Sometimes we just need a hand ...

I took this picture with my cell phone just a few mornings ago. It's a picture of my husband Jon, (he didn't know I took this picture with my cellphone, but I wanted to remember the moment). I'm so proud of him for so many things, but on this day it was because he's the kind of guy who's not afraid to care about someone that most people would avoid.

The day started out as a typical morning for Jon and I. It was early and we had walked to our favorite market & coffee shop in town, we were sitting out on the patio, when the lady behind us started having trouble. She was moaning and calling for someone to help her. So Jon went inside and alerted an employee of the store to call 911, and as we waited for the ambulance to arrive, Jon started to ask some questions and wait with her. She wanted Jon to hold her hand. Turns out her name is Jeanine, she is 42, has no family nearby, she has seizures and she doesn't have a place to live.

It seemed like the paramedics already knew Jeanine. She's probably been taken to the hospital more than once by them. We don't really know what was wrong with her except that she was embarrassed that she had to ask for help. Perhaps it was a medical problem, maybe it was something else involving some type of substance - not sure what it was, but what I do know is that it was an opportunity to show compassion to someone who probably doesn't receive much kindness, if any.

Every day, I pass people with nowhere to call home. Sometimes I notice them, most of the time I don't. But probably, every one of them has a story of how they got there.

In 2004, St. Mungo's, a homeless shelter in London conducted a survey on 1,534 people without homes. What they found helped explain the circumstances that send most homeless people to the streets.

The saddest & most common reason has to do with broken relationships that were destroyed by drug and alcohol abuse, behavioral problems, physical or mental illness.

One story I found online was about Ed Mitchell a 54 yr old business and finance TV journalist. Ed had been bringing home a salary of 100,000 pounds (about $200,000 US Dollars) a year. He had a family, a well paying job, and a great home. He's homeless now after his credit card debt went out of his control and he turned to alcohol. He got divorced, lost his job and home and now he lives on a bench. I guess you could call it a riches to rags story, not a happy ending.

I'll try and think about that the next time I see a man lying in the street with no shoes on. I'll remind myself that he has feelings. He was probably loved at one point in his life, maybe he even had dreams. For sure, he has memories.

I was thinking today about seeing Jeanine loaded into the back of the ambulance, and how life can be so hard for some people. I want to remember how alone she was. So in the future, instead of thinking that I know how a person like Jeanine ended up this way, I think I owe them the opportunity to let them tell their story before I pass judgment. And if I don't know the story, I'll remind myself that there is one and if I took the time to ask and listen it could be part of my story too.