From Childhood to Homelessness!!

Last week I was walking to a meeting in downtown San Francisco. I don't go into SF much these days. After a long day I’d usually mention to my wife how much of a dump the place really is in parts. Seeing countless homeless people on the streets is nothing new, but that doesn't make it easier to witness; people shooting up, relieving themselves in the middle of the street, people ranting and arguing with themselves, people walking the wet rainy streets in bare feet. The more you see it the more you become numb to the effects but at some point you witness something different or impacting.

There are two sides, no pun intended, to Market Street. The further you walk towards Van Ness Ave. the seedier, the more desperate the sights become. Walking on the opposite side to the Warfield Theater tends to be a little cleaner and less unsettling.

Occasionally you witness random acts of kindness; people giving food and drink, others offering emotional support. On this particular day a lady handed a packet of Oreo cookies to a homeless guy. "Thanks!" he said, "All I need now is a glass of milk!!" It made me smile, it actually made me laugh. I smile now when I think of it, but as I walked on I thought more about what he'd said.
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Gradually my smile narrowed, and eventually disappeared. I started to think about what memories this random act of kindness had brought up in this guy's mind. Did it, as I thought, take him back to his childhood? Did it take him back to sleepovers with his friends, pizza for dinner and cookies and milk before bedtime? What memories did it stir in him? He once had a childhood, just like you and I. It may have been happy, maybe not. At some point something changed in his life that eventually brought him to the streets.

We just don’t know their story and are often too quick to judge. They are people like you and I, perhaps better people than you or I. Some need help, be it medical or psychological. Some need love and understanding. They all deserve respect. At some point society has failed the homeless. Yes I know some choose a life on the streets, occasionally some can be aggressive and yes there are frauds out there exploiting the generosity of people, but if looked at carefully how many homeless people are there by choice?

In this day and age it’s incredible that people are forced to live on the streets. Stop and think about that for a minute. Think of where you are right now. Look at your surroundings. Remember what you ate for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Now imagine if you had all that taken away from you tomorrow and found yourself with one outfit to wear, one pair of shoes, perhaps a coat, perhaps not, maybe a blanket or sleeping bag, no toiletries, no toothbrush, no money, no food, no laptop or mobile phone.

Unfortunately there doesn't appear to be any real answers to solving the issue. In my experience the problem is worse in the USA than the UK, which probably reflects the greater lack of social care in the USA. If there was some way of making solving the problem of homelessness a profitable business then maybe we’d see it eradicated. Until then, spare a thought for the homeless. Don't be too judgmental. Stop and have a chat and help them out if you can. You might be surprised how rewarding it can be!