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Hi guys! No sooner than I proclaimed that I would be back to "bitching about overpowered guns" in LNoE, more crises hit and I became overwhelmed. Again I will spare you the details but this time I was able to learn something from it. I will explain:
I have a good job and I can support myself rather comfortably. But until poverty shows up within your own circles, affects people you care about and stares you in the face, it is sickeningly easy to dismiss it--even to react with annoyance to the people who suffer from it. My first reaction to seeing a homeless person panhandling on the street isn't "how can I help?" What goes through my mind is closer to "why are you here?"
I have long understood that I want to work with an under served population, but only to be honored and revered by my peers--absolutely the wrong reasons! Additionally, what I did not know is how callous I am towards these people. This was a learning experience for me to be sure!
This whole experience has ignited in me a passion, a drive, an unbreakable resolve to do something about it! What I have learned about myself in the past three months is that all this time, I have held homeless people in contempt when I should have focused my energy, my aggression towards poverty. Now I have clear objectives and a relatively straightforward (but not easy) pathway to achieve them. I have chosen a specialty, I want to become a public health nurse.
In time I will work to earn their forgiveness, perhaps even the right to call myself a "healer." But for now, step one is to focus on graduating from the nursing program and passing my NCLEX-RN.
My only regret is that I did not understand this problem before it was thrust upon me.

My few cents:

I grew up poor. Five kids and a mother in a single motel room at times. My father beat her a bit too much for her to handle and she left him after she had the kids. She worked when she could. Horrible stuff all around us. The non-poor threw rocks and stuff at us little kids as we played. Scorned at school. It was tough.

I know what it is like to be poor. I have an understanding for being in that situation. I understand the drive to work out of that situation.

I do not understand laying on the street and not working. I do not understand spending a day begging instead of looking for a job.

I get it that a single parent must put the child(ren) first and keep them from dying and with no babysitter working is difficult.

But popping out more babies while you can't afford the first is beyond wrong. Not struggling to fit work into your day is wrong.

I guess what I am saying is that when I see a homeless person who looks able to work and who is just sitting or laying on the street my thoughts are "why are you here? Why aren't you working?"

I go to New York City quite a bit for work and I see the homeless. A lot of them young and fit but just sitting there with signs. I see a fat lady who holds a sign claiming to be pregnant for two years now. I see enough to make me angry and disgusted. I also do help some here and there. A kid showing military discharge papers who couldn't get a job yet who slept on the street in the rain. The blind man. I also give to the entertainers such as the bucket drummer and the musicians.

All the power to you for doing what you feel is your part to fit into and help society. That is truly respectable. Just don't get too down on your past self for questioning why the person was there.

We should help those who need help. We are not wrong to question why they might need help.

I have read this post numerous times and I am truly sorry for your friends or family that are being affected by this. I'm currently in a situation where things are tight and only seem to be getting tighter. I'm thankful for the support I'm getting from everyone. I applaud you for wanting to strive to make a difference in this situation and I am sure you will. You are in a unique position and field of work to make that happen. Please be careful though, there are a lot of people out there that choose to be this way and have no intention on bettering their situation. Unfortunately I have seen that those who need the help seldom ask for it due to pride or other reasons. I have lived in a lot of places and I have seen this problem on both coasts. I have lived in my car in NYC, finding a spot in a residential area that you don't have to switch sides of the street every morning is tuff. I've couch surfed in San Diego, and I've recently been at the food bank at the local baptist church. I try to repay them by volunteering twice a month at the food bank helping hand out the food. Just be sure to use your head as well as your heart and be safe.