chronnie49
Well-Known Member
I have experience being homeless and also helping the homeless and anybody that lives in or has been to San Francisco knows how huge of a problem it is. when I was 21(I am 33 now) I found myself homeless living in my car due to a few things that happened but I still woke up everyday at 5 am to get in line at labor ready to dig ditches and do other pretty tough work for minimum wage so I could make my car payment and eat. Eventually I saved up enough to rent a room and got a better job so with some effort people can turn their life around. On the other hand there are people that do choose to be homeless and are just lazy, but that doesn't stop me from trying to help when I can. A few years ago I spent a few hundred dollars at the dollar store buying Christmas bags and stuffed them with beanies,socks,gloves, razors and other items. I drove around on Christmas eve and handed them out to any homeless person. Some were very appreciative, others just asked if I had any money which was discouraging but that didn't stop me from handing them out. I guess my point is that people are homeless for many different reasons, and just because some don't want or appreciate help that doesn't mean we should just ignore the problem or assume they're all lazy or drug addicts. Life is hard enough without others trying to put us down or judge us for our situation and I believe in treating everybody with respect until they give me a reason not to. Imagine if you didn't have any friends or family, no phone, nowhere to shower and all of the shelters are full. What would you do? I am not saying to give money to every homeless person you see, but sometimes people just need a little help to get out of their situation. Sorry for the long post but I feel this an important topic that unfortunately won't ever be completely resolved.