I don’t want to hear: solving homelessness is so complicated; people want to live on the streets; they don’t want to work; they are all lazy alcoholics and drug addicts who want to sponge off the government.
I’m no expert on solving homelessness, but I have spent a couple of decades attempting to solve the problem through government bureaucracy, on one hand, and cooking and serving meals with individuals who just want to give their neighbors some comfort, on the other.
You don’t see those bearing the effects of homelessness at bureaucratic meetings. You do see and feel these folks when you share a meal with them. They thank you for being with them and sharing food. They need much but ask for little, if anything.
With each meal shared with our neighbors with no homes, their humanity hits you right between the eyes. I cry when we don’t have enough to feed everyone, no matter how much we cook.
How can the miniscule number of the world’s rich folks ignore those to whom we are all connected? Are the rich and powerful better than everyone else? Do they work harder? Are they more intelligent? No. No. And no, again.
No one is better than anyone else. Not all intelligent, hard-working people are rich and not all poor people are stupid and lazy. Not all rich people are smart. Some people work hard and have much. Some people work just as hard, or even harder, and have little. Some folks inherit wealth and power. Some were at the right place at the right time and have enough for several lifetimes. Some people just can’t seem to catch a break.
We live together on one planet. How do we make it better? Stay tuned.