Narrative Essay On Homeless

Quite by accident, my Mom became aware of a homeless man living in a tent just inside the woods bordering a shopping center she frequents. She noticed this man many times walking through the shopping center parking lot. He was not hard to miss, because no matter what the weather, he wore a big yellow raincoat. My Mom spotted the yellow raincoat one day, just inside the woods, crawling into a little tent. Her first thought she said, was to bring him something to eat. Yep, that’s my Mom, so she went to a fast food restaurant nearby, bought a large coffee, a burger and put five dollars in the bag with the food. Going back to the edge of the woods, she called to him and he came out of the tent to accept gratefully, what my Mom offered. This

Perhaps the shopping center merchants complained, I’m not sure, he was just gone. I know we would still be helping him today, because we felt responsible, we were personally involved and therefore could not turn our back to his need. A homeless culture exists, hidden in plain sight. We either ignore it or just fail to see this element around us, or think that we can’t make a difference, because the problem is just too overwhelming. I believe getting “up close and personal” helped me on a path to look beyond “self” and look to the needs of others less fortunate. Not just reading about homelessness or hearing about it, but seeing firsthand the horrors of homelessness. There are a myriad of reasons why a person becomes homeless, job loss, untreated mental illness, a catastrophic event in their life, or substance abuse, to name just a few. Regardless the reason, they need whatever help we can give. Without a lecture, but with deeds and actions my mother taught me a powerful lesson, a lesson that will stay with me, and be a part of who I am as an adult. We are our brother’s keeper, we just have to open our eyes to the needs around us and help when we can. It’s that