Re:Homelessness

This is a comment on Liz's post about the homeless from a long time ago. Today, I was driving through Alewife on the way to work and I saw a homeless man carrying a sign and asking drivers for money. I've seen that guy many times before, but he changes his sign every week or so. I remember back in the beginning of the summer the sign said something about him being a veteran, and then last month it changed to something along the lines of him being crippled and needing to feed his family, and now the sign says he has MS... O_o All of this could be true, but more likely, he's making up stories to gain sympathy, but somehow I can't bring myself to criticize him. I don't know what deserves more sympathy, being an honest beggar or being driven to the point of desperation where you have to tell lies to get help. This man was probably never a veteran, or may not have a family to feed, or doesn't have some neurodegenerative disease, but that doesn't change the fact that he is living on 20 dollars a day out on the streets. The media is putting more attention to this kind of issue now but it hasn't really resonated with me until it hits home and I start seeing it for myself. Sad world we're living in.