Happy New Year

That's my prediction and I'm sticking to it. Actually I hope all my readers here have a Great New Year.

Post Xmas

I'm going to be quick here. I'm using a library computer today and have limited time available. My laptop quit for some reason and I won't be able to look at it for a while.....

Christmas was pretty interesting. I saw many people I normally do not see in the normal course of things. Some of them are people I've known for many years and in almost every case they all have sort of stagnated in their lives out here on the street.

It is sort of a shame but that is the way it is. I did contact two people I know that have gotten off the streets and into housing as well as 3 others who were in subsidized housing who for whatever reason lost it.

Myself on the other hand had the opportunity to network with others over this holiday season who in their own small ways may be able to keep me moving forward in a personal project of mine. Me. I am a work in progress and through much effort am making progress.

I hope all of you who are reading this have a Great, Safe and Prosperous New Year.

Last night was fun. With all the high winds in the area last night things could have been a lot worse in my camp. It was a blessing that there was really not that much damage and truthfully I stayed nice and comfortable all night. Then I got up this morning and found how bad it was or not....

The only real problems were the two tarps that got blown off. One tarp basically wraps the whole tent. The second tarp covers the area over and in front of the tent. I also had a dead tree that was at the edge of the living area that went down but not on top of the tent...

These first two photos are what I found when I got out this morning.

These next two photos are before shots with the tarps in place

Holdays

Over the past several months I've painted a grim picture of the sorts of homeless people I've met and who are out here. While it is all true, there are many other homeless people out here who are just as kind and caring as your best friend. I even know several myself and I hope I am to others.

Unfortunately the bad sort of homeless person is also the one who seems to get all the attention and it is true that most of the homeless are of that sort.

The ones that seem to drop off the radar are the good sort. All they / I wish to do is to get along and survive without all the drama. Just because we are not "in your face" as are many of those others we tend to be missed.

I've said this before and I will continue to say this. Get to know us. Yes you will run into many of the less than desirable people out here but if you are persistent you will eventually find one of us. We do appreciate the help. We appreciate you.

btw the photo above is the Homeless Christmas Tree located on I-30 just east of Beach street.

The holiday season is upon us. The homeless people will be getting increasingly active doing whatever they do. The lines for food, clothing and whatever else is being provided will be long...

There is a class of homeless person who you will mostly not see very often. He or she will avoid the crowds. He or she mostly stay to themselves.

For some of them it is just their way. For others it's by choice.

After a while living out here on the street you get extremely tired of dealing with all the people. Standing in line only to find out that 20 others have jumped in front of you. Going to find something only to be disappointed again. It's not the fault of the people who provide the service, it's the overwhelming number of people taking advantage of them whether they need the service, food, clothing and whatever else or not.

Even I have gotten extremely tired of dealing with all the people. I seldom try to go to Unity Park on Saturdays any longer or out on Lancaster Ave when people give out various things. It's not worth my while any longer. I see far too many homeless people getting things they don't need except just to have or maybe to sell. I'm tired of standing in lines seeing all those people in front of me or jumping in the line.

Maybe I'm sounding bitter about things during this holiday season and truthfully I'm not bitter at all. I am realistic about how it is and generally do something else for the things I need or I will just do without. It's easier to be happy and enjoy the season by not dealing with all those others than it is to get angry, frustrated and bitter.

I'm going to ramble on about some things again in this post. I seem to do some of my best postings when I do it this way.

I've painted a rather poor picture of most of the homeless people that I've met and known over the year that I've been out here. Believe it or not there are a few of us who are actually trying to move up in our lives if only we had a bit of a helping hand. That's part of the problem and the fix is not very simple either.

A few of us, myself included, are actively looking to find work or a way to support ourselves in order to leave the shelters and camps where we live. The unfortunate part of this is that you, the person who wishes to help, do not know whether we are serious or not. On more than one occasion I got the distinct impression from different people and even some case managers that I was just another homeless person who was out for whatever advantage that he or she could gain. Just like first impressions, that is a mistake on many levels.

I know you wish to help. But you also don't wish to make a mistake. Now here's where it starts getting hard. In addition to what you might normally do to help the homeless whether it's volunteering at a shelter or feeding them meals or providing clothes, how about trying to get to know one or two of us on a more personal level. Talk to us. Granted you will find many who are truly looking for the advantage I've spoken of many times. But if you are persistent eventually you may find one of us who is truly looking to move up in the world.

Once you do find this one person, if it's possible, take him or her under your wing as it were and turn that person into your own personal project or if that's not possible maybe make it a group project with some people from your church or social organisation. Help him or her find work and a place to live. But don't stop there. Keep in touch with them. Some of us will stumble along the way and with continuing long term support which could be something as simple as a phone call or short visit once in a while can go a long way toward getting someone like me off the street and back into the mainstream.

Truly that's my goal. To get off the street and into a position where I can support myself. The problem as I said is getting that help to start me going again. I've spent years fixing some of my more obvious personal problems. I've managed to work out the addictions I'd had. I, as have some others, just need some help making the next step.

Make friends with a worthy homeless person as a goal for the holidays or as a New Year resolution. Help get that person off the street and self sufficient. Then help them when they stumble. Who knows, maybe he will pay it forward and do the same for another homeless person himself.