It is not an easy thing when you see someone trying to live and survive on the streets.
Amongst our community, many have expressed a wide range of reactions and emotions.
Many choose to not see the person at all.
Not out of callousness necessarily, but as a coping mechanism.
Some get very angry, and want them gone, but to where no one can answer.
Others feel pity, but don’t know where to begin with so many lost souls.
It can be a very impotent feeling.
It’s hard to witness the suffering of others with the knowledge that that powers that be have not made sure that more humane options become available.
Many try not to imagine what it would be like to have no home, no support system, to be cold and hungry and alone.
God forbid being sick on top of it.
To have so many walk by you every day and pretend that you don’t exist.
It’s the little things, those small actions….. the common kindnesses that when many participate and repeat, collectively make a huge difference.
A smile and acknowledgment of someone’s humanity is tremendous.
And just the basic act of humanity of providing someone a drink of water.
Remember that these small acts of kindness can have tremendously positive repercussions in the lives of others.
And within ourselves.
So, meet Floridian Barbara Mack.
Doesn’t have much in terms of wealth, living in an RV park in a small camper in Crystal Springs, and delivering food for Uber Eats.
On July 21st ( sorry, just recently discovered this ), in the afternoon of a scorching summer day, she was heading out of a convenience store she regularly frequents when she spotted a familiar homeless man outside sitting on the grass.
“I’ve seen him around several times. I’ve given him leftover food before, if I get a cancellation and have food leftovers in the car. He didn’t look good… like he was 10 seconds away from heatstroke.”
She also said he has “the mind of a child,” and she was concerned that he “doesn’t know he needs to stay extra hydrated when it’s super hot outside.”
She turned around and grabbed two more bottles of water, and seeing a long line, she called out to the lone cashier that she was taking the water to the guy outside and will come right back and settle up.
In her own words ..…
When I came back in, the lady in front of me turned around, hands on hips, and told me that I was just enabling that 'homeless person' (said with a sneer) and that I shouldn't be wasting my money on him.
It's hot as hell in Florida right now. Mid nineties with humidity around 80%. It's a good day for heat stroke, and I told her so. I said I'd rather give him a water than call an ambulance.
I was gonna shrug it off. Let it go. Chalk it up to ignorance and the heat making everybody cranky.
And then she told me I should be ashamed of myself. That someone should call the police on him, and that it should be illegal to beg for money. That people who give the homeless money just encourage them to stay homeless and that should be illegal, too.
Ashamed. I should be ashamed for giving some poor old guy a water - it cost a whole dollar, BTW - and I should get in trouble for making sure he didn't stroke out in this heat.
I guess I look nice. Approachable. Like I wouldn't rip your head off. I am nice, most of the time.
But not always.
And I lost my temper.
I told her to call a cop and report me for buying sh*t at a convenience store.
I told her that I wasn't in the damn mood for crazy right now. That it's a hundred f***ing degrees outside, and I'm hot and tired and sick to death of stupid people. That if she had an ounce of compassion in her whole body, she'd buy him a cold drink, too. That maybe she should figure out why she needs to accost complete strangers. And how's about after that, she back the f**k up outta my face and outta my business and turn back around and not say one more damn word to me.
I'm just about deaf in one ear. I try to modulate my voice. Unless I get angry.
It got pretty loud there at the end. There was dead silence in the store and then someone said loudly "For real!"
And the guy at the front of the line told the cashier to add a sandwich to his purchases for the guy outside.
The guy behind him bought an extra ice cream. The girl behind HIM got change for a twenty 'cause that guy could probably use some cash.'
Every single person in line got him something. Every one, except the now very embarrassed lady in front of me, who slunk out without saying another word.
When I got to the cashier, she didn't charge me for either of the waters, because she was going to take him one anyway. And mine was free because of the entertainment.
When I went outside, he was eating his ice cream and drinking his water with a pile of stuff all around him, a big old grin on his face. He didn't look shaky anymore.
And there, people, is the story of why I hate people. And why I love people. All in the same damned minute.
I sat in the car and drank my water and laughed with tears in my eyes, same as I'm doing now."
When things seemed to get worse, the atmosphere in the convenience store changed. The assault made those in the store realize that compassion still means something.
Since the original posting and a million hits, thousands have commented on how this was a catalyst for their own acts of humanity.
Says Barbara, "I do believe people are mostly good. I think sometimes we all need a reminder not to be selfish. I don’t have it in me to walk past people who need help. I'm not saying I’m a saint because I’m certainly not. I have a lot of empathy…. I've had hard times myself. People have tried to help me, and I pay it forward."
Whilst and until those in charge try to tackle this complex societal issue with compassion and expediency, when we see a person in front of us with a clear and immediate need, and we see a clear and immediate way to meet that need, well?
Like Barbara, we’re just keeping a sensitive and concerned eye on each other.
( Barbara’s online craft store for those so inclined —
poshmark.com/... )
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(Community member, teacher and righteous sister bkamr has spent 15 years developing and distributing inexpensive Winter Shelter Bedrolls and Homeless Survival Packages, most items can be purchased almost anywhere.
If so inclined, please message her.
She’d love to help you help others.)