The Homeless: Postscript

As a postscript, I want to address an issue that is currently in the media because of A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. Some may read the past few entries with a jaundiced eye because of the fraud committed by Frey. And rightly so.

What I have presented here is one-sided based on recollections and feelings. I have tried to be honest and true to what happened during those months on the street. Yet what I have to say is filtered through the lens called Louis C. Vroomen. It should be taken with a grain of salt.

My goal was not to present a complete history but to present issues I dealt with and saw when I was on the street. I tried not to sensationalize incidents or emotions. But the mind is selective and murky.

What I want is to let people see the homeless as people not things. Many have problems which need to be addressed yet few people are doing so. And those that find themselves swamped.

The average person has no idea of the obstacles the homeless face and I hoped I have addressed some of them. Enough to educate a little.

When I went onto the streets in October 2003, I was a fractured person. I still am but starting to put the pieces together. I was lucky. But there are many out there who are not so lucky.

They have been damaged for many different reasons. Each homeless person is a story onto him/herself. Yet once you become homeless, a stigma becomes attached to you. Something that is difficult to removed

And it follows you. People are incredulous when they find out I’ve been homeless. Yet what they see is the outside Loekie, not the inside Loekie. At work, I have one mask and while I am at Brutopia, I have another. But here, instead of a solid mask, I am trying to present a translucent mask. There are areas of me I have hard enough time revealing to myself, let alone anyone else.

My goal, the past while, was to scratch the surface on the issue of the homeless. It was meant to be one post but grew. And now, maybe I can go back and make it into some sort of article or short book for publication. It may start like:

As I walked through the doors of the Place D’Armes Metro, I thought I had hit rock bottom. If I had a sense I was just starting, I would not crossed an empty parking lot to the awaiting squat, non-descript gray five story building.

Before I leave, I want to spend another couple of words on me and then back to the subject at hand.

This long piece has made me stop and realize what strides I have taken over the past couple of years. When I left the OBM in July 2003, I was embarking on reconstructing my life. The past couple of years I have screwed up badly but have been able to continue on. It has been tough but I found out I am made of stern stuff than I thought. I am still a work in progress, with a long way to go.

I made it out. One of so many who do not. One place the average person can help is trying to be there for the homeless. Ignore the stigma, look at a homeless person as a person, not a thing. Go out there and do something for them.

There are good, honest people out there that are trying to help. There is a place in Verdun, Oasis, run by Penny who has a great heart. But it is tough meeting the needs of so some and having a few that are willing to help out. And some of the volunteers are going it out a sense of duty, Christian duty. They are not doing it because they really want to help.

And the people who come to Oasis sense this. You can tell when people are there because they really wish to make a difference. I’ve been there a couple of times, helping out and saw that.

Giving a quarter or dollar every so often can help, yet that is a short term solution. But what the homeless really need is people out there helping out. Be it serving a hot meal in a soup kitchen with a genuine smile or organizing a food drive in April to give canned goods to the shelters that need it. And as I suggested before, just smiling and acknowledging a homeless person can do wonders.

Throwing money at the problem is not going to solve it. People need to see the homeless in a different light. Then it may be easier for them to get a job, get an apartment, move from the life on the street to being part of society again, not on the margins.

But in the end, I ask the question to those that give money to the homeless, especially at Christmas: why are you doing it? Is it for you or them?