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Homeless

Posted on: November 27, 2006

Recently, my family and I were able to enjoy most of what Southern California has to offer; great weather, entertainment and sandy beaches. It was everything we expected it to be however during this time of year when being good to your fellow man is required in order to avoid getting coal for Christmas, I began to take notice of a group of individuals that might be considered the epitome of down on your luck. While visiting the southern beaches of the Golden state one would need to be devoid of senses not to notice the people who are homeless. They are everywhere and can easily be spotted.

At this same time, while enjoying a break from all the wonders of California I tried to catch up on all the television that I have missed. Thanks to the advent of On Demand I was able to catch up on some of the documentaries I have missed along with episodes of Dexter (my new guilty pleasure). I happened to watch a documentary on
Showtime called Reversal of Fortune. The premise of the show was what would happen if you gave a homeless person $100,000. This was a sad documentary. It follows a homeless man who works everyday recycling plastic and aluminum to make a measly sixteen to thirty-five dollars a day and shows how he spends the next six months of his life spending the money on frivolous items and women. The saddest part of the show was realizing that while he had goals for improving his life with the money he was unable to fulfill any of them even though help was offered from professionals. The homeless man seemed to be unmotivated to change anything, he continued to drink heavily and spend his money with little regard for the future.

In the past I had the unique opportunity to befriend an individual living on the streets of Salt Lake City. His name was Jay and he had, as can be expected, a hard luck story to tell. He had been married and had a job as a truck driver, unfortunately his health failed him and he lost his job along with his wife and family. He recovered from his illness only to become an alcoholic. He took full responsibility for the situation he had put himself in. Jay was not looking for a hand-out; he really wanted a hand-up. I helped him get a job at the place I was delivering pizza. He was able to make the slow and difficult transition from ‘homeless’ to ‘gainfully employed’. It didn’t last long, I was fired from my job being accused of stealing money (later it turned out to be the assistant manager who was stealing). Jay was very upset and attempted to burn the place down. Fortunately, Jay was not a very good arson. He disappeared after that occurred. I learned a very valuable lesson, if crazy exist, befriend it because it’s better to have it working for you than against you no matter how misguided.

So as the weather begins to turn ugly here in Idaho, try to remember those who definitely have a lot less than those of us who have a warm bed to sleep in at night. Yes, there are homeless people here in Idaho and they need our help as much as anyone else. The best way to help our local homeless folks would be to contact the Aids for Friends organization at 232-0178 and ask for Chris or BJ. From what I hear they have a large need for towels so give them a call.

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