Thursday, October 15, 2009

Want to hear a good story?

The Homeless. The Houseless. People who lack "fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence"-according to Wikipedia. What lead them to their current stasis? Have you ever paused to question this?

"Brother can you spare some change? Maybe a change in perception?"

Imagine all of the stories that are out there- tucked away in the pockets of our fellow citizens. If only someone had the time to pose the questions? Most people probably don't care, it may even be beneath them to do so. I admit that my curiosity will probably kill the cat in the end.

It is the homeless people who use our cities. Yes I know- they may not contribute as grandly to our sales taxes as us housed individuals, but they are the ones who live literally in our communities. They are the eyes and the ears, the secret keepers and the invisible. I'd bet that they know more about our communities than we do, assuming that all who are reading this have houses to live in.

So, the point of this rant is that although I have a degree in urban planning- and I realize that bureaucracy is a given piece of the larger picture, the smaller picture consists of people. It is the people who create the culture who therefor form the communities within our cities- whether they happen to live within four walls or not.

That being said, isn't it worth the time to ask the questions in order to find the answers before more of us end up towing our stories in the pockets of our layers?

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