Interviews With Freeway Exit Ramp Beggars

Ever got onto a freeway and seen someone with a sign asking for help?  Ever wonder about their story?   Well, City Pages, a paper I'd never heard of before did an interview with several homeless people who survived by begging on the Freeway.  The article is called On The Corner and they asked four questions:  What's the best job you ever had?  What is the worst job you ever had?  What is the last job you had?  What is your dream job?  It is easy to forget that these are real people.  If you read it, tell me how it hit you?

Comments

[Sherry G]

Wow - how sad. It reminded me of when I was an ER nurse. We had the same homeless people come in all the time and you got to know them and it was hard because you realized they were once like you with a life and a job - and then something went horribly wrong - bad luck, poor choices, addiction, mental illness, any number of reasons. So I would do what I could - but it made me so sad.

[Dave Ferguson]

Speaking of once like you... Did you notice that one of the guys once worked for the Billy Graham Association. And he said his dream job was to work again for Billy Graham.

[Jessie]

My first thought always is, "What is the solution?" The problem of homelessness is always somebody else's problem. It's the city government's problem, it's charity's problem, it's the church's problem, it's their own problem... If people feel compassion at all for the homeless, it is usually short-lived. My reaction is what it always is...sadness. Yet tomorrow morning I will probably wake up and not even think about it. The sorrow in God's heart will still be there, though. He doesn't need emotional reminders of the needs of His creation. I wonder if having a heart like His would make me the same way.

[Jackaway (the intern)]

When I was a freshman Tony Escobar took a handful of us up to chicago to hang out with homeless people. we would just buy them some food and sit and listen to them share their stories. its really heartbreaking to hear what these people have been through, the addictions, divorces, jailtime, etc. Its so wierd to think that this is someone like yourself, somone who has dreams, aspirations, loves, etc. In the end we really are all alot more similar than we think.

[Dave Ferguson]

Josh, thanks for the comment. I had a similar reaction to you (particularly after reading thier stories) - these people are like me.