Why wouldn't I? Within the last five years in particular I have given money to people living on the streets and if I don't have any change the least I can do is acknowledge them with a caring response. A smile and a hello will serve better than treating a person as if they are invisible.
One day in particular remains so clear in my memory and I know I'll carry it with me for a long time. A friend of mine had a very strong reaction to seeing me give someone money. She was so shocked and made no effort to hide her feelings about how stupid she thought what I was doing was. I was pretty shocked myself with her reaction. But I guess it's a common reaction... just one I'm not used to being around.
Here's the thing, we live in a society that is not necessarily structured well to serve it's people. The gap between the rich and the poor is growing bigger and bigger. And there are structures within our society that actually cause a lot of the problems which many people want to pretend don’t exist. People don't want to see it on their way to work, as they pick up their morning coffee or head out to enjoy a day in the city.
Before judging someone for the situation you see him/her in we need to recognize that we couldn't possibly know what struggles that person has had in life. There are so many homeless people living with mental illness. If they don't have the funds or a supportive family to take care of them then sometimes they have nowhere else to go. I think we have all heard (or even made) the argument that people are on the street because they are lazy or an alcoholic or a drug addict but I don't think it's that simple. And if some form of substance abuse is the problem I feel sad for them that they struggle with this every day but it does not make me see them as a lesser person or someone undeserving of compassion. If someone protests why I share by saying "they're just going to waste it on alcohol" my response to that is so what? Who am I to judge what a person chooses to do with the money I give. Don't most of us spend money on things that aren't necessarily of benefit to us or perhaps even detrimental to our health. Of course I would rather see them go and buy something nourishing and healthy to eat but if they don't and I have provided them with some kind of relief in that moment then I am glad. The "they'll spend it on alcohol" argument my friend made seemed particularly weak coming from her considering the fact that her parents pay her way through university including any monthly living expenses and yet I've seen hundreds and hundreds of their dollars go towards booze. I doubt that's what they intended her to spend so much of their money on.
If you can’t understand where I’m coming from then I can certainly respect that. I just hope that the next time you are being asked for some spare change that instead of a simple “no” you will share a smile and wish them a great day… because that’s someone’s brother, sister, mother, father, son or daughter. Don’t ignore someone, no matter who it is, who is reaching out to you for help.
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