Dollars and Homelessness

Driving home from work, I stopped on 6^th street behind several cars waiting to make a right hand turn.  Gazing out the passenger side window, I watched a homeless man peer into a garbage can.  He found nothing in the can, lifted his head and stood there as if he were lost.  He wore a sweatshirt with the hood covering his head, which shaded his face. I could not clearly see his face under his hood, but it appeared as though he may have suffered a facial injury.

I saw people in the car in front of me also watching this man.  Then, the car’s backseat window rolled down.  A hand reached out and extended a dollar bill towards the man.  He stared at it, and as if by reflex, took it. I watched as he brought the money close to his face as if to see it better. I could not tell if he was smelling the dollar bill or further examining it to test its authenticity.  After a few more moments, it appeared he was inspecting the item as if he had never seen it or anything of its kind before.

Image from P.a.p. - Blog,  Human Rights, Etc.

The line of cars began to move forward. I drove away from the scene. Yet, the moment stayed with me.

How kind and strange to offer an individual, who appeared to be homeless and clearly in need, money without him asking for it. Regardless of the multiple thoughts and critiques, the gesture, in and of itself, was kind and selfless. I do not want to diminish the kindness of the individual who offered a man in need a potential tool to help himself.

However, this man seemed more than just down on his luck.  He appeared to be in need of psychiatric help because his reaction to the dollar struck me as an examination of an item of which he was unfamiliar. Would money help this man? Hopefully, he would use it to buy food. Hopefully, someone who saw the value of the money and wanted it would not injure him to claim it as their own. Hopefully, the money would not be used to purchase drugs and continue the cycle of living on the street.

These questions and my own cynicism towards an act of kindness saddened me.  How jaded I had become to people, clearly suffering and in need.  Perhaps, part of it is realism - that a portion of these individuals are unable to conquer their mental health and/or drug addiction issues without professional assistance. In the long term, how is two dollars going to help this man improve his life? Does he want to improve his life?  Perhaps, part of it is fatigue from being asked multiple times for change by the same individuals when walking in downtown. Perhaps, it is denial of the problem because there seems to be nothing I can do to make a difference. The problem is overwhelming.  It seems too complex and with too many homeless people from all walks of life, for me, one individual saddled with debt, to make a difference. Perhaps, some of it arises from guilt for my inaction.

Never had I thought unprompted to hand a homeless person money. Perhaps, because I would never want to make an assumption about someone’s need based on his or her appearance. I wondered if perhaps he were offended by the offering. Or if another individual were in his shoes whether he or she would be offended by the same gesture.  But, this line of thinking is naïve.

Further, this line of logic is flawed. Everyday, we make judgments about who the homeless are.  One cannot dispute that some individuals are clearly homeless and in need. Such as the mentally ill woman who walks around the same crosswalk in a blanket or the individual pushing all of their belongings in a cart.  Handing out money to those who do not ask for it does not sit well with me. But at the same time, I am saddened to see any individual suffering and wonder what I can do to help. 

I was astounded that this one, small, kind gesture raised so many questions about how I view homeless individuals, the overall societal problem and how overwhelming it is to consider potential long term solutions. Although the larger issue will take years to fix, we can start small by volunteering to make a difference, one life at a time. Perhaps, the impact of this gesture was a call to action.

Organizations that help the homeless in downtown and places to volunteer your time:
Los Angeles Mission
The Midnight Mission
Union Rescue Mission
Weingart Center Association
St. Vincent de Paul 
Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority

Image from P.a.p. - Blog,  Human Rights, Etc.