On the Street
Ten friends and I are hoping to raise $37,500 by April 30 to support Lava Mae, an organization that provides hot showers and other services for the homeless in San Francisco. A recent census counted 7,500 homeless people in the city. Our goal represents one shower for each of the 7,500 individuals, and we will match every dollar that we raise.
There's a woman that I've seen. Walking the streets of SOMA, dragging her blanket as though sweeping the detritus from the streets. A sea of track jackets and de facto tech uniforms float by, and this woman, pushing past the current. Hair unkempt, a torn shirt, pants-less. I suspect she's younger than her appearance suggests. I wonder where she's going.
People stop and stare at her nakedness. Others do double takes. Expressions of disgust, incredulity, discomfort appear on the surrounding faces. Just when you think you've seen it all, there's still room for surprise.
I spot her again in the Tenderloin, this time sitting on the corner of Taylor and Eddy. More barren than I've seen her - in bedraggled bra and underwear - as if her clothes have been stripped off her. But it seems she hardly notices. She's sitting with her legs crossed in the middle of the urine soaked sidewalk, spinning off into her own world.
Two teenagers walk by and avert their eyes. And the usual traffic goes streaming by.
Something in my heart sinks. I want to offer something, but what to say, what to offer? Does she even want to be addressed? And what would a few dollars do? Where is the dignity?
The truth is I never know what to do in these situations. And so I walk on by, and her memory haunts me. A specter of another homeless man, barefoot in the NYC subway in the dead of winter, runs through my mind. The man I wish I had given a pair of shoes to. But instead, I stepped onto my train in the New York rush, never to see him again.
I don't want to do that anymore.
The idea of tackling homelessness is daunting, but I just want to take a step and start somewhere. Which is why I'm partnering with LavaMae, an organization that offers showers and helps restore dignity to the homeless.
I walked by in the past, but at the next LavaMae pop-up care village, I hope she will be there.
Lava Mae could use so much more help rekindling dignity on the streets. Would you consider donating to our campaign to raise $37,500 by April 30?
Comments
Post a Comment