homeless and my lesson

[learning to have a heart]

So yes I have been sitting in a river of my own tears while reading MORE of GMH stories. I can't help it the are just so inspirational and they touch my heart.. Which believe me is harder than it seems.


"Yesterday I was downtown shopping and I saw a skinny homeless man.

He asked me to buy him a bag of chips. I bought him two slices of pizza and two waters and told him he could save the other for dinner.

He thanked me and I went into a store.

When i came out, i saw that he had shared it with a homeless woman. Selflessness in any situation, GMH."

I have seen both sides of the homeless. When I was 16 I was I had the privilege of making huge pots of over spiced spaghetti and garlic bread and feeding it to the homeless of Kansas City. I can say it was one of the most life changing experience I have had. It opened my eyes to a world I knew nothing about. Sure I know poverty but not like this. Seeing men, women, and children living on the streets broke my heart. It is nothing like what you see on t.v. Yes it's bad but when you see it up close and personal it's horrible. I can say I was happy to smile at them and hand each person their very own full plate of food. I can remember that they never forgot to say thank you and they would have this look in their eyes of happiness. For that moment I was happy that I can help someone else out without getting anything in return.

Now come to the present I am from Sioux City Iowa where there are homeless walking around at all hours of the day. The difference is the homeless there seem to only want money and nothing else.. why?? Mostly to purchase alcohol which to my assumption is probably what helped them get to the state they are in. Many of them don't really care that they are homeless because whenever they are hungry they can just go to the gospel mission to eat. Whenever they are tired and don't want to sleep outside they can just go there to sleep. Many don't want to make the effort to get out of the state that they are in because no one makes them do anything to better themselves in society. We give them hand outs and they know they can just come back for more and not have to do anything for it. Yes I am for helping the less fortunate but if they do not want to do anything to better themselves and go somewhere in life than I don't think they need help. What they need is a reality check. People will only be sympathetic for so long and then after awhile they won't even bother, even if someone is really in need. You know, few can spoil it for the rest of them.

That was exactly where I was. I used to be willing to give anything to anyone I thought needed it. Then I would see the same people with the same lies. I need money to get here or I need money because I am hungry. But then you offer them food and they refuse saying they just want the money. Sounds a lil' fishy to me. So I turned off the sympathy in my heart and built a wall. I am not one to just feel sorry for someone who isn't willing to put the effort to help themselves. But after reading posts about homeless people willing to give the little they had or were given to better someone Else's day I realized I can't discriminate because a few bad apples that I have encountered. Of course use discretion and a good judge of character, but I know that I shouldn't be afraid to offer a helping hand. I never know what it could mean to someone or how it can completely change their life and outlook on society.