Homeless in America 2021…
It seems like we beat this subject to death, but this is what we see every day. In every state we travel through even when we stop for gas we will see someone on the street. The man you see below we have been seeing almost every day for the past four months. Some days he is what you can say normal, other days he will sit in that chair and do a chant out loud for about 10 15 min in the morning. He is not well he is in his 30s but yes he is one of the ones that needs mental health help. Just lately I noticed he had new sneakers so I am glad that one of the locals is helping him as well when we are not around.
But the bigger question is when will it end? In the late 80s I remember The late Robin Williams, Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg do specials on HBO named Comic View where they would raise money to help the Homeless. Then you look at skid row in LA, that has been around since the turn of the century and its still there. And now it’s one of the most highest populations of Homeless in the Country. Well I bet you many of the places we have been to are not to far behind because there are many Homeless you do not see. But we see because it’s our job to help who we can when we can. There were a few that we found that started coming out after the 3rd time we had been to a certain location.
I know we cannot help everyone, and I also know that yea there are many out there that are scammers too. But we try and do what we can. But I just do not understand that we have places to rehabilitate people who committed crimes, sometimes serious crimes. But we can’t help and try to rehabilitate people on the street, or get many of them into mental health facilities. Now there are many places out there that do and the many I have seen do a great job but it’s just not enough and it’s also very hard for those places to survive as well.
Not to mention anyone at anytime can become homeless, so many places we have been to after Tornadoes and Hurricanes not to mention flash fires as well. Some get help and can recover but some get affected in a different way and it takes a while for them to snap back. But until they do they need a little help compassion and guidance. And us as Americans have to work together and help each other. Many of them are just outside our doorsteps many could even be our old neighbors. You never know someone’s life or what they are going through, I know this because it happened to me back in 2014. I was too proud to let anyone know what was going on, the days I went hungry staying in my foreclosed house. I was mentally drained selling off many things I owned while waiting for a call back from jobs I interviewed for. If it wasn’t for the people in my life I would have given up, and I am here today because I didn’t.
But I was lucky many are not. When you are at your worst and I mean worst and door upon door is being shut in your face it can change you. And this is what you run into with many of the homeless. They are beaten down and just do not know where to turn. Many shelters are in horrible conditions, untrained staff, and many shelters are dangerous themselves there is no screening on who could eventually be dangerous. Also, let’s face it no city wants homeless facilities anywhere near or in them. So they make it extremely hard for people like us who want to do something about it.
Many even ask us if we could get them hotel rooms, and sadly for legal reasons we cannot. We would love to but we also have to respect the business owner as well. Not to mention that does not fix the problem we are trying to find long term solutions here as well, but make no mistake we feed who we see in the meantime and if they need a shirt or a pair of pants and shoes well we got them too.
So don’t be afraid to smile or even hand one a bottle of water is the little things that can help bring them back. Again you have to be careful don’t ever approach unless you can see how they react to you walking by. Some need mental help and some have been out there so long you just can’t approach and you have to let them be. I call them the seasoned homeless they do not want anyone near them and even I don’t bother them. I’ll leave things on the corner and they can come and get them if they want. But do not approach by any means.
I do not know if we can ever end this problem, but we will continue to help as many as we see for as long as we can and hope others will do the same.
