I heard the sound of rain and couldn’t believe that water was actually falling from the sky. I dashed to the window to witness what has become an unusual, mythical phenomenon in California. The rain became unimportant when I saw a woman walking literally down the middle of my street. She was well-dressed; nice boots with pyramid-shaped heals, dressy jeans and a navy pea coat. Her hair was up in a French twist. It wasn’t her style that diverted my attention; it was the shopping cart she was pushing. It was filled with her belongings and a huge blue tarp. Yeah, I didn’t expect that either.
I grabbed my wallet and pulled a $20 bill out of it, and then I stopped to think about this, frozen in place. What if I give her this money and then she returns one day? Will she ask for more? Will she expect more? What if I keep giving then one day I say no? Would she come back when I’m not home? What if she stalks me? What if she’s dangerous!?
By the time I finished instilling fear in myself, she was long gone and I felt helpless. What was her story? Why didn’t I engage her to find out? What is it about people on the fringes of society that paralyzes some of us?
In contrast, there are people that are activated by those who are marginalized – those heroes who start nonprofit organizations that help people like the well-dressed homeless woman. The irony is that oftentimes I write about these organizations yet I responded the way I did.
One of those organizations is HomeFirst. This nonprofit provides individuals, veterans, youth and families with children with a basic need; a place to call home. How can anyone regain their footing while in survival mode – without a safe place to sleep, eat and get ready for work? HomeFirst confronts homelessness by cultivating people’s potential to get housed and stay housed. Brilliant!
Another basic need is being addressed by Blue Planet Network whose mission is to bring together, and put to work, the collective power of all organizations and individuals working to end the global water crisis. Blue Planet Network empowers over 2 million people in 27 countries with safe drinking water so they can lead healthy, productive lives. Some of these people used to spend countless hours walking to and from their nearest clean water source on a daily basis – sidetracking them from providing for themselves in other basic ways.
Then there’s Good Karma Bikes. They transform lives by reinvesting the money they make in their bike shop, to employ people in recovery, enabling them to reenter the workforce equipped with entrepreneurial skills. They also support the Good Karma Kids program designed for youth to experience a philanthropic way of life. This program, amongst others they offer, has been so successful that many of their trained youth organize their own bike drives to grant rehabilitated bicycles to peers in need.
Homeless and very low income workers are often deprived of a basic personal freedom most of us take for granted: The ability to travel where and when they desire.
After feeling paralyzed and choosing not to help the homeless woman, I remembered that we are surrounded by nonprofit organizations whose mission and expertise is to help people such as the woman I observed on my street. I am not helpless and I can choose not to be paralyzed. Instead I can partner with these organizations by donating money or time to help extend a hand to people in need.
