“They are just going to buy drugs with it.”
“He doesn't look like he needs the money.”
“Why don't they just get a job?”
I guarantee you that if these words didn't come directly from your mouth, you have heard someone around you say them. Homelessness is everywhere, but if you go into Boston, or even a smaller city like Lowell, you are bound to come across homeless people holding signs. The sign could state that they were a veteran and now they don't have a home or a job. It could state that they are a single parent with two children and that anything helps. It could state that they have fallen on hard times and appreciate any single penny you could offer them. While these are a majority of signs that I have seen, there are countless others. We can’t sum up the voices of the homeless with these three broad statements.
Throughout the years, people have seen the number of homeless people in certain areas increase. It could be on your daily commute to work when all of a sudden, you see someone holding a sign, or curled up on a bench with a lot of blankets, if they have them. You’re shocked to see that there is homelessness there, wherever there is.
What is your instinctual response when you see a homeless person?
Do you immediately reach in your pocket to get a few bucks to give them? Maybe. Do you look away to avoid making eye contact until, from your peripheral vision, you see them turn away, and then you shift your head and stare? Maybe. If you choose not to give them a couple of dollars, do you at least make eye contact with them?
I have seen people do all three, people in the car with me. I notice. I've been torn with this issue as well, and I have ignored the homeless as I walked or drove by them. Why? Because I was told to. Society has instilled this fear within us, this fear that if we give our money to them, they will use it negatively. This stereotype has somehow surpassed human compassion, surpassed the decency I need to believe humans still have. Maybe we aren't necessarily afraid, but skeptical. We don't trust the homeless. Well, here's the reality check that I had recently- one that is beneficial for everyone. It’s not our place to decide how the homeless will use the money we give them. Who are we to decide who looks like they would need the money and who doesn’t? Everyone falls on hard times, some fall harder than others. The sole fact that they are standing outside, in all weather conditions, putting their pride aside and asking for anything you would be willing to give them should be reason enough to give them something. Don’t let society’s excuse for not giving to the homeless stop you from helping another human being. If you don't want to give them money because you don't agree with how they might use it, then buy them a sandwich or a coffee. Better yet, sit down and have that coffee or sandwich with them. Buy them an item they need and you erase the possibility of them using your generosity negatively.
Chances are, you can’t give money to every single homeless person that you see. It really depends on where you are and where you go. You should try to but if you go by fifty homeless people each day on your walk to work, financially, you just might not be able to give. In that case, you should at least make eye contact. I try to give to the homeless as much as I can, and I have gotten better at creating my own opinion on the homeless and erasing the one that society had instilled within me. Even if I can’t give them anything that day, I will always make eye contact. They are human beings too and oftentimes, we forget that. These people are somebody's friend, somebody's son or daughter, mother or father. We dehumanize them by ignoring them when they look at us or wave and smile. We are not being decent human beings when we pretend they don't exist because, newsflash, even if we don't look at them, it doesn't mean they aren't there!
I’m not wealthy by any stretch, I am simply a college student who, if I have a dollar in my pocket, will give it to the homeless person. And if not, I will look them in the eye and acknowledge they are there.
Be compassionate. Be kind. Be human
