, I know), outside there was a young woman sitting on the sidewalk with her young child begging money. T went in and got one or two of everything I could carry and went out and gave it to her. She had a tear in her eye and mouthed a very quiet thank you.

I went back in to get my breakfast and was only a minute or so. When I came out, she was gone. I cannot tell you how good it made me feel.

I work in NYC and my job takes me all over the city. I see all maner of homeless. The obvious druggoes, I do not do much for othe others, I do what I can. On 31st street between 7th & 6th St Francis feeds the homeless at 6:00 AM. The length of the line is unbelievable. (Fellow NYC'ers I think that is the church, plese correct me if I am wrong).

I saw a program on HBO several years ago, ther are families in America that dress well, are both employed and have kids in school, that do not have homes, it is very sad.
 
"How dare you talk to my grandpa that way!

Years ago I was walking in downtown Winnipeg, and we passed a really, really down and out person (either on drugs or alcohol) begging for money. The person with me said "Someone, somewhere, has baby pictures of him". That phrase has always stuck with me.
 
whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, you do unto me.



last sunday, as my wife and son and i walked through the city, we passed a homeless guy, laying in a pool of his bowels. i ignored him and quickened my step to be able to get in between and shield them from this harsh reality.

instead, my son stopped, smiled and waved to the guy and happily said "hiiii" , just like he does to everyone else that he sees.

it's made me re-examine myself a dozen times this past week. now, nyc has many programs to help every kind of homeless people that there are, and i pay a ton of taxes to help with these causes. so i don't really feel guilty that i don't give them money, or stop to give them food. there's lots of places for them to go if they don't or can't take care of their own lives.

but i do feel badly that i'd stopped looking at them as good people fallen on hard times. my boy reminded me of that.
 
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amy, I understand your dilemma. When it comes to inviting someone into your home to do some handy work use that gut instinct and don't make quick decisions. I know you know all this but I got a little chill running up my spine doing a dance at the nape of my neck. So, I had to voice it.

I work in our tiny downtown area. I see the same people every day and you can tell which are on the streets due to mental issues, hard times, etc., etc. There was only one that creeped me out last year. He was constantly looking at women passing by (through his blacked out sunglasses) and he was the only one that I can say I was even close to being rude to i.e., he'd speak to me but I wouldn't speak to him. Finally, I saw him harassing a girl and I called the police. Turns out he was registered sex offender. I was actually glad because it told me that that gut feeling is worth something. I belong to an organization that is just a couple blocks off downtown and we feed the homeless on certain Sundays. I make a point to find out names and then when I see them downtown I call them by name. All they really want is to be treated like a human. I have also found out you have to be really careful and keep your distance while doing this.

bucky - my son did something similar one time. He went up to this man that smelled like he had been in his clothes for a year and hugged him around his knees. They almost couldn't break eye contact and all they did was just smile at each other.
 
I never offer these people any money because I feel like this; That since they are out there all day begging for money, then why in the world can't they be looking for a job?!

Most of them just don't want to go get help. They just would rather stay out in the streets and be bums where garbage food is for free and so are empty soda bottles and cans!

As for inviting them into my home, well, who knows if that when they leave, will something walk out the door with them when they do? Or if they'll be back looking for a place to stay the night? Or if a short visit turns into a long unwanted one?!
 
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Things must be different in the US than they are in Canada Corey. Here the homeless are most often mentally unstable to the point of not being able to hold a job, or hopelessly addicted to something.

Compassion is not so very hard is it? They may not be able to hold a job, but certainly we can offer them some food and a smile.
 
Corey have you ever tried to get a job when you are homeless? Think about it. If you are homeless then you have no place to wash up or shower. You have no place to clean your cloths. How many employers do you think would want to hire someone in dirty worn out rags who has not showered in who knows how long?

How do you know that most of them do not want to get help? That is a very broad statement. Have you talked to them to know this?

Why would you just assume that these people would steal from you because they are homeless. Have you ever heard about judging a book by its cover?

I would not invite them into my home in most cases, but just because they are strangers, not because they are homeless.
 
I give money ( small amounts) to the very old homeless. I've given food to the guys that stand on the street corner, won't give them money though.

When I worked a Sears a million years ago...there was a couple, the man on one corner and the lady on the other. Every day they'd stand there and beg for money. 5 o'clock came and ever night they'd get in their very fancy sports car and drive off. If they needed money so badly they could have sold that.
 
I'd like to see this thread get back on the track amy intended it to be on. I, myself, had delete what I wrote in response to a post :blush:

amy - I think you brought up a very good point and I think your intention was more how we, as individuals, handle these types of situations and what we feel our obligation is, or not is.

I don't think amy's intention here was for us to judge anyone.
 
or not is?

:huh:

amy asked what would we have done in a similar situation. give something to them; offer work; just ignore them, oe even secretly despise their existence in your plane of reality.

i'm not sure what responses were off the track?
 
You probably have a point bucky - I think there has been some stuff going on behind the scenes too that has my cackles up. I guess to read a blanket statement about such a large, diverse group of people rubbed me the wrong way.
 
Even though I live in a small town, there is an exit from a very busy interstate here, and we used to have a lot of vagrants who sat out by the shopping center with signs wanting to work for food, but that is no longer allowed. The police run off the panhandlers, and take the people in genuine need to the food pantry, which also furnishes things like diapers, infant formula, and even motel rooms for people who've had car trouble on the road and need help.

I wouldn't recommend bringing any of these people home with you to work, eat or whatever. You could be robbed or worse...you just never know.
 
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