How do you react when you walk by a homeless person on the street?
Do you make a judgment about their clothing, values or lifestyle? Or maybe walk further away from them?
I know I have. I used to think of homeless people as a gray area that frankly, freaked me out.
A couple of weeks ago, I was assigned a news article on the homeless population in Laramie, requiring me to find a homeless person to interview. I spent several days strategizing not only how to find this type of individual, but also how to communicate with them. How do I identify a homeless person? How can I ask them personal questions without being insulting? What if the person is mentally ill? Or even more, what if the person attacks me?
All of these questions were put to rest after I met Heck Boutwell, a 32-year-old hobo who I found sleeping under a bridge in West Laramie. It took me 15 minutes to sum up the courage to wake him up and interview him. After a few wake-me-up cigarettes, Boutwell talked to me for 30 minutes about his life, telling me the highs and the lows with great charisma, and I can honestly say it was one of the most engaging and influential conversations I’ve ever had. I found Boutwell to be very relatable, and my original apprehensions were replaced with compassion and curiosity.
Now, I’m aware not all people will be as lucky to meet a homeless person like Boutwell; however, this doesn’t mean we can’t still be understanding and caring, as there are 110 homeless people living in Albany County.
In our society, people can often be too quick to judge a homeless person for not trying hard enough, based on the encouraged “American Dream” attitude. The majority of college-age Millennials defined the dream as, “If you work hard, you will get ahead,” according to a study conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute and Berkley Center.
Unfortunately in today’s world, this isn’t necessarily the case.
Out of the 3.5 million homeless people in America, 25 percent are employed, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH). In other words, some homeless people are working just as hard as the next person and they are still stuck in poverty.
I think it is crucial to set our prides aside and consider our similarities to the homeless. For example, Boutwell takes online classes, enjoys fishing, eats D.P Dough, shops at NU2U and occasionally parties at the bars. To me, he doesn’t sound much different from any other college student I know.
“I make money, and I’m not like a derelict or bum who grabs a blanket from the Salvation Army and falls asleep on the sidewalk,” he said.
As I mentioned before, not all of the homeless are like Boutwell, but even those who are more extreme are still relatable. The main causes of homelessness are mental illness, addiction and lack of funds, as reported by the NCH. I know many people in my life who are affected by all of those factors just on a smaller scale, which leads me to believe some of us may be teetering on a fine line between being housed and homeless.
Even further, Bankrate.com reported 76 percent of Americans in 2013 were living paycheck-to-paycheck. This lifestyle is not uncommon amongst college students, and personally, I find myself walking that dangerous line. An expensive crisis could easily push some people down the slippery slope to becoming homeless.
So, the next time you bypass a homeless person and are inclined to take a step away from them, consider what kind of judgments you are making. Remember, they are individuals with a background too, who in fact makeup a part of the population in Laramie. I’m not saying you have to hand out $20 to every homeless person you see, but instead, try to put yourself in their shoes and feel some compassion. Consider for a moment their life story and how maybe, just maybe, they aren’t that different from you.
