A series of essays....
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SHARING DOWNTOWN ORLANDO WITH
MY BROTHER-IN-LAW, CHRIS |
....as seen through my eyes!
By: Jacqueline E. Hughes
A story I read many months ago has stuck with me every day since roaming about our new hometown of Kalamazoo, Michigan, and observing the many homeless people who push their ‘carts of worldly belongings’ from one area to another. Mind you, Orlando, Florida, where we recently moved from, was not immune to having a large contingent of homeless folks, however, it always seemed more reassuring to note that in the winter months they weren’t, necessarily, freezing, lonely, or completely helpless. I'm not sure how often those living in empty, tree-filled lots were thought about as many of us sat quite comfortably in our ‘climate controlled’ small, stucco mansions touting the false securities of our gated communities.
The story went something like this:
When confronted by the homeless population, please don’t think of them as anything but who they are. Do not believe that their primary agenda is to collect a small nest egg in order to improve their situation or do what we, their observers and donators, think they should do with the money they are, half reluctantly, given. We are not their judges, mentors, or guardian angels meant to gently touch them with thoughts without actually touching them in order to persuade or coerce them into becoming viable citizens of the community.
These are gentle souls who live by their own agendas. If we so choose to contribute financially to them in either small or larger increments, know that we are doing so out of our own love for humanity. We often gather the collectivity of moral and ethical standards or judgments while applying our emotional concerns when seeing a homeless person; to the point where we apply the principle that our conscience and sense of duty towards our fellow man should compel us to react to their hardships whether or not we understand the fundamental concept of why or how they have embraced their particular hardship on their own.
Many of our homeless individuals find their solace in the principle of self-preservation.
When we consciously decide to provide someone with financial aid, we should not concern ourselves with what they will spend it on. Believe me, our spare change to them is, in reality, a small contribution to their bad habits and keeps them trolling for more, day and night. What they spend it on should not matter to us. What does matter is that we have opened-up our hearts to a fellow human being and, with any luck, they may, in fact, use it to secure a solid meal every once in awhile.
You have a choice. You can contribute to the homeless population or not. It’s your decision.
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| THE FACE OF HOMELESSNESS |
Courtesy of Wikipedia
Please don’t think poorly of me for paraphrasing another person’s thoughts and adapting their feelings into my own story. I agree with the author when it comes down to not being an unfortunate person’s judge or lording it over him with our own personal principles of moral and ethical standards.
However, as with just about everything else, there are exceptions to this train of thought. Our nation’s current, unstable economical status quo has given rise to many destitute families now having to exist within the poverty level. Families who enjoyed middle-class status along with their parents and grandparents before them, have been squeezed dry by loss of employment, as well as any investments or savings that had been slated for any one of life’s many unknowns such as providing for an aging parent, unforeseen health issues, the loss of a spouse, and the unexpected loss of income.
Since the economic depression we endured in 2008, homes have fallen into foreclosure, personal credit scores have plummeted to extreme depths. Many families, to this day, continue to live in small hotel rooms (if they can afford it), abandoned buildings, or their own vehicles and remain thankful for any financial help they receive just to survive another day. The onslaught of the Trump administration has only served to exacerbate the plight of the the entire Middle Class in our country.
The agenda for these families is to climb out of this hole of oppression and seek the life that they had at one time enjoyed and worked so hard to maintain.
Dan and I took his brother, Christopher, to downtown Orlando one day to introduce him to the night life of the ‘City Beautiful’ including the Church Street attractions, people watching, and a visit to the Orange County Regional History Center located on Central Boulevard. After parking in one of the several ramps, we walked over to the dark, secluded elevator as a gentleman came out of the shadows and asked if we could spare some change. Dan and I looked at one another. But, Chris....well, he automatically pulled out a five dollar bill and gladly handed it to the man who, consequently, smiled and thanked Chris, profusely.
On the elevator ride down to street level, we asked Chris how it was so simple for him to hand over five of his hard earned dollars to this stranger, especially when you know that the odds are he will just head for the nearest liquor store with it. His kind and thoughtful reply stays with me to this day....
“You see, I’ve been there. I know what it’s like to be down on my luck and have people look at me with side-long glances or something. Granted, I was just trying to keep a roof over my head and my car running so that I could get to work every day. Eating one square meal a day at the local Waffle House was a luxury for me. So, I really don’t care if he took my money and ran down the stairs to buy a bottle of the ‘brown bag vino’ of his choice. If I helped him live through another chilly night without giving-up on himself, and doing it in the best way he knows how with no questions asked....I feel I did the right thing by him.”
That’s my brother-in-law; kind, gentle, spiritual, and understanding of the plight of others. Thank you, Chris, for your compelling insight!
So, yes.....unless your plan is to create major changes by helping people in need and show them how to help pull themselves up by the bootstraps and create a better life for themselves and their family, by all means, invest your time, money (if available), and emotions towards this cause. Roll-up your sleeves and help provide holiday meals for the needy without making them feel guilty or indebted to society. Provide clean clothes and a helping hand towards seeking employment. Give them the hope and desire for a brighter future.
Always know that you can be kind and helpful to others, even those who will fritter away whatever you bless them with, and you don’t have to feel guilty about doing it. And, of course, you realize you can just walk away from them, instead. The kindness you show must come from your heart. When your heart is made just that ‘little bit’ lighter because you cared, it doesn’t really matter where the money is spent. And, maybe, just maybe, you will have done the right thing by them, after all.
Copyright © 2018 by Jacqueline E. Hughes
All rights reserved
