Homeless Man Offers Student
All His Money To Get Her A Taxi. Now She's Thanking Him In A Big Way
Why do I say this story is
somewhat unique? I am always on the lookout for uplifting stories about people
helping people experiencing homelessness. There are, in fact, many wonderful
people out there who want to help. There are, however, often two fundamental
challenges that such stories suffer from. First, they treat the person who is
experiencing homelessness as one who lacks agency. Second, the help offered
does not help the person end his or her homelessness. This should not be
surprising, as some people, ample evidence not withstanding, cling to a belief
that the "homeless" have something so inherently wrong with them,
they need to be "fixed", before they can move back into a permanent
home.
In this story, person A has
a problem, and person B helps her. Contrary to the often repeated narrative, it
is the person experiencing homelessness, who helps the person who is not, and
not vice versa. Not only does this man have agency, he sacrifices much more
than the typical well-meaning do-gooder, as he gives her all the money he has.
We are further told later in the story, that he helps people all the time. Now,
Person A, whose problem was solved, decides to return the favor. So, how does
this student decide she should help a man experiencing homelessness? Without
spending years studying the issue, she arrives at the same conclusion
sociologists have arrived at time after time. What does this "homeless"
man need? A home! We can reasonably conclude that he has some more challenges
in his life, that he probably needs help with; don't all of us? However,
getting him into a home - Housing First - will help, not hinder addressing
whatever those challenges might be, in addition to ending his homelessness.
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