Have We Lost Our Way

When you are out and about take a look around. What do you see? Many people have said to me that they see more and more homeless people every single day. What I am noticing is that there are a lot more women. Yes it is true that the major cities have more, but I can assure you that the smaller towns do too. Just like that bird nest in the tree we all deserve a place to call home. Recently I read an article about Austin, Texas, and they were talking about how they are trying to include homeless people in their data count. They estimated that “over 7,000 individuals experienced homelessness in 2018. The 2019 Point in Time Count showed that there were 2,255 individuals experiencing homelessness in Travis County on a single day. Of the 2,255 individuals experiencing homelessness, 1,169 were sheltered and 1,086 were unsheltered.” In their estimation they said that “1,944 are homeless students.” (austinecho.org) Yes Austin is a college town, but that is a lot of students who do not have a place to live. What is not understood is why doesn’t the University of Austin do more to provide housing for their students? What else is often overlooked is homelessness and domestic violence. “According to the HUD 2017 Point In Time Count, of the total homeless population in Texas, 3,768 individuals reported they were victims of domestic violence.” The numbers for this are often inaccurate, because of privacy reasons. Domestic violence is horrible enough, but then they end up having no home, because they had to leave in order to be safe. When I think about the Bill Gates of the world, or the Elon Musks, there are more than enough wealthy individuals who could, and who should do more to help. We see a lot of empty rundown buildings that could easily be refurbished by people who have the means. These buildings would allow housing for those who cannot afford it. What is important is to help them to have a safe place to sleep, to shower, and to eat. We all deserve this. We as a society can keep turning a blind eye to this, but then what happens when this happens to you, or to someone you know and love? These numbers are staggering, and this is just for Austin. Try to imagine the numbers for Dallas, or Los Angeles, or for Chicago. Then think about the elements, the heat of Texas, or the freezing cold of Chicago. This is another major concern for people who are experiencing homelessness. How would you be if you had to sleep outside in the extreme cold, or the blistering heat of Texas? We go about our days busy as ever, and we forget about what other people are going through. We are supposed to be the best country in the world, but are we, especially if we cannot even help the people who need us the most? So if you are one of those lucky few who have way more than you really need please think about how you can help. Do you really need a 6,000 square foot house for just two of you? Do you need those extra cars that maybe get driven once a month? Imagine if everyone who had even just a little more than what they needed got together to help the homeless people in your town or city. Just think about what you could do. We have to start somewhere, because as human beings it is our job to help others whenever we can. Like they say, “You can’t take it with you when you go,” so why not do some good with what you have right now? Surely it’s not going to make your lives less comfortable if you’re already living high lifestyle. Think about that tree and the nest. That bird would prefer a birdhouse with four walls and a roof. Wouldn’t we all rather have that? People become homeless for many different reasons. We as humans should feel a sense of obligation to help, to do whatever we can, whether it’s volunteering for Habitat for Humanity, or donating our time at a homeless shelter, and yes even donating what we can as far as money to help in anyway that we can.