Week 3

My apologies for not getting this out last week! Please forgive me, I was at the mercy of my dentist (2 root canals, how's that for a good time, ick!).

Anyway, I was only at the Day Center for a few hours last week, (because of my dental dilemma) but I took part in a conversation that I will probably remember for the rest of my life. I was sitting in my office and one of the youth was in line to use the shower. He looked through my window and asked me how I was doing and I did the standard "I'm doing great, how about you?" His answer is what caught me, "I'm doing alright, but I'm really tired, it's hard to get a good night sleep when you're sleeping on rocks". I told him I was sorry and asked if he was able to catch some sleep in the meditation room (this is the "spirituality room" at the Day Center; they let youth catch some extra sleep in there for reasons just like this). He said he wasn't able to, but was hoping he could find a blanket for the night. Not a blanket to cover up with, but to lie on top of the rocks so he could at least get a good nights sleep.

The conversation continued on for a minute and I put him in touch with the right person so he could get a blanket to sleep on. He was over the top grateful for this saying it wasn't a big deal and we didn't need to go out of our way. I was blown away at how polite and how sweet natured this boy was, especially in light of his circumstances! I was also forced to think about his reality, he sleeps outside. Not only does he sleep outside, but he sleeps on top of rocks. Wherever it is that he has found to lay his head down at night is on top of rocks!! No wonder he isn't getting a lot of sleep.

Lets play a little game....imagine a night when you have gotten next to no sleep because you've been super stressed or worried and you wake up every few minutes. This is his (and countless others) reality, every day. Now imagine that you aren't waking up in a safe snuggly bed under your safe snuggly roof. You are outside, and not only are you exhausted, but you're hungry. So you, in your half awake/sleep state have to go find food. You also have some other things on your agenda, like finding a place to take a shower, hopefully a shelter to sleep in, and if it is a really good day you may have time to look for a job....

All too often I have heard negative comments about our homeless neighbors like; "Why don't they just get a job", or "They're just lazy". I think sometimes we forget that essentials (food, taking a shower and getting a good nights sleep) are not easily accessible for someone who has no home. A large part of their day could be spent just trying to find these things, and all after a night of sleeping on rocks.