Blog Post Four

 

Today we made our second trip to Charleston, West Virginia. We actually started in South Charleston since we had already explored much of Charleston itself. As we were looking around for those who might be unsheltered homeless, we decided to ask a Police Officer if he knew where we might find some. It was then that we learned that there is only one homeless individual in all of South Charleston. We then asked the Officer if he thought this individual would need a coat, he said he thought they might because of the colder weather that was supposed to be coming. So, we asked him if he would be able to tell us where to find this individual. Instead the Officer said that he could take the coat to them. It was not only amazing to us that a town could have a homeless population of 1 person but that the Police Officer knew this individual by name and seemed to have a positive relationship with them. It also gave us hope that if some of the other cities and towns we visit could learn a little something from whatever South Charleston is doing right, maybe they would have a chance at being able to be more effective at helping their own homeless populations.

After realizing there wasn’t much more we could do to help in South Charleston, we made our way to Charleston itself. As we made our way closer to the city center of Charleston we began to encounter more and more homeless individuals. On the surface, the homeless population doesn’t look that big but if you take a moment to look deeper, you see just how prevalent it actually is. And this is what breaks our hearts. We get the opportunity to see and interact with all these people that have stories and reasons as to why they are homeless, and most people just brush past them. We have the privilege of giving them the dignity and hope that just maybe things will be ok for one more day, for two more days. And even if there is only one person that we can give the resources that they need to stay warm, have a full stomach, and help keep their hope alive, then it will be well worth any amount of effort that we put in.

- Gear for the Homeless