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Last night, while driving home from my men's group, I noticed a young man standing alone in a bus shelter. It was the motion that caught my eye. Rocking back and forth, hugging himself in a flimsy, white blanket, his breath made clouds in the 20-degree air.
I’m guessing he had nothing on under the blanket but pants, a shirt, maybe a very light jacket. The shelter was quite dark, so I don’t think the infrared heaters were working.
AN ILL-FITTING GARMENT
I often wonder about strangers, especially when they’re alone—who they are, what they’re doing, what’s their story. But for some reason, in this fellow’s case the question that struck me was, Where are you going?
Are you on your way home? Going to see a friend? Off to your night shift? I probably shouldn’t read too much into such details, but somehow the blanket feels like a poignant answer to those questions. A garment less chosen than scrounged.
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| PHOTO: Lily Fulop |
What if, I asked myself, you’re homeless? What if all your family bridges have burned? What if the next bus provides the only shelter you’re going to find tonight? Do you even have the fare?
And, again, that insistent question: Where will you get off?
How easily we take for granted
our destinations in life.
DESTINATION: SURVIVAL
The young man drew just a passing glance, but he’s been on my mind ever since. It’s not just curiosity and compassion, but also sadness. For, even if my reckoning on his particular plight is misplaced, I know there are countless others tonight for whom it would not be.
How easily we take for granted our destinations in life. Appointments, a job, social occasions… Even if our engagement’s with no one but a favorite place, we’re very seldom without an aim in our comings and goings.
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| PHOTO: Kidstuff Counseling |
But when the notion of belonging somewhere lies beyond reach, do you think a person’s idea of “destination” might change from one of place to one of time? How long can I stay on this warm bus? When will they kick me out?
For some—like perhaps this young man—the aim is simply survival. Can I make it till morning?
I’ve decided there must be some purpose,
some intent, in my having noticed him.
CAUSES, EFFECTS, REMEDIES
I used the same excuses most of us would for not stopping and just asking the kid these questions, maybe helping him out. Instead, I weigh his fortunes from afar, from a world of warmth and belonging.
Nonetheless, I’ve decided, there must be some purpose, some intent, in my simply having noticed him. And, yes, in contemplating the causes, effects and remedies for homelessness and its attendant ills.
In 2024, it’s estimated that .23 percent of Americans—roughly 770,000 of us—
experienced homelessness.*
To be honest, I don’t think I’ll be out anytime soon looking to engage, face to face, folks like this young man who look displaced. But I am moved to find and start supporting an organi- zation that provides effective, reliable “housing first” services and programs here in Minneapolis.
Among those I’m considering: Avivo Village—which provides indoor communities of “tiny houses; People Serving People—focusing on keeping people in their existing homes; or the United Way—which engages citizens, businesses and organizations in combating homelessness.
Just imagine how it might feel if, especially during this busy, destination-rich holiday season, you had nowhere to go, nowhere to be. I hope that, like me, you’re moved to help our fellow citizens—like my White-blanket Man—whose home might very well exist only in their dreams.
* National Alliance To End Homelessness
