Today was one of the hardest days that I have faced at my job. Not due to being no-showed for appts. or difficult parents. Not even horrible weather or traffic or the mountain of paper work. Today it was emotional. It was hard. It was infuriating. It was sad.
Homelessness was not something that I had a personal connection to for most of my life. Most people don't. It is easy to assume that people that end up homeless must bring it on themselves. They must be drug addicts or people that are irresponsible. It's sure what the media might lead us to believe.
When I first thought of homelessness I thought of adults. However, with my first visit as a therapist to a shelter last summer I got a different glimpse. Children. There were so many children. Babies and toddlers just starting life. All of the belongings that a family has in garbage bags piled up in a hallway. So many people counting on a system that is broken at best. I recently read that it was estimated that Americans gave around $580 million to the relief fund after the Haiti earthquake. That country is so needy and I applaud the generosity. However, it is hard to see these families in our own country and how they are living. There are millions of homeless children in the U.S.
To walk into a small room and have to step over bags of belongings that cover the floor make it real. For someone to pull out of a garbage bag the one family photo that they own to show you. To hear their stories and respect their struggle. To try to offer them at the least an ear to listen and maybe a little bit of hope.
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1 comment:
it is terribly painful, but you have to remember that you are helping; many don't want to hear about the things we see, you so much more than me, but if nobody sees it, it doesn't happen, just keep your chin up and do everything you can
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