As a society, we’ve become used to seeing homeless people on the streets. Asking everyone they can for loose change – or food, or work, or anything else that they can get. Yet only one or two passersby will pay attention, let alone drop a quarter or, a half-eaten sandwich into the person’s hands.
The rest of the time, we ignore them – sometimes on purpose, pretending we don’t hear when they call to us. Others are mean to them, hoping they’ll go away. Then, little by little, those homeless people just seem to… Disappear.
What Really Happens To The Homeless
They don’t exist any longer. Did they get homes? Arrested? Move to other cities?
Nope. They’re still there. You just don’t see them anymore – for two reasons. Inattentional blindness and desensitization – and both “conditions” are very real. They cause us to lose sight of things that are right in front of our faces.
Fortunately, Casey Fischer is one woman – a college student – who managed to see at just the right time – and what happened as a result will rock your world.
This Woman Defied Societal Logic
Fischer stopped at a Dunkin Donuts one day on her way to school. On her way in, Fischer saw a homeless person scrounging for change outside, and then walk inside to buy something. It couldn’t have been much, maybe about a dollar’s worth of loose change, Fischer says in her Facebook post about the incident.
So, instead of ignoring the homeless guy – as any sane person would do – she talked to him, and bought him a bagel and a coffee. Fischer admits the homeless guy was quite reluctant to converse with her in the beginning, but writes in her post that,
“I began to get super annoying and talked to him over and over again even when he didn’t really want to talk. [sic]”
After which, the homeless guy reluctantly opened up, and Fischer learned a bunch of information about the guy during what turned into a two-hour long conversation – including his name, which is Chris.
Fischer said that during the conversation,
“He told me a lot about how people are usually very mean to him because he’s homeless, how drugs turned him into the person he hated, he lost his mom to cancer, he never knew his dad and he just wants to be someone his mom would be proud of. [sic]”
Next thing Fischer knows is that she’s really, really late for class and has to go. On her way out, Chris hands him a paper with something scribbled on it. The note said,
“I wanted to kill myself today, because of u I now do not. Thank u beautiful person.
Yes, that happened – and Fischer took a picture of the note to prove it.
Who knew a bagel, a coffee, and a conversation could save someone’s life?
It’s amazing what one little act of kindness can do. And it’s not just kindness – it’s the doing of the deed without expectations. All too often we give or do because we expect to get in return, but it’s the pure altruistic motives that are often paid back tenfold. Hence the phrase, “pay it forward.”
Because Casey took some time out of her uber busy day – she’s a Social Security Analyst, has a little girl at home and even goes to college – and chose to not ignore a homeless person, that person decided life was worth living – at least for one more day.
For many people , it’s all too easy to avert our eyes and walk away. Casey Fischer had the courage to not avert her eyes, and she saved the life of a vulnerable human being.
Here’s the full text of the Facebook post, including the note. More after the jump.
“Today I went to Dunkin Donuts and saw a clearly homeless guy sitting on the side of the road and picking up change. Eventually I saw him stroll into Dunkin, as he was counting his change to buy something I began to get supper annoying and talked to him over and over again even when he didn’t really want to talk.
Since he had maybe $1 in change I bought him a coffee and bagel and asked him to sit down with me.
He told me a lot about how people are usually very mean to him because he’s homeless, how drugs turned him into the person he hated, he lost his mom to cancer, he never knew his dad and he just wants to be someone his mom would be proud of (along with another hours worth of conversation.)
This lovely mans name was Chris and Chris was one of the most honest & sincere people I’ve ever met. After realizing I really need to get back to class Chris asked me to wait so he can write something down for me.
Handing me a crumpled up receipt he apologized for having shaky hand writing, smiled and left. I opened the note and this was it. ‘I wanted to kill myself today, because of u I now do not. Thank u beautiful person.’”
While we don’t know where this homeless person is today, we do know that Casey Fischer is a lesson in humanity that far too many people have forgotten.
Not to be stereotypical, but many women – and men too – are afraid of approaching men they don’t know, especially homeless men because, well, they’re homeless. Casey Fischer’s actions in not ignoring Chris just goes to show that people are mostly decent after all.
How many homeless people do you pass on a daily basis without giving it a second thought? Can you honestly say you would have done the same as Casey Fischer? Look yourself in the mirror – and let us know in the comments.
H/T Hrtwarming Featured Image by Glasseyes View via Flickr/CC by SA-2.0
