Kendel Mixon

Kendel Mixon 

Prof. Amanda  

English A  

16 September 2015 

Homelessness in California  

The homelessness in California has one of the greatest population percentages of all states. People all over the world including kids, families, and veterans suffer from a lack of shelter and even resort to sleeping outside or unfortunate designated areas. After digging deeper on why people are homeless or even asking for spare change has led me to having a change of heart before denying a person or even giving my last to help them in anyway I can, however speaking for most of society is impossible but reaching out to fortunate people and having them acknowledge the less fortunate can hopefully one day decrease homelessness. In the documentary " Stories from the streets" John a homeless veteran was interviewed and he expressed his life story and how he had became homeless. Throughout this heart whelming interview John talked about his older brother that had  served in the Vietnam War who sadly never returned home. After going through a tragedy John enlisted into the war feeling  as though he had lost himself when he lost his brother and he went out to find his own path in life not knowing that he will eventually one day end up with nowhere to go after serving his country for years. Throughout this interview I was amazed on how generous , intelligent , and kind he was only because the stereotype of a homeless person is characterized to be the opposite of generous. John was a Christian man who had faith despite of the circumstance he had been put in. Like John, there are millions of homeless people that’s not on drugs or even asking for change to feed their needs however they are people who had a downfall in life  and it was very hard to pick up the pieces which leaves them in the homeless percentage and nowhere to go at night.  over the weekend I was able to put my change of heart mentality into actions of actually acknowledging the less fortunate and helping before I became a critic to their needs. I met a young guy who hangs out constantly at my job asking for spare change and sometimes even haunting the customers. Before I looked at him as a distraction I digged a little deeper and became a helping hand to him. After giving him money I then wanted to have a conversation with him and get to know him. The young guy expressed to me how he unfortunately does drugs and even has a disorder however he needs the money because he has no job and need a income. After getting to know him and even knowing he may be using others money for drugs a sense of relief and clarity came over me. It didn’t matter what he used the money for as long as I can become a helping hand and a ear for listening I felt as though he and I learned a valuable lesson. Everyone you meet may need money for various reasons and may even need a conversation for comfort however everyone should  consider of digging deeper into the homelessness we see on a daily basis and how we can become a helping hand in our community.