Seven days ago, Terence and I began began a 648 mile, two month trek, from downtown Atlanta to Washington, D.C. (with him walking while I stay a few miles ahead in a vehicle). Why are we doing this? Poverty. We are marching against poverty.
I believe poverty is a systemic issue, but is perpetuated and fueled by the individual– individuals like you and me. You see poverty isn't just about a lack of money and resources. It's also a lack of dignity and humanity. When you're broke, you just need a job that can pay the bills. When you're living in poverty, you need more than just a job. You need to be accepted into society– you need to be treated as human.
People struggling with poverty are often looked down upon, and are forced to live in constant shame. People avoid eye contact with the homeless man begging on the corner at red lights. The middle-class mother looks at the poor single mother with disgust as she pulls out her EBT card to pay for groceries at the local Walmart. Living in poverty means being avoided at all costs by the rest of society. It means second rate education, housing, jobs, and status as humans.
For many people, poverty is inescapable. Their born into it and they die in it. It becomes a cycle, mother to daughter, father to son. For others, it's a string of bad decisions that get them there. Sometimes just one or two decisions, sometimes it's hundreds. I've met children, elderly, and mentally and/or physically disabled people living on the streets. But no matter how you came into living in poverty, you're still human.
A lot of the time, those of us who are lucky enough to be living in the middle or upper class forget these people living in poverty are human. We sometimes look at them as parasites. Like they're lazy bums living off the government with no desire to work. Let me tell you from firsthand experience, the is very seldom the case. I've never met anyone more hardworking than the poor. I've never met a homeless man, or woman, who doesn't want a job to provide for themselves and their families. Being poor is 24/7 job in itself. It takes extreme effort and discipline to survive in poverty.
Unfortunately for some people work isn't even an option. I once met a homeless man named Reese who witnessed his sister blow her head off with a shotgun when he was eight years old.
"Blood and pieces of brain and bone went all over my face, all over the wall and shit."
As a result of this traumatic experience, Reese suffers from PTSD and multiple personality disorders. He his unable to keep a job and is forced to live on the streets. I met another homeless man in downtown Atlanta a few days ago. His name is Anthony, but he goes by Tony. He's 62 years old and was severely burned while saving his friend from a house fire. It also sounded like he suffers from epilepsy.
"I walk for about 20-30 minutes and I start getting dizzy. I look for a soft place to fall before I pass out. "
Tony is unable to hold a steady job and has been waiting for over two years to be approved for disability. In the meantime, he struggles to survive on the streets of downtown Atlanta.
Anthony Childers, age 62.
There isn't a lot of grace or margin for error for the homeless and impoverished. They don't have many allies or people fighting for them. Like I said, I think poverty is a systemic issue perpetuated by people like me and you. I don't think we will see poverty disappear until we as individuals stop seeing the people struggling with poverty as the issue. It will continue until we as individuals see them as individuals. And once we see and treat them as individuals governments will begin to see and treat them as individuals.
One of our goals on this trip is to shoot a documentary about poverty, specifically in the south, which focuses more on stories than stats. We hope this film will help the American people see the poor and homeless not only as fellow Americans, but as fellow humans. We hope to help end the stigma around being poor and homeless.
But what can you do to help? You might not be able to march with us (but if you can you can click here to contact me and we can make that happen), but there are things you can do at home. Next time you see someone on the street begging for money, instead of trying to avoid eye contact while your guilty conscience urges you to hand them your spare change, go share a meal with them. Listen to their story. Instead of judging the single mother buying groceries for her family with an EBT card, maybe offer to carry her groceries for her. Ask her if there's anything around the house you could help her with. Provide childcare for her so she can look for/work a job, or even just take a day to herself. Listen to her story. Get creative with this. Get creative with the way you show love. Think like Jesus and treat people like Jesus.
Remember, no one wants to be poor or homeless. No one dreams of living on the streets. They don't want to feel helpless or have to beg for the rest of their lives. These are human beings who have hopes, and dreams, and struggles just like you and I. Love them as you'd want to be loved if it were you and your family living in these circumstances. And ask yourself, how much of our own humanity do we have to lose to ignore this? What do we have to become to allow people to remain homeless and living in poverty?
To ignore the poor is not only to ignore our own humanity, it is also to ignore Jesus.
tweet this
Follow our journey on social media:
Instagram:
@johnnytaylor95
@imterencelester
@lovebeyondwalls
Twitter:
@johnnytaylor95
@imterencelester
@lovebeyondwalls