She Needs Your Help

Last week, I had to find a way to provide a family member with all the basic essentials of life. She had nothing but a bed, a couch and a few personal belongings. It is a very long story that I will not tell except to say that her situation is of no fault of her own and I would not wish it upon anyone. Helping her was a necessity. It reminded me of how blessed I am to have a roof over my head and food to eat. It reminded me of others who are in similar situations of desperation as my family member. It reminded me of Cheryl, a fellow blogger who just needs a job to turn things around. Sounds easy, but it isn’t.

I know I have stood on this soap box a few times already, but it’s my soap box. You can simply turn the page if you wish…

 We are not all given the same opportunities.

We are not all blessed with families that are willing or able to help us.

We are not all blessed with healthy bodies or healthy minds.

We are not all blessed with minimal disasters that fall upon us.

We are not all fortunate to succeed from our hard work. Some work harder than us and get half as far.

We are not all able to work.

Some of us struggle every day just to eat, pay a bill, keep our sanity or find even one small fragment of hope to carry on.

 I am asking that you really think about how you will be inconvenienced if you were to give a small amount to someone who is at risk of losing their home. If I can leave myself short to reach out to another, then believe me…so can you.

When you truly give, you look into your heart, not your bank book.

I hope you will look into your heart to help my fellow blogger and friend.

http://allbuthomeless.wordpress.com/

You can also check out her web design services at

http://deesebydesign.weebly.com/

Searching For Signs of Life

I usually alternate between my “50 Things I’ve Learned” posts, some poetry, amateur photography and the occasional reblog.
Today is different.

Today I feel the need to simply vent about something that is bothering me and express what is on my mind. I can’t move forward until I do.
I stumbled upon a blogger named Jorge who is desperate for funding in order to keep himself and his seven year old daughter from being homeless. I know it is hard to believe that there is not a support system in place in the U.S.A.  that will make sure this doesn’t happen, but apparently there are voids in the system. He lives in a small town in Kansas. He has approached social services many times and has been told that he only qualifies for food assistance and medicare for his daughter. He qualifies for $225 per month to live on. From what I read on his blog, he has been on an extremely frustrating job search for months. As his savings have run dry, he faces the prospect of the streets with his daughter. For this reason, he has resorted to reaching out to total strangers for help for daily survival as he continues his search. He served in the military but was discharged because he did not have a sufficient family plan in place that would secure his daughter’s well being if something were to happen to him. He has knocked on many doors for help and he has been turned down.

This is the story. This is the story that I choose to believe based on the consistent information provided in his blog, his responses to questions that others have asked and on my OWN intuition that I have great trust in.
It is HIS story and there are so many other stories like his. We always have the choice to believe them or not. We always have the choice of acting on them or not. We are privileged to have the option to make a difference in someone’s life. There are some things that we will never be 100 percent sure of. Does this mean that we should turn the other way?
What I am struggling with is humanity in general, the lack of human spirit and the fear of taking risks on others. I am surprised by the overall distrust and lack of response to someone’s pleas for help when they are really not asking for much.

You can hear the frustration in Jorge’s posts. He has been faulted often for the way he presents his dilemma and others do have the right to their opinion seeing that he has opened himself up to be scrutinized. Yes, maybe Jorge’s strength is not in how he writes.  Maybe he sounds ungrateful as he talks about the lack of donations he has received. I am sure there is more to Jorge than we can surmise from his blog. I am sure there is more that is just none of our business. He has already forfeited his dignity and many details of his circumstances. It is my belief, however, that when we truly give from the heart, we may never know all the details. We may not know for sure. Knowing would be easy. Giving when you know for sure you have nothing to lose , is easy. The biggest gift you can give is one that leaves you without something. Maybe that “something” is certainty. Maybe we are not to know for sure when we truly give.

Can the homeless man on the street prove to you that he is there based on a string of bad luck or lack of assistance for a mental disorder? We can walk away because we assume he is there based on his own demise or we can simply give him a few dollars we’d probably not even miss to get him through another day. Yes, maybe he’s an alcoholic. Some live in houses and some live on the street. The only difference is that the ones in houses have the means to stay there……for now.
There is a point where someone BECOMES homeless. Their resources become depleted. They may have additional stresses that catapult the downward spiral. They may have family that cannot or will not help. They may not have any family at all. They may be inflicted by a mental illness. One of three of us will experience this in our lifetime. Take a good look at what is available for help in this area. It is a crime.

I ask of you to look within your heart, not your mind. Free yourself of doubt and greed….and simply give. You don’t have to donate to Jorge. You don’t have to help out Sherry in Florida, who is also struggling . You can help the next person you see on the street, the one you are not sure of. It is your own risk to take. Think of what you could lose.
Then think about what you could gain.
http://jorgeoyola716.wordpress.com/
http://allbuthomeless.wordpress.com/

Wanted: Ten Nice People

I was thinking about a fellow blogger’s dilemma. Actually I think about her a lot. I think about how she has sacrificed everything, hanging on to her dignity to reach out to total strangers.  What absolutely amazes me is the reluctance of others to help, even with a few dollars.

We see homeless people on the street.  They weren’t born there. They started from a place where the bottom finally let loose, there was nothing else to hold on to, no one else to approach for help, nowhere else to GO. It is a turning point that most of us can only imagine. Lucky us.

So, when you have the opportunity to do such a SIMPLE and SELFLESS thing for someone that could be the difference between security in their home and being on the street, why do we hesitate to do it?

Is it because we would really miss that ten dollars?

Is it because we think they will ask for more?

Is it because we question their story?

Is it because we think it is wrong for them to ask?

Is it because we think our small contribution wouldn’t make a difference?

Is it because we have no time?

Is it because we think they don’t work hard enough?

These are questions we may never have the all the answers to. However, we throw a dollar into a hat and hope for the best ( or maybe assume the worst). We donate money to charities without always researching their administrative costs.

In this case, one human being has bared her soul, shared the personal financial details of her mortgage, her bills and her urgent situation. Most of all, she has shared her heart.

Her heart is GIVING.  Her heart is STRONG. Her heart is GRATEFUL.

I have never met her. As much as I’d like to, I don’t need to in order to know that she deserves any help that she is given. I don’t need to research her. All of the facts are on her blog. I will not miss the very small offering I have given her. I KNOW that it made a difference. She has not asked for more. I do not question her story. I don’t think it’s wrong of her to ask for help because that is ALL she has left right now. I believe she IS working hard to change her situation. Some situations cannot be resolved without a helping hand. This is one of them.

Her most urgent need at the moment is to keep her power on in her mobile home. She needs 145 dollars to do this. YES, she has many other needs! That is what happens when you spiral into  poverty. It doesn’t mean that things won’t change. It just means that RIGHT NOW, assistance is needed.

If TEN nice people gave TEN dollars, it would help her more than we can ever know. It eliminates one of the burdens on her shoulders, giving her more time and strength to deal with the others.

Her name is Cheryl and her story is at allbuthomeless.wordpress.com

You can donate many ways but to help with her immediate power bill, all the necessary information to do this is on one of her posts at:

http://allbuthomeless.wordpress.com/2013/06/02/reprieves-are-great-but-help-please/

You can email her at allbuthomeless@gmail.com if you have any questions.

I will leave you with a quote from one of her recent posts because I admire her writing skills and her philosophical thoughts.

“ If you have to overthink the deed , analyze, speculate or procrastinate or even doubt despite your ability to make a difference , you probably shouldn’t do it. Because, certainly if it causes you angst, you will find no satisfaction in your generosity .”

 

 ~Cheryl~ (“Hot Southern Mess”)

 

Ten from ten.

Are you in??