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Abstract

“You need to leave the property.” I would tell a homeless man or a woman sitting on a bench, where he would be asleep or under the influence of something.</p><p id="be7b">They rarely left without a hassle. I called the cops almost daily.</p><h2 id="7537">Why don’t they go somewhere else?</h2><p id="52c6">The homeless loiterers were always drunk or stoned. They would pass out on the benches or the platform and the restroom floors. “Why don’t they clean themselves up and get straight and find jobs?” I asked myself daily.</p><p id="c68e">I loved calling the cops and having the homeless loiterers trespassed or arrested. I had no empathy toward the homeless at all.</p><h2 id="9f2c">What goes around comes around</h2><p id="2a5c">Ten years later that all changed when I was loitering in the public library in Minneapolis. After a few weeks, I understood why we couldn’t get jobs or function in society.</p><p id="a3fb">If the homeless had any problem before they became homeless, it was worse when they were on the streets. I had been fighting emot

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ional and mental health problems for years, and I wasn’t able to hide them on the streets.</p><h2 id="45e2">I see them now</h2><p id="8741">I notice the homeless now, and I hurt for them. I have no money in my pocket, but I always wish I could toss a few dollars in their hat or bucket.</p><p id="ff20">I never had to panhandle, but I damned sure would have if I thought I needed to. I understand now what it means to do whatever is necessary to survive.</p><p id="fdad">Being homeless will bring you down to the lowest levels. I didn’t understand that before; I do now.</p><h2 id="b6eb">Final Thought:</h2><p id="3972">We need to do more than a society to help the homeless mentally ill. If we can help refugees, we can help a homeless person. I know that maybe some people can’t be salvaged, but a lot of them can be. I was.</p><p id="22c9">So, think about the homeless when you see them signing on the corner or median, and really see them. Remember, homelessness can happen to anyone. It happened to me, it could happen to you.</p></article></body>

Empathy for the homeless

What Goes Through My Mind When I See Someone Signing On a Corner

My thoughts changed when I had a brush with homelessness

I never noticed them before, I would see them, but I never saw them, the homeless on the medians or corners with their signs. I never had to pay attention to them until my security guard job forced me to interact with them.

I would be at my security guard post. Patrolling a county transit bus terminal, when I would see one or more of them. The dirty clothes and greasy hair and the ever-present backpack.

They always gave me a hard time

They had an hour after that hour; I had to run them off the property unless they got on a bus. They were a pain in the ass. I despised them.

“You need to leave the property.” I would tell a homeless man or a woman sitting on a bench, where he would be asleep or under the influence of something.

They rarely left without a hassle. I called the cops almost daily.

Why don’t they go somewhere else?

The homeless loiterers were always drunk or stoned. They would pass out on the benches or the platform and the restroom floors. “Why don’t they clean themselves up and get straight and find jobs?” I asked myself daily.

I loved calling the cops and having the homeless loiterers trespassed or arrested. I had no empathy toward the homeless at all.

What goes around comes around

Ten years later that all changed when I was loitering in the public library in Minneapolis. After a few weeks, I understood why we couldn’t get jobs or function in society.

If the homeless had any problem before they became homeless, it was worse when they were on the streets. I had been fighting emotional and mental health problems for years, and I wasn’t able to hide them on the streets.

I see them now

I notice the homeless now, and I hurt for them. I have no money in my pocket, but I always wish I could toss a few dollars in their hat or bucket.

I never had to panhandle, but I damned sure would have if I thought I needed to. I understand now what it means to do whatever is necessary to survive.

Being homeless will bring you down to the lowest levels. I didn’t understand that before; I do now.

Final Thought:

We need to do more than a society to help the homeless mentally ill. If we can help refugees, we can help a homeless person. I know that maybe some people can’t be salvaged, but a lot of them can be. I was.

So, think about the homeless when you see them signing on the corner or median, and really see them. Remember, homelessness can happen to anyone. It happened to me, it could happen to you.