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Treat homeless like the humans they are

The recent verbal attacks on homeless people that I’ve been seeing in the Opinion pages of the Herald, and even coming from some of my own friends, has been quite disturbing. Where has compassion gone? Yes, it makes me sad to see people standing on corners begging for help, but it doesn’t make me want to stop and hand them a copy of the want ads and yell at them to get a job. Nor does it make me want to import more bears as a way of getting rid of them. What’s next, beating them up? How about burning down the homeless shelter and Manna Soup Kitchen?

I’m not ashamed to say that I will stop and give them a few dollars if I have a little extra, and I’ll actually speak to them as the human beings that they are – imagine that! I don’t know what they’ll do with the money, that’s none of my business, but I go away feeling better about myself. I know that I haven’t actually helped the overall problem of homelessness, but I may have made one person feel like somebody cares about them.

I truly believe that homelessness could happen to anyone. How about medical bills for yourself or a loved one that drain away all of your assets? Maybe you have to run away from an abusive situation. What about a mental illness or other disability that prevents you from getting a job. I challenge you to get a job at Walmart by applying in worn out, dirty clothes and having no home address to give them. I challenge you to stand on a corner with a sign and see if you think that’s an easy way to make money. To endure that kind of humiliation, you would have to be truly desperate.

Of course, some of these people on the street are true panhandlers, who are dishonest or have an addiction, but so are some of the people who stand on the corners of Wall Street wearing expensive suits. Everyone has a story, and we don’t need to know what it is. We just need to treat them like a fellow human being who has a right to be treated like one. And help if you can.

Kathy Sherer

Durango



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