I wanted to write about an experience Jonathan and I had last night after dinner. It made us both pretty emotional and really provided some food for thought on an important issue that has been already weighing on our minds recently. It's about the homelessness in Hawaii.
Last night when walking home there was an elderly man struggling to carry his bags. We started off as on lookers, we didn't intervene straight away but my boyfriend felt like he should assist him. The man was dishevelled, struggling on his feet, shaking and clearly could not lift the load of his bag and walk at the same time. We continued to look back and watch even as we were approaching the next block. From the outset he seemed to fit the profile of a homeless person here in Hawaii. It is a real problem here, they truly are everywhere you turn. Hawaii has the highest homeless rate in the United States. For the people who aren't in shelters and are on the streets, it is common for them to be mentally unstable and/or victims of addiction and carrying a bag/pushing some sort of pram or shopping cart full of their belongings.
Cred: latimes.com
Then the man fell. He had tried to put his duffle bag over his head to help carry the load but had collapsed on the sidewalk. We instantly turned back to his aid. No one was stopping. No one was helping him. It was a crowded street. When we got to him we helped him sit up and get the bag loose from his neck. We picked up all his belongings and loose change and put them back in his bag for him. He was shaking and sweating heavily, and he explained he had a disease in his legs that restricted blood flow and made him weak. They were all purple and bruised from the foot up to his knees. We asked his name and where he was trying to go and if we could get him an Uber to get there. He said his name was Tony and he just wanted to get to the bus stop on the next block. He said he was kicked out of home by his girlfriend a few weeks ago and that he just wanted her to forgive him. He was going to try and get back home tonight. So we helped him up, my boyfriend supporting him to walk and myself carrying his bag (which was so heavy, no wonder he couldn’t lift it).
He was finding it harder and harder to walk. But he maintained a positive (and cheeky) attitude. He spoke to my boyfriend about construction as Jonathan is a builder by trade and Tony said he was a civil engineer for 30 years. We offered him money, we asked if he was on his way to a shelter, we tried to get to know him. He refused our money, and offers to buy him food or water. He said he didn’t want to go to the shelters because they were overcrowded and there were people who needed them more than him. And if he didn’t get back home tonight he would just stay on the bus. At first glance it had seemed that he may have been drunk. But after speaking with him more it became clear that he wasn't.
Cred: inquisitr.com
We were still a few metres from the bus stop when he couldn't walk anymore. His legs gave out and he fell onto the ground panting and hot, this time not able to get up again. With his permission we called 911 and flagged down a passing-by police car. We waited and sat on the ground with him while we waited for the ambulance to arrive.
After we spoke with the ambulance and the police, we said good-bye, gave him our phone number and went home. We called the nearby hospitals a little while after to see if he had agreed to be taken to the hospital and if he had arrived. We were relieved to find him at one nearby and know that he got medical attention.
To be honest we aren't 100% sure if Tony is truly homeless or not. He may have had a mental illness that led him to believe his own story about being kicked out by his girlfriend. He may have been completely truthful. We don't know, but we do know we helped him when he needed it and we made a new friend.
Why should helping a homeless person on the street be seemingly so much more difficult than helping a struggling well-dressed person. Helping someone out on the street who seems to be unwashed and homeless shouldn't be reserved for charities. It really doesn't take much to help someone out. Any act of kindness can mean so much to the person you are helping. Being homeless shouldn't make you a taboo. I don't claim to be an expert and obviously in certain situations your own safety should always be your number one concern. But last night really reaffirmed to us that being labelled as homeless affects how you are treated. If that were an elderly gentleman who instead was washed and presentable and had fallen due to a heavy bag and couldn't get up - it is highly unlikely they would just be left lying on the street with onlookers and no assistance, like Tony. In a crowded street, my boyfriend and I were the only people to run back from the next block and help Tony to his feet.
I hope by writing this post I can at least put good energy out there and spread some thought and compassion. Homeless people are just people. People with no homes. People struggling in situations that we can't fully understand. Some are abusing substances and avoiding any available help, yes. But that's not to be said for all. This has always been something I have thought about. I went to a school in one of the richest suburbs in Sydney, yet at the same time the drug and homeless hub of Sydney's eastern suburbs. It always baffles me, the disparity in wealth right in front of our eyes.
I've spent some time speaking with those who are homeless. Often they are a victim of circumstance, of a gambling addiction, of alcoholism, of a drug addiction, sometimes they simply just can't make enough money to sustain a living. A helping hand, a conversation, or even just a smile, with an often ignored individual can mean so much.
Cred: seattletime.com
See you in my next post
Olivia x