WHAT I’VE LEARNED HANDING OUT SLEEPING BAGS TO THOSE IN NEED
The San Diego chapter of Veterans For Peace, during the past dozen or so years, has actively engaged street dwellers in our signature charity, which we have named our “Compassion Campaign.”
We constitute just one among many charitable efforts trying to lend a helping hand to some of the thousands of unfortunate humans whose “home” of the day is any sidewalk on any street in San Diego County.
Our minimal contribution can only provide temporary relief. Our specific service to those we, unfortunately, have come to know so well has been and continues to be providing a sleeping bag, and, when we’re able, food and clothing as well. Primarily our interest is to soften bodily contact with concrete or tarmac. It is, to say the least, a profoundly daunting effort.
We have interacted face to face with substantial numbers of those folks among us who endure as best they are able the elements of the night, and we have tons of experience with the program. We keep learning. As the saying goes, “Experience is the best teacher.” We have at this time distributed more than 5,000 new sleeping bags to the homeless population since 2010. Imagine yourself and two others crammed into your Prius along with a wall-to-wall cargo of 20 sleeping bags!
When the subject is the homeless condition, public observers can be plain ignorant as well as have copious misunderstandings or believe myths. Space here will not allow for detailing what we have seen on the streets of San Diego. It would fill the pages of a heavy book, some chapters horrific in content. So much of the homeless phenomenon is heartrending and leaves a caring person overwhelmed with empathy, feeling helpless to do more to protect these people.
Yes, some folks appear to be “living” in a car. In fact, on occasion, we have made a difficult judgment calls to donate a sleeping bag (or two) to folks who, at the moment, have such a “bed.” (We are acutely aware of our moral responsibility as custodians of donated monies from our generous, ordinarily anonymous donors.) There’s another saying: “Necessity is the mother of invention.” Often, those in the car do not own it. Nor have they stolen it.
The temporary accommodation can be in actuality a legitimately rented vehicle, paid for with the pooled money of the poor — sometimes for one night, sometimes for longer, depending. It is not comfortable but can be had for a fraction of the cost of a motel. And it shelters a person from the weather. Who are we to judge? Working on the mean streets as we do is an education like no other. Every night presents unique experiences, and often, shocks.
We find ourselves approaching and resolving some situations in a way we never knew we were capable of. One night there was a man curled up on the sidewalk with his face in his own vomit! I wondered, how could a decent, capable person leave him there like this and go about his business? Impulse plus an adrenaline rush got me to drag him out of the mess, and provide him a sleeping bag. On another occasion, I was “vetting” a potential recipient who was in rags, had been drinking and smelled terrible. As we were speaking with each other, without breaking stride, my new friend wet his pants. He got a sleeping bag, no questions asked.
Near Petco Park, we came across a young woman sitting on a bench. She had just come into town. She had a small bag with her things in it, and nothing more than the clothes on her back. I was devastated by her condition. She politely declined a sleeping bag because she had no way to carry it around. I was at a complete loss for what to do. There are no do-overs, so, at 93, I often wonder what became of her.
I wonder about others I have interacted with, hundreds of them, as well, and how I might have done better.
What do I have to say to vociferous critics who find themselves at odds with those of us who are making some effort towards resolving the unenviable plight of our human brothers and sisters on the street and extending sympathy and love for those without a place to call home.
Just have a heart. Please.
The problem of homelessness can leave a caring person overwhelmed with empathy, feeling helpless to do more.
is an activist and advocate for homeless people in San Diego, a volunteer with Veterans For Peace and a combat veteran of the Korean War. He lives in Serra Mesa.