A small act of kindness is appreciated
"Sometimes it's easy to walk by because we know we can't change someone's whole life in a single afternoon. But what we fail to realize is that simple kindness can go a long way toward encouraging someone who is stuck in a desolate place." ~ Mike Yankoski, author of Under the Overpass: A Journey of Faith on the Streets of America.
For Throwback Thursday, I remember a trip to Vancouver BC a year ago, when I wandered around Chinatown only to arrive in a neighbourhood called Downtown Eastside. I had seen this area on the nightly news quite often.
Sirens blare every few minutes as ambulances and fire trucks rush to respond to another distressing overdose call. Small tents line the sidewalks where people sleep or shoot up, completely unaware of the few lost tourists like me.
The place is littered with needles, and trash, and blood. Paramedics rush from one crisis to another all within just a few blocks. Downtown Eastside is a nightmarish place and that is an understatement.
The charcoal sketch from January 2017 reminds me of many of the hopeless faces I saw on the sidewalk that day.
To read more see The Downtown Eastside is a war zone disaster - stop ghettoizing it.
Exploring Canada's Worst Street - East Hastings, Vancouver BC
"Out in the Cold" - (Charcoal in Strathmore Toned Tan Sketchbook.)
Mike Yankoski spent time as a homeless man on the streets of six different American cities. His book, Under the Overpass, describes his life eating from trash cans, panhandling, and sleeping under bridges.
The lessons he learned while intentionally becoming homeless changed his life.
Check his website where you can also access his blog.
Poverty is not always visible
Living in the suburbs, poverty is invisible. It exists of course but not in the same way as it is seen in the downtown core in North American cities.
Teachers know which children do not have money for the extra-curricular activities, the students who never have the supplies needed at the beginning of the year, those whose stomachs growl all day long.
But to really see those who are destitute, one has to go downtown, to the shelters, to the busy street corners or near the shopping malls.
Stuck in a desolate place
There are many people "stuck in a desolate place."
Some are fighting their own demons: alcohol, depression, loneliness, drugs...Others may be down on their luck.
Sometimes, a kind word is all that is needed. Maybe a cup of hot chocolate is a simple, kind gesture that will help that person through the day.
In the charcoal sketch "Out in the cold", I tried to show the lonely look of a man who has lived on the streets for some time.
All he needs is a small act of kindness.
Am still to get to read Under the Overpass, sounds like it could be interesting, and I also wanted to comment on the generosity of Ann, what a beautiful person. I feel that most of us would much rather give than receive, it is a much more fulfilling feeling.
I choose to believe that most people are good and generous at heart. I have not read Under the Overpass but thought it could be enlightening. Thanks for commenting Sally.
I was brought up on being kind and to give back. I have continued this with helping others who have less. I have many older friends who are having a hard time making ends meet. Not that it does not happen to me but i can absorb a little more. So i help two friends at the end of the month. I give them a bit at the end of each month to carry them. They can use it however they want. This is not a loan but a step to help them. This gives me happiness. My father and mother always did this for their sibblings and parents. So i have continued it.
A lovely gesture Anne that is appreciated I am sure. You always were kind-hearted…and that hasn’t changed!