Hey Man, Ya Got Any Spare Change?
By Bob Perrin
Jack frost nipping at your nose? no? Well then consider yourself fortunate, real fortunate. Got air conditioning?, more good fortune, wow, were on a roll now baby, got a home? outstanding! but wait, don't pat yourself on the back just yet. Unfortunately unlike the majority of us that have homes to go to, and meals to eat, our homeless do not. Did you notice I said "our homeless". Its not a new problem, its been with us since the beginning, and I mean the very beginning when we first roamed this planet in loin cloths and animal furs.
We lived off the fat of the land. We built our own shelters or found a nice warm cave to raise our families in. We had to defend ourselves when threatened. We hunted for food, We traded what we had for what we needed and we grew stronger every day. The strong survived to bear future generations, and the weak perished. We also learned early on that to get something, you had to give something in return. We learned kindness. It didn't come easy to us, after all we had to learn to kill to eat, stay alive and defend ourselves from predators both animal and human, but eventually we made allies and formed partnerships with other tribes and learned to function as a group.
We started to gain momentum as a society. "Only the strong survive" was no longer good enough for us "humans" like it was in the animal kingdom we walked upright away from. We took the weaker ones under our wing and helped them along until they too, were strong enough to make it on their own. Our souls soared. We lived up to the title "Human".
WHAT HAPPENED TO US?...
We have a homeless population of human beings just like us, that have been unable to fend for themselves or get even the most elementary kindness from this incredibly advanced society we call humanity. Now I'm not naive enough to believe we can fully fix a problem that's as old as society itself, but we should at least be able to do a better job of it than we have been.
I don't mean to over simplify the problem, but I know a huge percentage of the homeless are there through no fault of their own. In the case of women, sixty percent are there because of domestic abuse. Try this statistic on for size, One in twenty four school age children in Louisville schools are homeless. My guess is, you had no idea it was that high. These are statistics we can no longer live with. It is our moral duty as a civilized society to open our hearts and help.
Don't get me wrong now, I'm not stupid, there are people on the street that are there just to exploit the system and it infuriates me to see it, just as much as it does you, and although these people can fend for themselves, most can't. We all have our own ways of extending a hand, whether it be the offer of a job or volunteering a small portion of your time or even just a kind word now and then. Yea,Yea, Yea I'm a bleeding heart. I can hear it now, "Why don't they just get a job," am I right?, truth is, its really, really hard when you've got no home and no money.
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE HOMELESS...
I'm sitting at my computer in a nice home office, in a home I built with my own two hands, and if you yourself are homeless and are reading this article, you're probably thinking.. what the holy hell does he know about being homeless?. Well I was, and a newspaper like you're reading right now, was my pillow many nights. It also was my saving grace. It gave me a job. No, I don't mean writing for them, I mean delivering them door to door.
I lived in a five by eight foot Uhaul trailer in northern Washington, a very inhospitable place to be in the winter. I sold my blood to drink and panhandled to eat. To look at me now, you would never in your wildest dreams believe the the places I've seen or the dangerous situations I have put myself into. This letter will be a shock to the people closest to me now, its the first time I've ever let them know. I am truly lucky to be alive today. I can tell you one thing that I know for sure, If you want "it" bad enough, you can get it. What "it" is you must decide for yourself. Choose wisely because it must become your "lifetime goal", and if you are not 100% heart attack, dead serious about it twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, you've had it.
When you're really, really hungry your head hurts, your stomach hurts, you get weak in the knees, the decision making part of your brain shuts down and your attitude really sucks, but you learn "real fast". Its always easier to give someone more unfortunate than yourself some pocket change than to get involved. I learned fast and cashed in on peoples indifference, and I seldom went hungry.
The deep depression that I suffered after the binge drinking was what finally did me in. I fell all the way to what I thought was the bottom, and had to be literally scraped off the sidewalk in downtown Seattle. I had just sold some blood plasma and used the money to buy a bottle. I was still weak from the blood loss and hadn't ate anything all day. I just passed out right there on the street, I still, even today, suffer from nightmares of those days, but like I said, I was lucky somehow.
I learned one of the most important lessons of my life after that, and it is this: "There is no bottom". The farther you fall, the farther you have to come back. It was a long way back for me physically, mentally and most of all spiritually.
Is there help out there? The real answer is, very little. Help must come from "Within" you. If you take away any thing at all from this letter, let it be this. Everyone on this planet has within them, the ability to make a choice for a better future. Is this the best you can do? Try harder!, believe me, you always can. If you give up you'll break my heart, I see you every day on the street and I'm only "Human". If a stubborn caveman like me can break through the wall, so can you.
Take small steps, even one a day or one a week, but take the steps. I suppose I could list all the resources you have available to carry on your fight for a better life such as shelters, missions, food banks, etc. blau, blau, blau, Its all been done before, and I've read a hundred articles that list all the programs a homeless person has available to them, but ask yourself one simple question. Have they helped? are you still homeless? To be brutally honest, what it boils down to is this, and you may want to sit down for this one.
The ball is really in your court, you have to want it, it's not enough for me to want it for you. After all, its your life right?. Lay out a mental plan for where you want to be in a year from now, and stick to it. Take the first step regardless of how small it is. It will come to you, and the time will fly. Believe me, I've been there. Once you've been on the street, a part of you never ever leaves it.
Now do I still seem like a bleeding heart?... You betcha.......
