Homelessness is like trying to tread water out in the middle of the ocean at the height of a storm with no land in sight and no rescue boat or helicopter on its way.
How did you get out there? Well, maybe your house burned down. Maybe you lived in a town which got destroyed by a hurricane and the poorly-maintained levees broke. Something like that could happen. Maybe it already has.
Or maybe there was a tornado. Or maybe either you or someone close to you got a bad illness, making it impossible to work. Maybe you lost your job along with thousands of others. Maybe you went into bankruptcy and your home went into foreclosure. Or maybe you were renting and working two different jobs in order to pay it, and then the landlord raised the rent, forcing you out with nowhere else to go.
Maybe you were a veteran, fighting for your country overseas and coming home badly injured and traumatized with not enough help and not enough housing.
But anyway, there you are in the middle of the ocean... treading water, exhausted, and watching the fins of sharks as they head towards you. And each shark has a different name- Pneumonia, Malnutrition, Hunger, Heat-stroke, Hypothermia .... Some of the sharks are teenagers with bats and bricks, and from the look in their eyes they're coming to beat you up, set you on fire, kill you- and you don't know what to do. But you know you want to live.
Suddenly you see a boat heading towards you and you think "Alright! At last! Someone to help!"
Unfortunately, when the boat draws closer you can see it's the Society Police Boat. And it's come not with help, but with tasers and tickets and fines.
Police Officer: "What are you doing out here? Don't you know it's all your fault? Lazy bum! We don't want your kind here. No, don't try swimming over there, you'd be illegal over there, too. I'm writing you out a ticket for illegally treading water. And is that a life-jacket I see on you? Well, I'm confiscating it. No, I'm not going to make restitution for that. Now just hand it over. What!!! You're resisting me? I sure don't like your attitude. George, put the handcuffs on him. Now see this? This is a taser."
And there you are... shocked and sinking.. in the middle of an ocean...
Thursday May 28, 2009, 9:49 am
Excelent post. Homelessness feels like that to me to. Please check out my share on homelessness. http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/1153691
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