Appearances are not what they seem
Posted by: homelessgirl on: December 17, 2008
All through out the world, it doesn’t matter where you are we believe all homeless people are the same.
Lazy, dirty and wild members of our society that we have to put up with.
We walk past them as they ask for change and don’t want to give because we think that they’ll spend it on drugs.
Homeless people are lazy and deserve what they get, sure I feel sorry for them but I’m not going to do anything about it, it has nothing to do with me, we say.
These are just a selection of the thoughts I know people have and are too afraid to admit them, I know because I used to think like that.
You have no idea how they ended up in that situation but because we have been conditioned to be wary of those that are not like us, we immediately judge.
Right now as I am writing this thousands of people around the world are losing their houses because of this recession. Doctors, Teachers, Lawyers once beacons of our society are losing what was once precious.
I would be the last person you would think to be homeless.
I grew up in an upper middle class family and never lacked anything.
I went to a boarding school for 6 years.
Both my parents have masters degrees.
At one point I had more that five cars, 6 televisions, 4 houses and more plots of land that I could count.
My father had a high ranking government job whilst I couldn’t afford to buy a new set of school uniform.
And I lost everything, not because of drugs or alcohol or an affair but because people hated me.
I ‘m not writing the above to try and show off but really just to let you see that I know what it feels like to be rich and that it can happen to anybody.
But no matter what hope will prevail.
So next time you see a homeless person you don’t have to give them change just give them the benefit of the doubt, you never know you might change the world 
And on a totally unrelated note here is something to giggle at.
7 Responses to "Appearances are not what they seem"
December 18, 2008 at 4:42 am
People simply do not realize how far they could fall and how quickly it can happen and how easily it can occur. Unfortunately, a lot more people are going to find it happening to them in the current economic crisis. If they did perhaps they might feel a little more empathy.
December 18, 2008 at 9:43 pm
This is one of my favorite post and I can relate. I thought the same thing before I can became homeless. Hopefully something good will happen from more people becoming homeless, like people working to end homelessness
http://homelessness.change.org/
December 22, 2008 at 1:44 pm
Matt that is very true but I haven’t seen anything on numbers yet.
I was ahead of the trend
January 6, 2009 at 5:16 pm
I used to volunteer as a homelessness and housing adviser for a charitable advice agency. I learned that there are street homeless, homeless living temporarily amongst friends and family and homeless who are legally overcrowded in unsuitable accommodation. I admire your blog and your attitude. All the very best.
8¬)
February 1, 2009 at 9:01 am
Being homeless myself for quite some time, I found out just how badly homeless people are treated by none homeless people, and why so many are not in shelters (the nearest shelter to me was a 5 hour drive by car and I don’t have a car!)
I know exactly what you mean about things not being what they seem. I too grew up in a middle class family and attended private school. Never did drinking, drugs, sex or any other immoral things. I became homeless because of first a flood and than later someone setting fire to my home. It was a combination of nature and hate that made me homeless, so I know exactly how you are feeliing because I went through the same thing (more or less).
Part of me liked being homeless, like when I could sleep under the stars on warm nights, listening to the ocean, but most of the time it was sheer hell and I hated it.
My family of 7 became homeless after a flood took away everything we owned and left my dad in a coma. My mom was a stay at home mom, who was disabled, but still took care of us kids.
My dad’s hospital bills were more than $12,000 per day just for the life support machine that he was on, not including all the tests and treatments besides. In the end his medical bill topped 2 million dollars!
Without a house to live in anymore and with my dad no longer working because he was in a coma, we ended up homeless and living in a tent-thing made out of a tarp and cinderblocks, and we had to fight off a winter in Maine under that thing.
We were not eligible for any of the state programs that supposedly helped homeless people either.
Well, when you are homeless, it doesn’t matter what happened or how you became homeless, because just the fact that you are homeless “brands” you as inferior and worthless and sets you up for all sorts of a abuse by “regular” people (non-homeless people). I had no idea people were so mean or that homeless people were being treated so shamelessly until my family became homeless. That was the worst year of my life and I don’t ever want to have to go through anything like that again, and I wish that no one else had to go though it either.
February 1, 2009 at 3:16 pm
EeelKat your story has touched me more than any other.
And yours is the most similar to mine, that we have been homeless because of circulstances.
Your homeless is also as a result of the failure of the healthcare system.
When this is all over for me I’m going to dedicate my life helping those who are homeless and don’t qualify for assistance.
Thank you so much for writing.
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December 17, 2008 at 7:26 pm
I do know that I am guilty of that behaviour to homeless people.
And I’m wondering what you were doing with 5 cars? lol