In my columns published in Street Roots, I have tried to point out the problems that homeless people have in trying to get up. In the first column, titled “Where can I? how can I?,” I show a person who is trying to get a new start in a new town and the problems that he faces while trying to get a job, shelter and figure out how to earn a living. I point out that the way he decided to get money was to panhandle, because his conscience wouldn’t let him sell drugs or do anything illegal. He wants to keep his criminal record as clean as possible. But then, who knows what a person’s conscience will let him do to survive?
In my second column, titled “What I would do to help the homeless,” I tried to demonstrate in chronological order the problems that a homeless person goes through in the process of getting ready for the job search. I showed the futility of the whole process because I hadn’t had a shower since the day before.
In the third column, titled “Open Wapato jail to the homeless on tenants own dime,” I point out that homeless people are spending most of their time in line or waiting to get in line for meals and such. The things needed to help straighten out their lives are inconveniently located, too far from the meals and shelters for them to get back and forth. I also show in reverse order a person who was living under a bridge but got up.
It wasn’t until my fourth column titled “Opportunity support keys to end homelessness,” that I pointed out the qualifications and experience and education that causes the catch-22s, that just makes it more difficult to get up.
In putting all the columns together, anyone should be able to see that the answer is to create an all-in-one center for the homeless. If you create an all-in-one place where they can get the basic human needs, job training, education, counseling and such, people who want to get up can.
Consider a mason jar filled with a third of water, a third of oil and a third of air. While the jar is shaken up it’s hard to tell them apart. But set the jar down and the air will jump to the top. That’s the homeless who have jobs but they are spinning their wheels wasting their money on motels and such
The next layer is the oil. Those are the ones who need a little help or a lot of help, but they can get up. If you help them overcome the issues keeping them down.
Last is the water. There are three things that you can’t do! You can’t give a person desire that comes from within! You can’t give a person self-esteem! That comes from earning and paying your own way, and you can’t push a rope.
But there are two things that you can give them hope and another chance.
If you give a man a meal, you have helped him. But if that’s all you do you will see him again and again until you do something to help him break the cycle.
Johnny Williams is a Street Roots vendor and periodic writer for the newspaper.