I use the excuse
"there are resources out there for people" as a way to
avoid giving money to people begging on the streets.
There are
resources "out there" for people to get help. The truly
depressing thing is, those resources often fall short of addressing
the specific problems an individual can have. What I've frequently
seen is that a person needs help but they don't fit into a specific
type of need.
A person can be
imminently homeless but not yet living on the streets, and so if
literal homelessness is a prerequisite of a program, they don't get
help at all. Other programs may help people who are imminently
homeless but if that's not the first place someone is directed to,
they can be dragged through far more stress by being consistently
misdirected until they are actually "literally homeless."
Then they start the run-around all over again. Or they die. They
probably don't die, that's an exaggeration.
Sometimes people
have needs that cannot be addressed by an existing program. For
example, there's a need for affordable pest extermination here in
Syracuse, but that doesn't actually exist. You can buy cans of bug
spray at a store (if you have the time and money to spare) but that
doesn't come close to the kinds of things a professional company can
do.
Also, people need to choose for themselves whether they want to get help.
Some people don't want to get help or are incapable of making that
decision. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that
addicts, or people with a dual diagnosis of mental illness and a
substance abuse problem, have to decide for themselves to enter a
recovery program. I understand the ethical reasons why they need to
decide this for themselves, it just seems like such an overwhelming
thing for a person in that situation to have to do. I don't think
that I would be able to do that.
People.
The people I've
met since being here can be grouped into numerous, depressing
categories. I'm going to list the ones I can think of now. Let's see
here.
I've met people
who are uneducated (more middle aged people than I could have
believed only have an 8th grade education or less), have more
children than they can care for, are always angry, always sad,
mentally ill, have a substance addiction, covered in bedbugs, have
STDs, have some other chronic health problem, are born into terrible
families, can't keep a budget, are uninsured, are hungry, don't trust
other people, are selfish, are domestic abuse survivors, have
recently hit rock bottom, started their lives at rock bottom, are
trying to have some semblance of a happy life.
I've
noticed that these things can apply to anyone, at any time. These
really sad circumstances ignore race, religion, sex, or political
ideology. I'm not saying that some of these things don't affect
certain groups of people more than others, they do, I'm trying to say
that these are essentially human problems. They are problems caused
and perpetuated by human decisions. They aren't things like weather
or gravity- they aren't natural things we just have to endure and
adapt. They are realities that can be changed.
So many people in
history have said that these realities can be changed, and have acted upon that philosophy. So many
people are doing good things for others today. I think that's a
hopeful thing. It's nice for me to remember that I'm trying to follow
a path that is already well worn.
The pictures are from the MLK Memorial in Washington D.C., when my house attended the Ignatian Family Teach-In at Georgetown.