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I was walking by the library and city hall last night- thought I was alone with my clamorous thoughts & the landscaping. I was startled by the sight of a person, a lumpy shadow that I realized was another being. A lady, judging by the hatstyle, a woman with a blanket and dragging a rolling carry on suitcase.
Hardened to homelessness by my years working in downtown SF, I walked briskly onward to my appointment at city hall. Important things to attend to, I had an interview with the Mayor and city council.
Hours later, I emerged into the now quite late blackness, it was cooler, quieter, and suddenly that woman from the shadows was right beside me and said "excuse me, can you tell me where the police station is?"
I told her to keep walking around the building thataway and she would find it. She went in the direction I pointed. I wondered if the police would be of any help.
I kept speedwalking towards my car, checking my numerous voice messages as I went, and as I was about to start driving it occurred to me, it suddenly registered: that was a very pretty lady.
I took the short drive to my home, a modest townhome, yet with more than ample room for another 4 or more people. There actually is room at this inn. I don’t know why it mattered, why it struck me so that she was younger and lovelier than I had expected, as if it would be somehow better if she had been a ‘typical’ older bag lady?! Maybe because she was closer to my age, I could relate to all the paths that might have taken her with that suitcase into the park by city hall. Maybe she was fleeing an abusive spouse, or had been laid off, or had catastropic medical bills, or lost a nasty divorce case, or had no family capable of taking her in, all scenarios which have hit myself or my peers in recent years.
And I thought to myself, how deeply sad a commentary on the state of our society that one cannot offer shelter to a lonely stranger on a cold night.
Because we are afraid of one another. She would not know if I’m a homicidal maniac and I don’t know if she is a thief or some kind of addict. What happened to the good ‘ol days when random families would regularly take in a weary traveler? I wanted to offer a bed, blankets, soup or tea…but in this day and age we are all too afraid. I felt helpless, quite guilty, but still cautious, still afraid.
(the above blurb from notes I made to myself on 10/24/06)
Some interesting takes on this, all is not lost.
Move On (yes, those liberal upstarts) created a "hurricane housing" website following Katrina- and many, many kind souls offered shelter to complete strangers, from single individuals to entire extended families. They created a photojournalistic book in fact that profiles many of the matches made of people offering shelter and those evacues who found it with new friends in other states.
One of my fellow commissioners met with a similar conundrum. She had an idea to invite homeless individuals come to her home once in a week or so to enjoy a good meal and take a hot shower. Her family felt she would be ‘crazy’ to allow such people into her home. "We are very religious", she said, "and it kind of surprised me that they said ‘no way’. I thought it would be something small, but nice that we could do, but everyone feels it’s not safe."
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