I drive by a homeless guy a lot, he lives under a bridge that heads into the West Bottoms. For those of you not familiar with Kansas City, it isn’t a very high socioeconomic area but this bridge is a high traffic street with lots of people heading to work everyday. The homeless guy seems happy, he has his spot near a pillar, he waves and smiles at all the people heading to work. He never has a sign begging for money but people always give him money, food, and toiletries. He is also surrounded by a pile of trash from discarded items, food wrappers, and various other things. I often see him eating a can of Vienna sausages.
Today I noticed two brand new toothbrushes laying on the ground, still in their sterile sealed packaging. There was also a fresh orange fresh fruit that was tossed into the trash pile that surrounds him. He had probably received a couple of different manna bags earlier in the day. A manna bag is a Ziploc bag filled with food (fruit of some kind and a protein source) and toiletries such as soap, shampoo, deodorant, toothbrush, and toothpaste. As I sit here in my nice warm house in a middle class neighborhood surrounded by other people who live in nice cozy houses complete with beds, running water and electricity, the items in manna bag sound pretty good if I were homeless.
The toothbrushes were a great item, one of them even looked like the expensive kind that cost $3 or more. Why did he toss the toothbrushes aside? Not just one, but two. They were in the trash pile so it was clear they had no value to him : the homeless guy living under the bridge. I am guessing that when you live under a bridge brushing your teeth and taking a shower probably isn’t your highest priority. Even if he wanted to brush his teeth he still didn’t have running water. Come to think of it, he smiles a lot but I have never even seen teeth in his mouth. Perhaps that is why the fresh orange was tossed aside and he favors Vienna sausages.
Has someone offered you help that turned out was actually unhelpful? Such as moved some things in your kitchen to help make your process more efficient only to have you undo it immediately? Or started a project but wasn’t able to finish it leaving you holding the bag? I am sure I am guilty of this too, but if and when you try to help someone make sure it is help they need, not help you think they need. See the world from their eyes, not yours otherwise you may end up giving a toothbrush to someone with no teeth.