Whew. Tough walk in the park this morning.
First, there was a person who looked dead. I waited a good five minutes for signs of breath; the skeletal, worn-out bodies of street folk operate on so little sometimes.
Then a fellow on the way back asked for someone to buy his wares so he could eat. He was newer to living rough, and shaken by being treated like a "parasite" for the first time after a life where he'd always had work before.
We're all so fragile.
Tread lightly with those living hard.
Thank you for being present in your community, Lindsay. 💛
That's really all we can do sometimes - and to remember the humanity of our fellow human beings all the time, even when news cycles try to lure us into other points of view.
Also, it really lightens the heaviness of this morning's interactions to hear tell of another person present with the hurting world - so thank you so much for sharing what that looks like where you are. 🤗
@MLClark
Living downtown and walking a dog every morning, I learned who shelters in which doorway, bench or alley. Some I know by name. Some smile. Some don’t. Some are quite insane.
There is a natural order to the unhoused. They are masters at survival by being the unseen. Yet they warm to being seen and acknowledged.
I am convinced a smile and greeting is just as important to their survival as their blankets.
But it takes time to earn their trust.