i have worked all my life. from the day i left college i have been fortunate enough to have worked and had a job....for the most part one that i was interested in and enjoyed. i have never been unemployed. i have always had money and never really given it a second thought. life was relatively easy. alot of times i worked two jobs. anytime i left my primary employment it was for another job for more money or better opportunity. i was fortunate. i had the things that most people do...a house, a car and a truck and the things that come with it. i never gave much thought to the homeless and poor except at christmas and when i would pass one on the street. i was involved in church and different organizations on a periphery level. i was typical of millions of americans. nothing special but not many worries. i never considered that one day it would end. well....not end....but come to a temporary halt.
i was injured in a non work related incident <that's insurance terminology> so, i had to take a medical leave from work. it wasn't covered by my insurance. i had a choice of taking workers compensation or unemployment i took unemployment. i had some savings and my job was secure for a certain amount of time, so i wasn't that concerned. but then another curve was thrown at me....on one of my visits to the doctor they discovered cancer. i'm not going to go into alot of details, but i had to undergo some pretty intensive treatments, along with recovering from the initial injury. it couldn't wait....it was do it or die. it couldn't wait for me to accumulate more money or wait for the injury to be treated or wait for me to secure my employment. do it or die. i chose to do it. after a period of time my savings were depleted. i was running out of options. i continued the treatments and luckily the cancer was contained and i am in the process of being well and strong again. but in the long process i used all my money and all my resources. in a nutshell that's why i'm homeless. i do work at the present but it's only part time and sporadic. i am looking and will find employment in the very near future and as i've said before i am one of the lucky ones. the only reason i have even let this fact be known is so i can validate the fact that i am not homeless by choice, nor am i satisfied with being homeless, nor am i a welfare bum as they like to call the poor. if i didn't write this entry, the question might linger....why don't you stop tweeting and just get a job.
but here's the main issue here. that tweet was so typical of the stereotypical thoughts alot of people have about the homeless. some express it....alot more don't....but the thought is still there. why don't you just get a job? you don't know the answer to that question until you delve into it. some people are disabled. some people have mental illness. some people have addiction problems some people have a criminal history or bad employment history. some people just have bad luck. couple any of those reasons with a bad economy and it's not hard to figure out. unemployment is realistically around 15%. in wilmington some people estimate it at around 20-23%. i think that's why homelessness hasn't been eradicated and that's why i ask the question alot of times ....how much is the cost and are you willing to pay? i ask that question because there are alot of people....more than we want to admit...that have the same question for me and all the homeless in america.....why don't you just get a job?
don't be so quick to judge. take the time to look into the real and underlying reasons for homelessness. until you do...and until america does....it will not be eradicated. it takes insight, understanding, compassion, cooperation, and willingness to end homelessness. most of all ....it takes willingness.
i'm willing.....are you?
see you around town