When There’s Nothing Left…Give
“Make sure y’all check on them over there. They need a bag.”
“Actually these other people who are staying out here gave us your number and said you might be able to help us.”
“I don’t know where they are, but they were supposed to stay over at ‘Other Client’s’ camp last night so they would be safer and ready for you to pick them up this morning.”
“Here, I will take them their bags. They aren’t here right now.”
“I was telling them about the services y’all can help with yesterday.”
“This isn’t even my bike; someone else is letting me borrow theirs.”
“Come with me. I will show you how to get to their camp.”
“Could I get some cat food? My friend just got a cat, and she needs some food for it.”
“I’m staying with my street mom and dad right now.”
“Did you know there is someone else staying on the backside of this building?”
“People don’t have to steal from me. If anyone would come to me and ask for something they needed, I would give it to them.”
“I can’t eat those apples, but I am sure someone will come through that I can give those to.”
“Hey ‘Other Client’! Is your shoulder still hurting? Are you alright? You might need to go with them to see the doctor.”
“We actually have a home 100 miles from here, but we can’t get there because our car has been stuck in the shop getting fixed for weeks now. This other person who is homeless out here is letting us use this tent to stay in until it gets fixed.”
“We were sitting up here at the Wal-Mart with our dog the other day, and this little boy came by with his dad. The boy asked his dad if he could come pet our dog. And the dad said, ‘No, you can’t. They might ask us for money.’”
“I was about ready to give up on getting into this rehab center, but they (talking about their campmate) sat with me in the rain all night behind this church so that I could stay connected to wifi long enough to possibly be contacted by the rehab people.”
“I got to talk to them (a former campmate) on the phone the other day, and they are still doing great! They are living in a halfway house. They are staying sober. They sounded so happy, and they are now working a job. They said that they miss the woods, but they know that it is not good for them to come back. And they know we would all beat them up if they did come back. We would be so mad at them for messing this up like that. We are so happy and proud of them.”
While there are plenty of negative things that occur within most homeless encampments and communities, there are also plenty of positive things that occur.
Being witness to the genuine care and concern people experiencing homelessness have for one another within their communities is always a humbling experience. It is a glimpse at humanity in its purest form. Those who have had seemingly everything taken from them are giving everything they have left. Those expected to give nothing, instead, give more than those who have everything. There is a beauty and purity that can be forged through the shared experience of surviving together in this broken world, in these broken systems, with other broken people, with broken stories.
We as the R.O.C. are not the heroes. When we get opportunities to talk about what we do in front of others, it can come across that we are saving the day. But the real heroes are those experiencing homelessness. They are heroes of their own stories for enduring, for surviving, for their resiliency, and for the actions they take to literally save each other’s lives. When the rest of the world has walked out, they walk in for the sake of each other. We get the privilege to see real examples that circumstances don’t define who you are.
The winds of financial loss, death, violence, addiction, abuse, calamity, or any other unforeseen circumstance blow. The winds are out of our control, but what we can control is how we set our sails in the midst of the winds. People experiencing homelessness are sailing on some of the roughest seas with some of the most wicked winds. But through these quoted statements above, they are displaying the selfless art of setting their sails towards helping others through the storms.
#ROCRetrospective
#ROCAndRoll
#GiveAllToAll
#SettingSails
