Evident Problem, Invisible People

The morning rush hour, a homeless man stands on the curb of a busy street, hands stretched out, holding a cardboard sign with washed out words saying “no home and hungry, please help.” His clothes are torn, his hair oily and uncombed. This is his spot. For over a month, that same man on that same curb can be seen. People walk by; some look away, some who ignored or even acknowledged the woman who too had been holding a similar sign from the preceding block. Many turn away thinking that this man is a failure, a bum who wants money for a pack of cigarettes to fill one of the many addictions that most likely got him there in the first place. The more sympathetic throw down a couple quarters; they’ve done their good deed for the week. Above all, many cannot help but wonder: isn’t there something profoundly wrong with a society that has so much poverty amidst so much wealth?

A 1990 New York Times poll reported that 68 percent of urban Americans see the homeless in the course of their daily routines; nationally, the figure was 54 percent, an 18 percent increase in just four years (Blau, 1992, p. 3). Living so close to New York City and growing up in Jersey City, NJ, seeing a homeless person on the street turned out to be an every day occurrence, one I always hoped to avoid. Shopping carts filled with garbage bags and raggedy clothed people were of no surprise and became of no importance in my life. My father however, always had an extreme compassion for the homeless, mainly because he was once homeless. He constantly inspired me to reach out to them, not by words but by his actions. Blinded by ignorance, my mother and I never understood why my dad chose to keep his business in the heart of Jersey City; it’s hard being a hairdresser, let alone being one in the middle of poverty and economic depression, yet, he persisted and still to this day his business exists there. My father always talks about how one day he is going to open a large apartment building, bring all the homeless of Jersey City together and allow them to reside there. He knows most of the homeless around his work by name, their stories and has seen so many come and go, live and die. My father is well known in the Jersey City community for all his efforts over the 20+ years and is acknowledged by many as a man with a large heart. Being older and more enlightened to our society’s problem, I see now why my father does what he does. Ignorance is no solution to any problem!

The famous English essayist and novelist Aldous