If you have been reading any of my recent posts this week, you know I’ve been following Tom Rebman of?Hungry and Homeless and really trying to spread the word about National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. You may read more about Tom Rebman’s story here. He has also been using the hashtag #teamaok (team acts of kindness).
After a cold front moved into the eastern part of the U.S. this week, Florida nighttime temperatures dipped down into the upper 30s and lower 40s. That is damn cold. It is even colder when you’re sleeping on a sidewalk next to a building with little to no blankets. Last night, the thermometer fell but stopped right above the 40-degree emergency cold shelter threshold. This means there were a lot of unsheltered people shivering on the sidewalks of downtown Orlando.
I decided to put some action behind my writing. You can’t write about this for any length of?time and not feel compelled to DO something.
I went through my closets and found the blankets that just sit on a shelf rarely used. As I was loading my car, I was also seeking a partner to assist with the delivery. My teenager came downstairs and asked what I was doing. When I told him, his response was,
?Mom, I want to go with you.?
?A couple of years ago our family did something similar on a cold night with hot chocolate and blankets. That night was much colder with temperatures in the 20s, and emergency shelters were open. Fortunately, we didn’t find anyone on the streets to give our blankets to that night, and we dropped them off at a local shelter.
Last night was different. With my son as my co-pilot, I hit the streets of downtown Orlando. He played the role of the scout. I told him how to spot the people we were looking for. They would often be huddled with all their earthly possessions on the sidewalk or under overhangs. Sure enough, it only took driving down a few side streets to find the people that needed us.
My son is 13 years old and has lived a fairly comfortable life. We aren’t wealthy by any stretch of the imagination, but we’ve always had the things we’ve needed and typically most of the things we have wanted. I could see the heartache on his face. He was younger the first time we did this, and this experience was much different than simply unloading our blankets at a mission.
This time he saw the human suffering first hand. For safety reasons, I had him stay in the car while I jumped out to cover those that needed warmth. We were doing this at night in a major metropolitan area. But, he was close enough. He saw the anguish on the face of a young man who we found lying on the sidewalk with his dog. Both were shivering under a single shared blanket. He saw the woman in a wheelchair under an overhang of a closed store layered in every item of clothing she owned (which wasn’t much). He saw the party goers that were clubbing and the wealthy people out for dinner walk right past an older man squatted down on the sidewalk trying to find a sleeping spot.
??Mom, this is terrible. This is the United States of America. How can we allow this to be like this??
?Oh child, I so wish I had an answer to that question. I don’t know if it is straight apathy that makes it so our fellow citizens without a home are invisible to so many. I don’t know if it’s a ?tough love? mentality that forces our minds to excuse our own neglect because we expect someone that has hit bottom to be able to scratch, claw, and fight their way back up. I don’t know if it’s the continued use of these justifications:
??I don’t want to give someone money to buy booze.?
??Most of them are mentally ill.?
??People choose to be homeless.?
?What I do know is everyone is capable of making a difference. Last night, we made a spontaneous decision to give away our extra blankets to those that needed them the most. I don’t write this for a pat on the back. I write this to let you know that YOU can also do something as simple as spending a couple hours in the car driving around your city and giving things to those in need.
It was a life lesson for my son. It was a meaningful activity for me. When all was said and done, several people were warmer on a cold night. That’s what it was all about.
During our drive home my son, who is turning into a young man right before my eyes, was extremely reflective.
??This makes you wonder about all the ?stuff? you have and how it’s all so unnecessary. Do I really need an iPhone? Do I really need $200 headphones? Why do I need a MacBook? Think about all the money spent on those items and what it could have done for the people we saw tonight.?
Yes son. Yes. You get it, my child.
Let us know your thoughts at the?Liberal America?Facebook page. Sign up for our?free daily newsletter?to receive more great stories like this one.
Elizabeth Preston is a thirty-something wife and mother of three living in Florida. She is a fierce liberal with a passion?for equality and justice. She is a skeptic by nature and often the Facebook friend that rains on the urban legend parade with fact checking. Give her?Facebook page?a?like, follow her on?Twitter?and check out her personal blog?My Four Ha? Pennies.
