Homelessness In America

Someone shared a video on my facebook page about a Chicago homeless man named Ronald Davis (click his name to view his interview). I then proceeded to view a  video about a homeless man named Maurice Johnson, who is 55 years old and is from Cleveland, but resides in Boston. He has 2 Masters Degrees (in Plasma Physics and Electrical Engineering and Acoutsics; click his name to view his interview). As I watched these interviews it brought tears to my eyes and prompted me to write this post. 

Why are so many people homeless in America? What can we as a nation instead of being judgmental? We don't know their story. We don't know the things they have gone through. We are all a paycheck away from being homeless. There are times my job annoys the heck out of me, but I thank God I have one so I can provide for my family. I recall the day on the train, I gave my food to a man on the train and he threw it away when he went to the next car. I was pissed. I vowed never to help another person on the street who asked me for something. 

Of course, I have gone back on my word several times since then. Being who I am and how I was raised I can't turn my head and act as thought I don't see them. There have been times when I did not have it to give and I felt so bad. There are times when I did not have much to spare, but I gave anyway. The Lord turned right around and blessed me anyhow. The next time you see someone who is down on their luck think about all the different scenarios that caused them to be on the street. 

Every homeless person is not a drug addict, a prostitute or uneducated. They may have lost their job which means they could not pay the rent. As a result they are now homeless. Some of these men and women are veterans. These men and women may not have family to help them. It is a possibility rhere family members are not able to help them. Maybe their pride is getting in the way of them going to seek help. I don't know what the reason is, but i do know this could happen to anyone at any time. 

Before you walk past them as if they are invisible, think about their situation.They are human, and I always wonder how someone got in their situation. What happened to them? Never take anything for granted. Anyone of us could be in this situation.

Would you want someone to pass you by or would you want someone to help you? 
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