Struggling with reality. Part One: "Homeless"

As I am sitting here in the Library sipping my ice tea and observing my surroundings I have come across a simple old man. He is sitting here reading a magazine. Whenever I come to the library he is always here in the morning through out the rest of the day just reading. Reading novels, newspapers, and magazines. Many people say that this man is homeless. This is where I come across the bump in the conversation. The assumption of being homeless. This man is clean shaven, and has clean clothes on, he doesn't carry a bunch of things with him, in fact I only see him with his jacket and his self. His clothes are new and clean and he doesn't give me the impression of homeless at all. People assume that he is homeless because he spends most of his day here, and he is friends with other old men who are also assumed to be homeless. To me what I see when I look at this old man, is someone who may have no family and/or someone who just has nothing else to do but read. Granted he could be homeless and I would have no way of knowing unless I went up to this gentleman and asked him if he was homeless, and that would possibly offend him and be very rude. Lets briefly examine the concept of Homelessness.

home-less (adj) : having no home, or no permanent place of residence. (Websters Dictionary)

The thought of someone being homeless is a sad thought. They probably have lost everything, including their pride and dignity. And by calling someone homeless when you have no proof but your own assumption is degrading. It is the same thing as telling a woman that she should not be able to have a job and that she is just to birth children and cook meals. It is degrading and people who assume such things should really take a step back and look at the world they live in. Who are you to know if your class mate in elementary school was homeless? Oh wait, the adjective "homeless" seems to only apply to those of older age that (according to many) have no place in the same location as you. Did you know that in 2011 there were 636,017 homeless people in the united states (that were recorded and many go unrecorded every day), and 67,495 were veterans. Every 4 in 10 homeless individuals are unsheltered (National Alliance to End Homelessness). Homelessness is no rarity to our country. This statistics are also manly focused on adults. BUT the rate of homeless children in our country is alarming. A study in 2002 found that 1.7 million children call the streets home every year, 38% were under 18, and 42% were under the age of 5 (SafeHorizon)

When I was in high school my freshman year, I was invited by my digital photo teacher to go to a Homeless Summit in Newport Oregon. I was there mainly to film about the program and the meeting. I was severely enlightened when I attended. I benefited more from the experience than I did from the grade in which I received (it was an A by the way.) I learned so much about the Homeless issue in my community. I had learned that the city of Newport tried to construct a homeless shelter but they had to many issues with fights and things being stolen that they shut it down only months after opening it. Now some people might think "oh well they tried and it didn't work sucks for the homeless." but you must know that they didn't try hard enough. Years after shutting down the shelter, the summit was being held. We suggested that (and yes I became part of the discussion) the city of Newport not only open one shelter, but numerous throughout the different ends on the town. That way there will be less fighting over space and food, and stealing will not be a problem if you have rules. People will follow rules as long as they have a roof over their head and they have a warm place to sleep in. Comparing Newport Oregon to Boise Idaho is a breeze. Boise has numerous, plethora's even of homeless shelters and woman's shelters. And they are not trashy they are actually very nice and very high level for a shelter. This summit opened my eyes to the world. I knew there were homeless people, and that there was an issue but I never knew how serious it was. Hell there was a man who used to be in Lincoln City and he would collect cans. He was the can man - it seems like a rude thing to call him, but he embraced it- and he would pick up pop/beer cans put them in a bag and take them to the store and cash them in for a little amount of money and buy himself something to eat. He had lived in Lincoln City for years and was doing just fine. He never bothered anyone, in fact people didn't mind seeing him because he didn't bother people. If you said hello he would say hello and shoot the breeze with you as long as you wanted. Unfortunately someone killed him a number of years ago. It was sad because he minded his own business, he wasn't into drugs and things like that. It is a shame that people feel disgusted by people who are homeless. It would be different if you were in their place.

I have learned so many things about homelessness, the people, the shelters, and the programs trying to help them. It is a shame that some people can't seem to understand that people fall on hard times and sometimes it is just harder to get back up. The system is shot in so many ways (that is another topic to be addressed separately) that it makes it almost impossible to get back on ones feet. But I urge you, if you read this please consider how you think of people, don't be a person that assumes whether or not someone his homeless unless you know for a fact, and don't be rude or senseless. Sometimes they just need a pick me up.

Tip of the day: Carry food in your car, a big zip lock bag of snacks; applesauce, granola bars, chips, anything snacky and give it to a homeless person on the side of the road. They will appreciate you, and you will feel better about yourself for it.
Quote of the day: "It is only in the giving of oneself to others that we truly live." - Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus

Until the Part 2.
Tschuss