HELP THE HOMELESS OR ANYONE YOU KNOW LESS FORTUNATE THEN YOURSELF THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

I was on the Westside of NYC. I had just placed a large order for some Chinese takeout and was waiting outside the restaurant, when I saw a homeless woman whose face was hidden in rags, scavenging through a garbage can. I handed her some money and she looked up, smiled and thanked me. The woman had a light in her eyes, a glow which shot through me. I somehow felt I had connected to something much more than myself. The homeless woman and the act of giving, had helped me feel my own humanity.

NY Times Article on one person helping the homeless:

"The idea was born more than a month ago in front of a White Castle near a busy intersection in Downtown Brooklyn. It was a cold day, and Felix Middleton encountered a homeless woman sitting in front of the fast food restaurant. He wanted to help.

Mr. Middleton’s only experience with homelessness was years earlier, when he spent a night in a park after an argument with his longtime girlfriend. It was summer, and the weather was nice, Mr. Middleton said, but the experience was awful. He could only imagine the burden on those who had to endure the biting cold."
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Comments

[boomie]

The holiday time in NYC can be brutal. Especially for the homeless. My goal this year, in addition to giving a homeless person money is to actually take them out to eat. No questions asked. They can order whatever they want. We don't even have to speak.

I always contribute to the Bowery Mission in New York every Thanksgiving and Christmas. In January, a local supermarket has a massive can sale and I buy cases of vegetables, fruit and juice and donate them to a food pantry.

I know what it is like to go hungry. I don't like it when others must feel that pain. It's awful.

[Maddy]

Well that gives me a very good reason to visit an ATM.

Cheers

[yourdrum]

Boomie, I love your spirit. Joy to the world.

Maddy, Yes. Have a good Holiday.

[gerry rosser]

I'm going to make an admission. I am fearful, almost to the point of being phobic, about any interaction at all with people I don't know. I don't like to talk to attractive, well-dressed people I don't know, and I don't like to talk to down-on-their-luck looking people. Sometimes I even think I'm a closet agoraphobic. I avoid crowds, and seldom go to movies, never to sporting events, and rarely to concerts(even if it is someone I'd really like to see perform).

Getting close enough to someone I don't know to hand them something gives me the willies just thinking about it. I probably wouldn't be able to go buy things (like food) if there weren't a counter between me and the person I have to interact with.

[yourdrum]

Gerry, You may need professional help. Don't we all. Just thinking about it you say, is what separates you from what you want to do. Do it without thought. Become one with your fear. Don't separate yourself from your fear. Your mind is what's causing you all your problems. What's the worse thing that could happen. Nothing really. People really don't care what you or I are doing generally speaking. There is no consequence if you get close to someone. But talk to a professional Jerry. Good Luck.