Homeless But Not Hopeless
A friend of mine asked, “If I give them money, won’t they just use it to buy alcohol, drugs or cigaretttes?” “Very possible, I replied.”
Homeless people are people just like us. They have good habits and bad. This group I met under a bridge in OKC met daily and fellowshipped with each other – about half a dozen of them. They tooks their turns panhandling at the intersection and made sure everyone had a fair share of time.
They bought the two liter bottle of soda and shared instead of the relatively expensive 12 ounce versions. They shared snacks, too and yes, one cigarette in the 30 minutes or so i visited with them.
I couldn’t help but admire their sense of community. They sought out each other’s company in the same way I might seek to watch a TV show or find some other diversion. There was a palpable lack of pretense here that made everyone comfortable. Even me. For a moment, I lost track of the backgound grind of the forward marching schedule.