There are indeed many states of homelessness. Our early ancestors, often arrived on the shores of this great North-American Continent, bearing a trunk or bag with a few possessions and mementos of the life they left behind. Some did not know where they would spend their first night and were prepared if necessary to be temporarily homeless under the stars. Even today immigrants sometimes arrive off planes with just a suitcase or two and, if they are lucky, a piece of paper with the name and address of a friend or relative they hope will give them a bed until they get on their feet. Still others arrive daily, not knowing where they will sleep on their first night, but with inspirational hope in their hearts that they will be able to use their skills, and the little money they have, to get a foothold, and make a new life here in North America.
Our proud First Nation's peoples had a Nomadic way of life under the stars. They were not homeless but saw their home as being under the stars. Nomads like the Romanian Gypsies, or the Bedouin tribes of North Africa, move their tents and caravans to new locations constantly but always under the stars.
Every summer, outdoor enthusiasts get their backpacks and tents and go trekking in the wilderness to sleep the night out in the open and wake up to the inspirational wonders around them. More and more families are taking up camping as a holiday adventure. It may be a stretch of the imagination to look on camping and backpacking as a state of homelessness. Nevertheless, sleeping in a tent or a sleeping bag under the stars is very different from sleeping in one's home.
There are the homeless who for many years, because of mental illness, severe addictions and or family relationship breakdowns, have made a life on the streets. As a volunteer in a homeless shelter in Manchester England I got to know one such individual. His name was Dave and he was addicted to cheap surgical alcohol. He was a very likeable man with a great sense of humor and was looked up to by many of his homeless peers. We volunteers decided to explore how we could assist him and after many conversations, were able to get him rehabilitated in a detox centre. We enabled him to find a job and a small furnished apartment. We got him a Television and he seemed to be very happy with life. Only a few weeks later however, when we were out scouting the derelict area where the homeless hung out, we came upon Dave, drunk again at a burning barrel of wood, with his buddies. Taking him to one side we asked him what had gone wrong. He replied "I would sooner be a king here than a nobody back there."
Then there are the homeless whose homes were lost suddenly and in a horrific manner, through fire, flood, hurricane, earthquake or tsunami. Still others have lost their homes, not quite so suddenly, through foreclosure, or eviction, and have felt the horror and same sense of loss. Yet others have lost their livelihood and subsequently their homes. Many of these people are the new homeless of our country. Some have joined the sit ins that are taking place in many big cities. They are expressing their grief, horror and outrage in protests. Financial institutions, politicians and the economy, the weather and even oil spills may be all or in part to blame. However, protesting will not give the new homeless back their homes or way of life. Neither can politicians deliver what these unfortunate people need, more than anything else, namely a sense of hope: That same inspirational hope that brought our ancestors to these shores and still brings great numbers of immigrants each year. Many of these new immigrants are fleeing countries with dire poverty, and some are fleeing the brutality of wars in their homeland. A good number, like the new homeless have been traumatized by events in the dear and cherished homeland they've left behind. They come to these shores, some, with nothing but hope in their heart and a belief in themselves. Their courage, like those of our ancestors, the early settlers is inspirational.
Cathal O'Toole is a retired Social Worker and author of a children's novel and an eBook. http://www.inpirationalchristmas.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment