What do you feel when you see a homeless person on the street? Maybe they are holding up a sign for money or maybe not.

We have been told things like, ‘They are addicts.’ ‘Don’t give them money.’ And there are the stories that circulate when someone is an addict, lives in a house, drives x car and is making a bunch of money panhandling. This changes our perspective. Now, we might look at a homeless person and not feel bad anymore. You see how social conditioning has now changed how you feel? Now, you don’t feel bad. You don’t give them money. It hurts to feel bad. You can’t help but feel bad for someone standing in the cold, no where to rest, looking hungry.

I can’t help but wonder if this was social conditioning. I saw a homeless woman pushing a cart on the road. On my way back she had broken down and had taken a break, head in her hands, clearly not having a good day. I turned around to see if I could buy her food. By the time I got to her, two young men were helping her get to some shade. I stopped to ask if they wanted food. They wanted something to drink. That’s it.

After I gave them some drinks. They said, ‘Thanks. It’s been a rough night.’ I can’t imagine what they’d been through but it seems Hollywood has made a game of it for people. Homeless people are treated very badly and very, very badly sometimes. I couldn’t help but wonder on it. Why had last night been so bad? It was 9/12.

I was homeless for about 2 minutes before I got asked for a ride. They can sense your vulnerability and they treat you differently.