Helping the homeless

I experienced something last week that disturbed me.

A homeless man.

Beyond pity for the state he’s in, It isn’t the man himself that disturbed me, what disturbed me is how everyone acted around him.

Cameron and I, not wanting to cook for the night, jumped in his car and drove to the nearest Taco Bell. As we were stepping out of the car a homeless man approached Cameron and asked him if he had any spare change, then launched into a story about his prostate cancer and other equally horrible circumstances. Whether the man had cancer or not he did not look very healthy and my heart grew heavy. I told him we had no cash. As a rule, I do not give cash to the homeless because there is no guarantee they will use it to buy useful items. I would much rather buy them food or water, an umbrella, etc. Anyways, when we told him we did not have any cash, he asked if we could buy him a burrito. After a split second I whole-heartedly agreed.

A gentleman in his forties arrived at the same time we did and avoided the man by using us as a decoy. When we entered Taco Bell he scrutinized me like I was the craziest person in the world for buying a homeless man food…

Instead of one burrito, I ordered him two burrito supremes (with everything on them). As we waited for our food I saw the man approach another car pulling up to the drive-through with a two girls in their early twenties, but I didn’t really pay them any attention after that. As we exited the building I gave him his burritos and he was just bursting with happiness. He chattered away to us for a good five minutes and during that time I concluded he might have been slightly mentally off, but most of all lonely.

While he talked, I noticed the same car he had approached while we were inside backed all the way out of the drive-through. Shortly thereafter one of the workers from inside Taco Bell came out and told the man he needed to leave the premises because they were getting customer complaints. He seemed so distraught and told her that he wasn’t saying lewd or rude things to us and we confirmed this. He thanked us and left shortly thereafter, and we headed home.

It made me happy to help someone in need. It made me disturbed that those girls complained about him and then threw a fit and backed out of a drive-through line because they wouldn’t eat at a place with homeless people (correction one homeless man) nearby.

It disturbs me that people can be so rude and immature. If you do not have the means or the will to feed someone who is homeless, politely decline and move on. There is no need to make a scene!

At some point in my life I want to volunteer at a local shelter. It definitely builds character and puts things into perspective.

Have you ever helped someone who is/was homeless?