Homelessness

 Last week I came across a post on Facebook that a local news site had posted that really pissed me off. 

It was about how the state or just Indianapolis, was trying to pass a law to make it illegal for people to sleep on the ground. How this would be "better" for those homeless individuals. 

Such a crock of shit. 

How in the world is putting people in jail for finding some place to sleep going to help them? What this really means is that it is better for the city/state. This is an image issue. Or a control issue. But it certainly has nothing to do with helping individuals who are homeless. 

Here is the honest truth: Most of us are one bad event, one traumatic experience, away from homelessness. It is not an "other person issue", it is an every person issue. I remember being younger and people saying that it was just drug addicts that were homeless. And yes, some of those homeless individuals do have drug problems. But why is that used as a justification? Like, so they have a struggle, so does everyone, but because their struggle is with drugs, that somehow makes them less deserving of shelter? The logic doesn't make sense to me. 

Another point that is often brought up in a discussion on homelessness is shelters. Yes, there are shelters. But no where near enough of them. Also, they are generally on a first come, first serve basis. Furthermore, they are most often set up as Women's shelters and Men's shelters. So families would be split up. Not to mention, after a certain age, male children would be split from their mothers, simply because they are considered a threat. Well, as a boy mom, I would pass up on the shelter to stay with my kid. Not to mention that shelters are not always safe places either. 

I think we need to do something better for people. Do I have all the answers? Not by far. I have ideas and thoughts. But I do know that we, as a society in general, need to do better for each other. We can't predicate what the future holds for ourselves or for anyone else. We don't know if an act of God will tear our world apart, or a sickness, or a layoff. 

What I do know is that if I find myself homeless, I would hope that there would be people put in my path that would show compassion, generosity, and love. Not punish me further for something that could literally happen to anyone. 

A childhood memory that has stuck with me since elementary school actually deals with homelessness. It was 5th grade and our choir was on a field trip somewhere in downtown Indianapolis. I am not sure if we were singing somewhere or if we were watching a performance. Anyway, as we got back on the bus there was a man that started digging through the trashcan and found a cheeseburger and started eating it. Most of the kids on the bus started laughing. I started crying. I didn't understand how kids could be so cruel to someone. 

Now, here I am, almost 43 years old, and I still do not understand how people could be so cruel. Unfortunately, the cruelty has just grown as I got older. 

What are your thoughts on how to help homelessness? Have you ever found yourself homeless? What would you do if, in fact, you did find yourself in that situation? Join in the conversation in the comments and let me know.

It's Sunday again, which means a writing day. About to file for copyright on the book so until next time: Remember to be kind, smile lots, and dance often!!!