(no subject)
Still reeling from such a powerful experience.
On my route home from work I get dropped off at Georgia and Granville and walk to the skytrain so I see panhandlers/hobo's/musicians on this corner on mass every day.
Today I saw a girl so young and so obviously emotionally/mentally destroyed with a dog in her lap with a sign asking for bedding as somebody stole her bag with everything she had. I immediately take stock of what extra's I may have and offer her a sleeping bag and a fleece if she can come get it at the skytrain station by my house. She had a dog with her and the guy sitting next to her offered to go get it for her so she could stay at the great corner she had for traffic. I could see the guy's ticks and obvious signs of a user/who knows and after assessing the risks I realize the risks are minimal as I won't even be taking him to my home and it's 6:00 pm on a Tuesday.
On the skytrain I converse with him the same way I would anybody - the only difference is that we have an audience. I'm an up front person so I asked straight forward questions like where do they sleep, how did they meet, etc. He tell's me he had just met her a few days ago but because she was so innocent and helpless he knew he needed to stick with her. I'm sure at this point some people might be wondering how I can be so naive but I strongly feel that in my lifetime I have come in contact with a lot of con people ( mostly my own mom ) and I have a nose for the shit. This guy wasn't trying to impress me.
We get to the station near my home and he's happy to wait for me there. I toss a goose down mummy bag, 3 fleece blankets, a pillow and a warm sweater into one bag. Towel/face cloth + wipes/razor/speed stick/new toothbrush and paste/advil/bandaids and a shitload of treats for her little dog into the bag. Couldn't think of what else would be helpful in a situation so far from the house I'm standing in. I can't help but worry about the streets could do to this sweet girl and her dog and what happens when her friend decides to go on a bender. I add a note with my number asking her before she does anything crazy she calls me if she needs to and head back down the hill.
I smoke my joint with the guy who's name I have not even asked. He had made a friend while I was away and she looks like me when I was 17 years old in a reaaaaaallly eery way. He'd taken his shirt off while waiting as it was crisp early June sun in a city that see's too much rain and he had odd purple script all across his body. As we smoke his conversation actually leads him to share that he's been smoking meth since for 20 years and he is 26. Obviously this is a shocking statement so he explains when I ask that his parents were drug dealers and when he was 6 they let him watch Scarface with them. When they went to bed he found a bag on the table and thought it was cocaine and of course he wanted to be like Scarface so.... sniiiiiiff. He shared some of his stories about why it's pointless to get clean because the damage is done and how could he ever live a normal life.
I'm really happy I didn't allow my snap judgement of his demeanor to change how I treated him. I'm sad that if it wasn't for the person he was with I would never have heard his story. I hope that girl calls me if she needs help.
Pfft, the feels.
On my route home from work I get dropped off at Georgia and Granville and walk to the skytrain so I see panhandlers/hobo's/musicians on this corner on mass every day.
Today I saw a girl so young and so obviously emotionally/mentally destroyed with a dog in her lap with a sign asking for bedding as somebody stole her bag with everything she had. I immediately take stock of what extra's I may have and offer her a sleeping bag and a fleece if she can come get it at the skytrain station by my house. She had a dog with her and the guy sitting next to her offered to go get it for her so she could stay at the great corner she had for traffic. I could see the guy's ticks and obvious signs of a user/who knows and after assessing the risks I realize the risks are minimal as I won't even be taking him to my home and it's 6:00 pm on a Tuesday.
On the skytrain I converse with him the same way I would anybody - the only difference is that we have an audience. I'm an up front person so I asked straight forward questions like where do they sleep, how did they meet, etc. He tell's me he had just met her a few days ago but because she was so innocent and helpless he knew he needed to stick with her. I'm sure at this point some people might be wondering how I can be so naive but I strongly feel that in my lifetime I have come in contact with a lot of con people ( mostly my own mom ) and I have a nose for the shit. This guy wasn't trying to impress me.
We get to the station near my home and he's happy to wait for me there. I toss a goose down mummy bag, 3 fleece blankets, a pillow and a warm sweater into one bag. Towel/face cloth + wipes/razor/speed stick/new toothbrush and paste/advil/bandaids and a shitload of treats for her little dog into the bag. Couldn't think of what else would be helpful in a situation so far from the house I'm standing in. I can't help but worry about the streets could do to this sweet girl and her dog and what happens when her friend decides to go on a bender. I add a note with my number asking her before she does anything crazy she calls me if she needs to and head back down the hill.
I smoke my joint with the guy who's name I have not even asked. He had made a friend while I was away and she looks like me when I was 17 years old in a reaaaaaallly eery way. He'd taken his shirt off while waiting as it was crisp early June sun in a city that see's too much rain and he had odd purple script all across his body. As we smoke his conversation actually leads him to share that he's been smoking meth since for 20 years and he is 26. Obviously this is a shocking statement so he explains when I ask that his parents were drug dealers and when he was 6 they let him watch Scarface with them. When they went to bed he found a bag on the table and thought it was cocaine and of course he wanted to be like Scarface so.... sniiiiiiff. He shared some of his stories about why it's pointless to get clean because the damage is done and how could he ever live a normal life.
I'm really happy I didn't allow my snap judgement of his demeanor to change how I treated him. I'm sad that if it wasn't for the person he was with I would never have heard his story. I hope that girl calls me if she needs help.
Pfft, the feels.