LIVING ROUGH

 

What causes a person to become homeless? There’s the expected drug abuse, alcohol abuse, mental disorders, but those cannot be the only factors, can they? Everyone has his or her own unique story. I have volunteered a few times in soup kitchens and other homeless shelters, yet never took the time to ask those whom I was serving why they where there. I decided to ask a man that I served a meal to on how he got to where he was today. Instead of hearing “I drank too much”, “I got into bad habits” or “I had a gambling problem”, I heard a heart-wrenching story of how this man lost everything during Hurricane Katrina. His home, his possessions, and even his family were all taken away from him during this horrible experience. I listened to him talk as tears rolled down his face. Everything he said was extremely vivid. He spoke about it as if it all just happened yesterday. Since the tragic incident, he wasn’t able to get back on his feet since then. It’s difficult to see the same people you were face to face with, handing their only meal for God knows how long, walking, begging, and sleeping on the streets. You recognize them as you past them. I encourage you to volunteer your time at a shelter or any community service to help those around you. There’s more than meets the eye in many of the situations that you will encounter. 

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