When I was younger I remember various encounters with homeless people. But there was one homeless person in particular that always comes to mind. I used to live on the fourth floor of my apartment building. Every morning I would have to walk all the way downstairs alone because my older cousin would be outside waiting to walk me to school. The problem was that every once in a while this homeless man would be asleep on the last set of stairs and the only way to get around him was climbing over him.
At the time I was only in first grade so there was no way I would be able to climb over a grown man without falling on top of him. I would make my cousin chase him out of the building just so I could go down the stairs. Thinking back at it I realized that it was the wrong thing to do because he was not there to annoy me or hurt me all he wanted to do was sleep and apparently my apartment building was the safest place for him at the time. I realized I have to stop thinking about my self and view things from other’s points of view too sometimes.
Like Perla, I too have sometimes forgotten that not all homeless people are dangerous. When I was younger I used to be terrified every time a homeless person came around me. I would do everything possible to avoid them. As i got older I began to understand that I must place myself in someone's shoes before I even think about judging them. We all have problems in life, the only difference is that some people have problems that are much more serious. Homeless people are people just like you and I. They eat, sleep and breathe. Unfortunately, they do not always have someone to care for them and take care of them. I think parents need to do a better job of explaining to children that homeless people are the way that they are because of different reasons. They did not choose to be homeless, things just have not worked out too well for them in life.
ReplyDeleteI believe at a young age children don’t know how to react to seeing a homeless person sleeping on the ground or in a box. There first reaction is terrified and frighten because it’s something that they haven’t seen before. Like Roy said parents should talk to their kids about homeless people and tell them that there is nothing to be frightened about. They have to teach their kids that being homeless is the outcome for example not going to school or having a job or even getting involved with drugs. Just like Roy and Perla I myself have treated the homeless as if they were some other species or when I saw them I would have a weird look on my face. When we see homeless people it gives us a chance to think how good we have it and how grateful we should be. Some are less fortunate than others and that is something we have to take into consideration.
ReplyDeletePerla, you can’t possibly blame yourself for that. You were young so you didn’t really understand what was going on. I mean I wouldn’t have either. I probably would’ve asked my parents why the man didn’t have a bed. I didn’t understand what being homeless meant, no young child would, but as I’ve gotten older I have learned that, like Roy said, not all homeless people are dangerous. You can’t judge a book by its cover. Just because a homeless person may look scary does not necessarily mean they are. You are all right; we need to teach children the reasons of being homeless. It may be hard to understand but it is better to know that they are aware of it so that when they see a homeless person they are not as scared. We need to teach children that they shouldn’t judge people for their appearances. Many homeless people have good hearts underneath all their layers. It just takes a single person to help them open up.
ReplyDeleteI believe that we should teach all the young kids, and children that homeless people do no harm. Yes, many of them may look scary but they are not bad people at all. Everyone should try and help the homeless people in one way or another. There should be an organization with young kids to help the homeless people. When i was younger i would never want to see homeless people or help them. Its a shame that society today makes fun of them, and overlooks them. I try to help them as much as possible because you never know what can happen to you overnight. Just like you never know what happened to that person in order to become homeless. Many of these people had great lives, great families and one thing, one decision changed their whole lives, and brought them to where they are now. Hopefully one day they get the help they need and their life will be turned around all over again back to how it was.
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