You see, the evening of Jan. 3, I rode with residents of the men's shelter of the Durham Rescue Mission as they went out in the cold, offering hot chocolate and a warm place to sleep to homeless people living outside in the woods, on the street, under that very overpass. We didn't find anyone there that evening, but someone does sleep there. So I keep looking over when I drive by, in my 10-year-old car I'm lucky to own on my way to my job I'm lucky to have. What am I looking for? Someone to be there? Why? What if I saw someone -- then what?
I think it's because I want to be reminded of where I'd been. I want to be reminded that homeless people live right in front of us. I want to remind you of that. When you think of the homeless, whom do you picture? My first memories of the homeless were men and women sleeping on steam grates in Washington, D.C., since I grew up in that area. Durham is urban, so the homeless must live out on the sidewalks the same way, right? Nope. Maybe some do, but during the day they're walking around just like everybody else.
The men I rode with took me to places in Durham I'd never seen, like clusters of trees that were makeshift campsites. But we also went to places I know well, in middle-class neighborhoods or near busy business areas. Here and there, a person sleeps in a creek culvert. Here and there, a person makes a meal behind a gas station. Here and there, there and here. Everywhere.
People who are homeless are right in front of our eyes, yet unseen. There's a 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness in Durham and I want it to succeed, but the realist in me knows that it is a utopia. The fact that we have a plan, though, means that we will certainly try to reduce homelessness.
I gather information for a living, but I also gather information because it is just who I am. I can't get enough. So the fact that we have a homelessness problem is not breaking news to me. Probably not to you, either. So why am I telling you this? Because I want you look beyond what you think you know.
When I saw homelessness in a new way a week ago, my eyes were opened wider. You know that there are homeless people in Durham. You probably look straight ahead when you see panhandlers on medians, but that's a small segment of the homeless population. The rest of our population are those we see but do not recognize or acknowledge.
What's important to understand is that they are actual men, women and children with hopes, dreams and disappointments. How close are each of us to homelessness? A few paychecks? A death or divorce in the family? An addiction?
Imagine if you will a scenario: You lose your job. Your spouse loses his or her job, too. You default on your mortgage. Your car breaks down, and there's no money to repair it. Where do you turn? Family? What if you don't have any? What if they're in the same situation? Then what do you do? There are social programs out there that are trying to solve the problem. But life is hard and there aren't always answers that lead to a happy ending.
Anyone with any sense of humanity or religion or common decency knows that it is the responsibility of all to make society better. Acknowledging the homeless, helping the homeless, is a good place to start.
Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan may be reached at dvaughan@heraldsun.com or 419-6563.
