From a reader:
When you were homeless, what were your interactions like with other homeless people?
My response:
The only other homeless people I saw living outside at that time were men. I had no interaction at all with any of them. However, I did develop friendships with a photographer who worked in the park where I spent my days, a gardener who worked on the church grounds, and also with some local restaurant owners. There was a Hispanic janitor, Carolyn, who noticed me resting in a lounge, exhausted. I never told her I had no place to stay, or that I wanted food, but she must have sensed something was wrong. Carolyn would often offer me her homemade lunch, or give me dollar bills for a snack from the machine.
During the years I was homeless, I had two old friends who still wanted to be a part of my life. My old roommate “Lily” spent her days in the library, working on her medical school application and preparing for the Medical College Admissions Test. She would take me out for ice cream in the area now and then. A student from my old church, “Scott” who was finishing his doctoral studies in biology, would occasionally buy me lunch.
On one occasion, I badly needed some new shoes and clothing. I contacted Scott and asked him if he would consider giving me some money. That day, he took me to his ATM, withdrew $100 cash, and handed it to me. He told me he remembered the dinners I used to host at my university apartment years before.
It must have been so obvious to Lily and Scott that I needed help. But when we met, they never asked me why I didn’t have money, was wearing the same clothes all the time, or had no job (apart from successfully raising money for Africa). Both of them probably realized there was really nothing else they could do for me, beyond their generosity in buying me food.
Buying me lunch may have only been a $10 expense to them, but to me, it was proof I still had friends.
As I read your book, Bethany, I was moved by the fact that God sent people on various occasions to minister to you, all in different ways, both small and big ways. ‘Carolyn’, ‘Lily’ and ‘Scott’ are examples of that. It is a blessed reminder that even at time when we think we are alone, we are never abandoned by God. He is our home.
I have often wondered about homeless people being their own ‘community’ and forming bonds of friendship, because I have read articles in the paper about this. I recall a few years back, reading in the News Herald about a homeless man who went to the ER and was diagnosed with pneumonia. He refused to be hospitalized because he had a friend (also homeless) whom he was watching over. He did not want to leave her alone. According to the article, she was offered a place to stay by someone (I believe a hospital employee) so he would agree to stay for treatment, but his friend refused, so the man left the hospital. Stories like this made me wonder if relationships between homeless people are the norm or if it is more of an isolated existence.
Thanking you for your insights.