It's hard to experience life without opening your eyes. Yet oftentimes that's exactly what we do. We see what we want to see; hear what we want to hear; experience what we want to experience. Sometimes we are too scared to see what life is really about. Of course there is the pleasure, but there is also the pain. San Diego has suffered from homelessness since its inception. Homeless people flock here nation wide because of its mild annual climate. In fact, sometimes they are driven here cross country by medical providers who refused them care.
There are several myths surrounding homelessness.
Myth #1: Homeless people are uneducated
Fact: Most homeless people understand math at a 12 grade level
Myth #2: The government is the largest contributor to non- profits that service the homeless
Fact: Most funding for homelessness comes either from grants or individual donations
Myth #3: It is the homeless people's fault that they are homeless
Fact #3: Many homeless people are victims of verbal, domestic abuse or child abuse; or are mentally ill
Myth #4: All homeless people are mentally ill
Fact #4: Lots of homeless people used to be high functioning employees with well paid jobs
I truly think Tuesday changed my life. While I have seen homelessness, I have never seen it on such a large scale. There are over 10,000 people without homes in San Diego! If homelessness is so wide spread here, just imagine how problematic it is elsewhere.
Father Joe's runs one of the largest, most successful homeless programs in the country. Father Joe started St. Vincent's (where we went) with only $50 in his pocket. A New York businessman, he new how to make lots from very little. During seminary, a priest saw promise in Father Joe and encouraged him to use his business expertise to expand homeless services in San Diego.
Currently, the shelter serves 1,000 homeless people, and is still expanding today.
After visiting Father Joe's Villages, we had the opportunity to pass out meals to the homeless. We split into different groups and found willing benefactors. We had SUCH a positive reaction. One person even cried explaining that they just became homeless at age 55.
All in all, today was a day of mixed emotions. At one moment I was crying tears of joy, and at another tears of heart ache.
I now feel compelled to do more. The world suffers not from a lack of good people, for you can find such people in abundance. Martin Luther King Jr. put it best when he said, "the world suffers from good people who do nothing. " I no longer want to be one of those people.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
i am being constructive.
constructive constructive constructive constructive
constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructiveconstructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructiveconstructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructiveconstructive constructive constructive constructive
constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructiveconstructive constructive constructive constructive
constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive constructive
Myth # 3 and #4 are weird. For myth #3, just because the person is abused doesn't mean you attomatically become homeless, even though that is probably true, there are other ways people become homeless. Maybe you should put those. For myth #4, just because someone is high functioning at a well paid job doesn't mean they can't become mentally ill, anyone can. Be a bit more specific. I did like the last part where you quoted Martin Luther King Jr. I also liked the part where you explained how you felt about giving the food and blankets. I love your blog. It is very moving.
Post a Comment