11/13/98

The Homeless

Strong gusts of wind whipped dust and bits of paper across the sidewalk. I drew my scarf protectively over my face and tried to hold the bottom of my coat closed against the knee-numbing cold. I was so intent on rushing across the park to the subway station, I nearly tripped and fell over two men who lay on the ground, their bodies curled together for warmth.

"Bums," I thought in disgust, as I hurried on. But I couldn't get the picture of them out of my mind. Emaciated bodies in frayed wool coats. Empty liquor bottles strewn at their feet. Faded jeans, matted hair and unshaven faces. People at a dead end.

My conscience began to nag at me. "Maybe I should try to find a policeman. No, he would arrest them for loitering and throw them in jail for the night. At least they'd get a meal and some protection from the elements. Only to return to the streets the next day. That's no solution."

Relieved to reach the warm station, I bought tokens, caught the next train uptown, and settled in to read the morning paper. But the headlines kept blurring before my eyes, as images of the inert men forced their way into my mind.

I wondered if they had wives or children. Neither of them looked much over 40. What had happened to sink them? How many more lost souls fill the dark corners of abandoned buildings or huddle under bridges at night on their way to nowhere?

"Maybe there's a SHELTER nearby," I thought. "Staff there could counsel the men; maybe find them work. We live in the richest country in the world, where provision of food, shelter and clothing, basic subsistence for anyone who needs it, would represent a tiny percentage of our national wealth. But are free hand-outs an answer? Yes, at least until they get back on their feet."

Still, I did nothing.

My thoughts and feelings about the homeless run the gamut from hostility to compassion to curiosity to indifference to fear. No one is immune from desperation. I've read that the largest growing poverty group in America is single mothers and their children; surely poverty is never a part of any mother's plans.

Some weeks later, I read an article in the February, 1998 issue of US Airways magazine, about breaking the homeless cycle. Secretary Andrew Cuomo of the Department of Housing and Urban Development said, "In many ways, the word "homeless" is a misnomer. Not having a home is but one aspect of a continuum of concerns that must be addressed for most homeless persons to reach self-sufficiency." They need more than food, shelter, and clothing; they also need transitional housing, daycare, parenting education, job skills, job placement services and mentoring. Federal and state governments have increased funding to agencies which provide a continuum of care for the homeless. Cuomo recently created a national hotline which anyone can call to find assistance for a homeless person. The number is 1-800-483-1010.

I rarely put coins in a beggar's cup. Nor do I invite the homeless to reside with me. I can and will, however, contribute money, clothing or food to the HOMELESS shelter nearest me; and I can and will carry the national hotline number in my wallet, so the next time I see or meet someone so unprotected, I can make a phone call. Were I in their shoes, I hope someone would do the same for me.

LINKS:

SHELTER
Discussion of Shelter Issues in U.S.

HOMELESS
Columbus House: A homeless shelter in New Haven"

Other CT services for the homeless: http://www2.ari.net/nch/local/connecticut.html

Please send questions or comments to bbruno@snet.net.