Last Thursday, Stephen and I went to interview two men with Jordan from the Upstate Homeless Coalition. Henry is currently homeless in Greenville, SC, and Bobby was formerly. Bobby now has a beautiful home through Greenville’s Homes of Hope program. The whole experience was incredible, and we got lots of great footage.
Henry said some things that really got me thinking but might not end up in the film we’re making. He addressed the need for a place to take a night-time shower in Greenville. He said there are many places to take an early morning shower, but if you’ve found some work, you can’t get to the shower and to the job on time. He said homeless people can’t go to night school or to a job interview without a shower, but they also can’t eat without working or going to free meals that are all on very specific schedules. I thought his point was valid.
Henry also brought up this: Living on the street makes people forget what “normal” life is like. He recounted a story of a man he knows picking him up, taking him to a buffet dinner, and then taking him to movie. He said the whole experience reassured him that someone cared and reminded him what life in society is like. