Talk Is Cheap, Human Connections Are Real

In the spring of 1987 I had just moved to Los Angeles and landed a job as a nursing home cook near South Central. About two weeks into the new gig, my junker Toyota died and I was introduced to Metropolitan Transit Authority (more commonly referred to as "the bus"). From my home in Hollywood, the bus ride took a few hours. I'll never forget that first bus experience. An older homeless man got on the bus with a large white bucket. As he started to walk towards the back of the bus people quickly moved to the aisle seat, or cover the empty seat with a bag or coat so the homeless man could not sit next to them.

Since I was green to inner-city life, I did nothing. The homeless man with his large white bucket sat down right next to me. As my luck would have it that day, it turned out his bucket was filled with dead fish. I don't know what smelled worse, the homeless man or the bucket of dead fish. It was an absolutely horrible experience and I refused to ride MTA ever again. That is, until I became that man! I'll never forget the first time I had to ride the bus as a homeless person. As I walked to the back all of a sudden all the empty seats became occupied.

No one sets out to be homeless; "recycling engineer" will never be a popular career fair choice. But homelessness can happen to anyone. Most of us are only one crisis away from living on the streets. CNN reported that 25% of employers plan to have layoffs over the next 12 months. Right now, with the economy in the crapper, more and more people are living in their cars or calling a cardboard box home-sweet-home. You may always have a roof over your head, but poverty and homelessness will directly effect you in the very near future.

I am so very honored that Shannon and Change.org are allowing me this opportunity to share my thoughts on the issues of poverty and homelessness. Every week I'm going to bring to you a new story told to you by a real person living on the streets. Real stories by real people- raw, unedited, and uncensored.

Most people ignore the homeless mainly because they simply do not understand. Well, together we are going to change that. This is not a passive blog. Nothing is going to change unless we take action. It does not have to be anything major, simply forwarding someone a link to this post or continuing the conversation of poverty and homelessness is an action (a very good action!). Cleaning out the GOOD STUFF from your closet and donating to the local shelter is another. Or donating a car-load of canned goods to your local food pantry.

Talk is cheap. We can write and read blogs all day but unless we actually DO something - we will see no change! My hope is that these true stories will challenge and inspire you to make a real connection with the homeless community, and by doing so together we can take action and make a real lasting difference.

No one should have to sleep on the streets  - no one!