When Elbert first started coming around the office he would just sit in one of our rolling chairs all day. Occasionally, he would wander back into the warehouse and bring something out that he wanted to borrow.
"Hey David," Elbert would say in his low, scruffy voice. David is the donations coordinator. Elbert would hold up a dirty and half broken shovel, "you think it would be okay for me to borrow this for a while?"
With a curious look on my face, I would wonder what Elbert could possibly need a shovel for. I was pretty certain he spent most of the day sitting in our rolling chair, drinking coffee. I knew he didn't have a home. And yet there sure was something he was invested in working on...cleaning...making presentable.
"Hey, uh, David," David looks up from his desk with a note of recognition. "Can I borrow this saw...hammer...broom...wrench...drill."
What does he need it for?
As I ask myself this questions, I immediately think, what business is it of mine? Maybe I need to suspend my judgment of what Elbert may or may not need and just provide where I can. It's easy to stereotype people that are in situations of need, like Elbert. To assume a level of laziness or think that some addiction must have gotten him in the situation he is in now. And who am I to stand in the way of the karma he is working out? Right?
However, the more I encounter diverse people and life situations, the more I am reminded that assumptions and stereotypes are misleading more often than not. ABC News recently produced a segment called "A New Face of Homelessness," which highlights the reality of homelessness. A reality that does not match up with many of the assumptions or stereotypes I once believed about who is homeless and why they are homeless.
You can watch the video if you select "A New Face of Homelessness" in the links section of this blog.
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