Homeless

[Ingram]

As a Software Engineering student, I am volunteering as an IT guy at a homeless resource shelter in town and I'm empathetic to the homeless situation (as I have been homeless too), but I'm also a bit confounded by the dichotomy of human nature.

Here's an example:
I'm driving in to the parking lot of the shelter & people stand in your way, and display a generally anti-social attitude (it's not like I'm driving a Lincoln town-car or something...), then they are yelling at me & hitting me up all the way inside.

Until today, I brought in some doughnuts for the other staff & jeez, you would have thought I was passing out money, within 30 feet from my car to the door, I experienced every approach imaginable, anger, pity, hustling, joviality... it was bizzare. I would have liked to hand some out but they would have cleaned me out & then been P.O.'d that I didn't have enough.

The staff told me not to feel too bad and that the folks outside were getting regular hot meals and donations of foodstuffs.

Interesting experience though.

[Nadda]

within 30 feet from my car to the door, I experienced every approach imaginable, anger, pity, hustling, joviality... it was bizzare.

What i hate is not knowing who to help. I've been approached dozens of times at gas stations, thrift stores, ect.. asking me for some spare change but most of the time i cant tell if they really do need something to eat or just want some beer to drink..Sometimes the drunks are obvious but not always. So unfortunately I dont give people money.

One time i gave someone some change i had in my pocket when he said he needed to catch a bus and he replied, thanks i can go get me a 40 now. Another time a person had a "will work for food" sign so i offered him some work and that i'd pay him for the day, when i came back the next day to pick him up to do the work, he said no thanks he would make more money at that corner than he would working...On another occasion, (im not even kidding) I was at a red-light and seen someone park their car in a parking lot then go to a corner and hold out a sign asking for money.

Its unfortunate we cant just help the people who really need the help. I think supporting homeless shelters and soup kitchens is the best way to go. My local soup kitchen has helped me before in the past.

[future pather]

Unfortunately most of those people probably would be classified as mentally disturbed in some way. It helps to keep that in mind in your experiences with them.

[ImBill]

Unfortunately most of those people probably would be classified as mentally disturbed in some way. It helps to keep that in mind in your experiences with them.

Aren't we all at least a little mentally disturbed? It helps to keep that in mind in your experiences with yourself, as "us" and "them" are just illusions.