By Bob Perrin
Jack frost nipping at your nose? no? Well then consider yourself fortunate, real fortunate. Got air conditioning?, more good fortune, wow, were on a roll now baby, got a home? outstanding! but wait, don't pat yourself on the back just yet. Unfortunately unlike the majority of us that have homes to go to, and meals to eat, our homeless do not. Did you notice I said "our homeless". Its not a new problem, its been with us since the beginning, and I mean the very beginning when we first roamed this planet in loin cloths and animal furs.
We lived off the fat of the land. We built our own shelters or found a nice warm cave to raise our families in. We had to defend ourselves when threatened. We hunted for food, We traded what we had for what we needed and we grew stronger every day. The strong survived to bear future generations, and the weak perished. We also learned early on that to get something, you had to give something in return. We learned kindness. It didn't come easy to us, after all we had to learn to kill to eat, stay alive and defend ourselves from predators both animal and human, but eventually we made allies and formed partnerships with other tribes and learned to function as a group.
We started to gain momentum as a society. "Only the strong survive" was no longer good enough for us "humans" like it was in the animal kingdom we walked upright away from. We took the weaker ones under our wing and helped them along until they too, were strong enough to make it on their own. Our souls soared. We lived up to the title "Human".
WHAT HAPPENED TO US?...
We have a homeless population of human beings just like us, that have been unable to fend for themselves or get even the most elementary kindness from this incredibly advanced society we call humanity. Now I'm not naive enough to believe we can fully fix a problem that's as old as society itself, but we should at least be able to do a better job of it than we have been.
I don't mean to over simplify the problem, but I know a huge percentage of the homeless are there through no fault of their own. In the case of women, sixty percent are there because of domestic abuse. Try this statistic on for size, One in twenty four school age children in Louisville schools are homeless. My guess is, you had no idea it was that high. These are statistics we can no longer live with. It is our moral duty as a civilized society to open our hearts and help.
Don't get me wrong now, I'm not stupid, there are people on the street that are there just to exploit the system and it infuriates me to see it, just as much as it does you, and although these people can fend for themselves, most can't. We all have our own ways of extending a hand, whether it be the offer of a job or volunteering a small portion of your time or even just a kind word now and then. Yea,Yea, Yea I'm a bleeding heart. I can hear it now, "Why don't they just get a job," am I right?, truth is, its really, really hard when you've got no home and no money.
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE HOMELESS...
I'm sitting at my computer in a nice home office, in a home I built with my own two hands, and if you yourself are homeless and are reading this article, you're probably thinking.. what the holy hell does he know about being homeless?. Well I was, and a newspaper like you're reading right now, was my pillow many nights. It also was my saving grace. It gave me a job. No, I don't mean writing for them, I mean delivering them door to door.
I lived in a five by eight foot Uhaul trailer in northern Washington, a very inhospitable place to be in the winter. I sold my blood to drink and panhandled to eat. To look at me now, you would never in your wildest dreams believe the the places I've seen or the dangerous situations I have put myself into. This letter will be a shock to the people closest to me now, its the first time I've ever let them know. I am truly lucky to be alive today. I can tell you one thing that I know for sure, If you want "it" bad enough, you can get it. What "it" is you must decide for yourself. Choose wisely because it must become your "lifetime goal", and if you are not 100% heart attack, dead serious about it twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, you've had it.
When you're really, really hungry your head hurts, your stomach hurts, you get weak in the knees, the decision making part of your brain shuts down and your attitude really sucks, but you learn "real fast". Its always easier to give someone more unfortunate than yourself some pocket change than to get involved. I learned fast and cashed in on peoples indifference, and I seldom went hungry.
The deep depression that I suffered after the binge drinking was what finally did me in. I fell all the way to what I thought was the bottom, and had to be literally scraped off the sidewalk in downtown Seattle. I had just sold some blood plasma and used the money to buy a bottle. I was still weak from the blood loss and hadn't ate anything all day. I just passed out right there on the street, I still, even today, suffer from nightmares of those days, but like I said, I was lucky somehow.
I learned one of the most important lessons of my life after that, and it is this: "There is no bottom". The farther you fall, the farther you have to come back. It was a long way back for me physically, mentally and most of all spiritually.
Is there help out there? The real answer is, very little. Help must come from "Within" you. If you take away any thing at all from this letter, let it be this. Everyone on this planet has within them, the ability to make a choice for a better future. Is this the best you can do? Try harder!, believe me, you always can. If you give up you'll break my heart, I see you every day on the street and I'm only "Human". If a stubborn caveman like me can break through the wall, so can you.
Take small steps, even one a day or one a week, but take the steps. I suppose I could list all the resources you have available to carry on your fight for a better life such as shelters, missions, food banks, etc. blau, blau, blau, Its all been done before, and I've read a hundred articles that list all the programs a homeless person has available to them, but ask yourself one simple question. Have they helped? are you still homeless? To be brutally honest, what it boils down to is this, and you may want to sit down for this one.
The ball is really in your court, you have to want it, it's not enough for me to want it for you. After all, its your life right?. Lay out a mental plan for where you want to be in a year from now, and stick to it. Take the first step regardless of how small it is. It will come to you, and the time will fly. Believe me, I've been there. Once you've been on the street, a part of you never ever leaves it.
Now do I still seem like a bleeding heart?... You betcha.......
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