by Jamie Gambell

Created on: October 22, 2008

So much of the world views homeless people as a burden and waste to society. I see these same people as a reason to have ambition and drive. Here in Atlanta you see many people living on the streets. You pass them on every road and every underpass on your way through the city. It hurts to see these people day in and day out, cold, hungry, and in need or help they may never recieve. I will never forget this one man I met walking in downtown on my way to a concert. My friends and I we're leaving the parking deck and there was a man sitting in the brush just outside. He had a small cup with a few pennies and a lonely dollar. He asked if we could spare any change for him. He clamied to be hungry and said he had not eatin in days. I asked the man, being the out spoken person I am, how did you end up on this street, in this city, homeless? The man looked at me with shock. I don't think anyone had ever questioned him before. He spoke clear and he spoke deliberately. This is what he said..."Young lady I use to have a home. I use to have a car. I use to have food at my finger tips every day. Most importantly, I had money in my hands I felt would never leave me. I was in the military. I served in Vietnam. After leaving the military I started up a buisness. The buisness did well for a few years and I lived comfortably. I met a wonderful woman and I married her. A few years later she was diagnosed with cancer and some years after that she passed away. I had her medical bills to pay for and the burden of funeral costs. My buisness stopped booming and started to fall behind on my morgage and my bills. Things just started getting tougher and tougher. My buisness failed some years later and I had to find a job. An easy task it would seem, but the best I could find was a part time making 7.50/hr. My house was foreclosed, i had to sell my car, and then just getting to work became a problem. The small apartment I was renting, I could no longer even afford. I lost my job due to lack of transportation and then one day I woke up and I was homeless. I use to have a whoel life and then suddenly one day I woke up with no place to live, no job, and no money in my pocket. I dont really know how the final days before being homeless happened, I just know it did. My lesson to you young lady is...don't assume all these people on the street our here because they are lazy or born this way. You are always one pay check away from being homeless." I'll never forget that man and what he said. I count my blessings daily and remember this check could always be my last and that makes me strive harder to achieve more.

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