Stand Up for Humanity

Walking to work early yesterday morning, I watched as a homeless woman dug through a pile of garbage nested in the overgrowth of an empty lot.  Whatever food she found she took to a narrow alley between two buildings, her street home I imagine, furnished with plastic bags full of possessions discarded by someone more fortunate.  The woman crouched, shadowed  in the far corner of her street crib, and began to eat whatever it was she had found. Hardwired to survive, her arm encircled the food on her lap like a fort, while her head angled slightly eyeing the emaciated dog standing at the entrance to the alley. Suffering from the same condition, the dog watched her with gaunt, desperate eyes; kindred spirits, he waited patiently until she was done, finally scrambling for the scraps she tossed to him in the end.  Somewhat hidden from view across the street, I couldn't take my eyes off of her or the dog, their business of staying alive so raw.

I often wonder how and why people become homeless; the how is simple, they don't have money to pay for a place to live; but the why is more complicated with a multitude of reasons: poverty, lack of affordable rental housing, eroding work opportunities, domestic violence, addiction, mental health.  I hear about the conflicting intuitions people have about homelessness, some even skew the issue along political agendas to distance themselves from the inhumanity of it all. More families are on the streets today than ever before, more women, more children.  Homelessness shames us.  It is a reminder of society's failures. Standing face to face with  homelessness makes us uncomfortable;  it is impossible to process the utter hopelessness, so in fear we hurry away hoping it doesn't stick.  But we have to do something.  Donate food, bus fare to and from job interviews, clothes, toiletries; share skills, kindness, and empathy. Educate ourselves, start a dialogue for change, make it matter, make it personal.

I leave the scene and whisper as I do so often these days , "there but for the grace of God go I."

And so it goes on Friday, April 13th in Basseterre, St. Kitts.