Remember the homeless

There are a plethora of weathered faces that are passed by each day, some with desperate or haunted eyes, hoping to be noticed. But the passerby averts their eyes, uncomfortable with the presence of the “dirty beggar.”

As the holidays approach, it seems there are even more people in need, trying to get out of the cold. The Portland Metro area is especially rife with this calamitous social condition, and these economic times have put even entire families out on the street.

Many voices cry out for the dignity and permanence of something often taken for granted, a roof overhead, but those who might hear turn a deaf ear or making false justifications for indifference. Many otherwise decent people look down their collective nose distastefully when they see that person on the roadside holding a sign, pleading for help from strangers.

Snorts of derision, cruel jokes, and snide abuse seem commonplace as citizens with homes to go to walk past these poor souls sleeping in doorways, bundled against the dread freeze of winter, seeking warmth that will not come.

Yet what people often fail to consider is the life behind those diverse eyes may not have been so different from our own. Once upon a time, that person may have been a soldier serving our country, a family man involved in his community, or a student at a local college.

More often than not, horrific life traumas and circumstances beyond our imaginings have led this array of individuals to their current demise; sometimes only a helping hand from a true philanthropist can turn that person back to a positive life path.

It is probable that many of you are thinking: “why don’t they get a job and take care of themselves instead of begging for my hard earned dollar? “

Unfortunately, at the root of this broad categorization lies an inherent fallacy. Once a person winds up homeless, it is extremely difficult to acquire or maintain a job; clean clothes, sleep, and food are essential, as is the documentation that many homeless do not possess or cannot obtain.

Likewise, many homeless people abuse substances as a coping mechanism and an exorbitantly high percentage have some form of mental illness. Therefore, getting off the street is almost impossible without some outside assistance.

Take it personally from this author who is a current student at Mt. Hood Community College in the second year of Integrated Media: Video Production, but spent most of 2004 with no roof over his head. After desperate attempts for most of the year to get work and save money, one November evening found him lying on a frozen park bench with no sleeping bag, as the temperature dipped below thirty-five degrees. It was when the facial frost began to form and the shivering stopped that the real worry of exposure and death kicked. Yet somehow the sun rose again. It was only through the charity of some gracious friends that life turned around a couple weeks later.

So as you go about your holiday shopping, drop some change into a weary hand or a Salvation Army collection bucket, even if you never have before. As you prepare your holiday feast in your warm home with your loving family, remember to donate food, clothing and toys to those families less fortunate than your own, and to those individuals spending the holidays cold and alone.

Anyone can conquer their trials and achieve their dreams. Open your heart to another person and put a smile on a weary face. You may just put a smile on your own face as well.