This is one of the most frustrating things that I have to deal with. When someone learns you are homeless, they instantly want to make themselves feel better about your situation so when they look back at the end of the day they can pat themselves on the back and feel they have done something to help.
They don't actually care about helping the person who is homeless. If they did, they would take real notice of the person and their needs and struggles.
It is something that has happened to me more times than I can count so there is no specific story to share. It's a never ending repeating story. Someone finds out I am homeless and they think they should "help".
However there is this stigma that all homeless people are just going to take the money and buy alcohol and drugs. So instead of offering any money or doing something that will actually help, they merely offer to buy me a meal.
Like most homeless people, I know how to get my own food. If I can't afford it, I know where the local soup kitchens are. Food is something very few homeless people in America actually need.
They don't bother to notice my breath smells and I could use a toothbrush and toothpaste. They don't notice that the souls of my shoes are hanging on by mere threads or that they have no shoe laces. They don't notice that I have luggage that the wheels have long sense worn off and I am forced to carry everywhere I go.
It's always just "I will get you a meal".
There are people out here who have no medical insurance and can't visit a doctor. There are people who can't afford medications. There are people who get colds and have no tissues to use and are forced to use their clothing as a tissue. People need to do laundry. People need new pants and shirts.
No one seems to bother to notice these things when they want to "offer help".
Instead they want to judge us with stereotypes and use those stereotypes as an excuse so they can pat themselves on the back and rest well at night thinking they have helped someone when they didn't do a thing that is helpful at all.
