Troubles in bunches

 

 

"I bet if we just ignored this problem, it will go away. Or not..."

Troubles always seem to come in bunches. Always have, probably always will. Mary sat on the curb, taking the last few puffs off her "bummed" cigarette. Been a long time since she had the money enough to buy a pack. Not at these prices. Not in this economy. Besides, right now she has bigger fish to fry. Like where can she get a meal tonight, and more importantly, where to sleep.

Just for a minute, Mary once again reflected on how she became homeless. It was not in her life plan, for sure. But the troubles. They came, and came hard. And they came in bunches. First there was the accident. Mary stepped on a board that had something sharp sticking out of it. Because her new "exchange" health insurance had a $2,500 deductible, she tried to treat it herself. Big mistake. It became infected, the infection spread, and the next thing she knew she was in the ER. After two days in the hospital, and she now had a healed foot and a $2,500 bill.

She tried to work out a deal with her landlord to be late or go in the rears for a month or two with her rent until the hospital bill was settled. The landlord, based on Mary's spotty payment history, only gave her 15 days of grace. If she was later than 15 days, the landlord would enforce the terms of the lease, and Mary would be evicted. Before long, Mary was evicted and looking for a place to live.

Mary had a job at a local craft shop. It paid $10/hour, so it barely covered her expenses. To supplement her income, once her shift at the craft shop was up, she would walk down the block and work a four hour shift at a submarine sandwich shop. Between the two jobs she could hang on by her fingernails.

Mary had no car. That was sold long ago to take care of other bills. No big thing. The house she was renting was close to the bus line. However, when she lost her housing, she also lost her way to work, as she could get nothing close to the bus line. Within a week, she lost her housing and both jobs. She had now become just like the people she once passed on the street. In other words, she was homeless - and deeply in need of help.

I write this fictional story to make a point. My wife and I have been involved with the homeless and hunger issues for a few years now. My youngest daughter even longer. Both hunger and homelessness are issues which are growing. Becoming more pervasive. The vast majority of people who are hungry and homeless don't want to be. Some choose to be homeless. Some are only con artists. But those are a small minority.

In Minnesota alone, there are thousands of people who are homeless at this moment. Old people, vets, youth, families, people who also have mental illness, people who also have substance abuse, people who have been physically abused - the list goes on and on. Again, the vast majority of these people DON'T want to be homeless. Most never thought they would be. But now they are.

So why help these people? Some of the questions I have received once I have told stories of the hungry and homeless illustrate how little we understand these problems. For example, "Is the government not enough for them?" Or, "Why can't they help themselves more?" Or, "What is wrong with them?" Finally my favorite on homeless youth, "Why can't they just move home?"

We help these people for this one, simple reason - it is the right thing to do. It is the moral thing to do. We are our brother's (or sister's) keeper. For those of us who are not homeless, we have been blessed. Now is our chance to bless others by helping them. Not asking anything - just helping. As we have been blessed, we can bless others. For the age old saying remains true today, "There but by the grace of God go I."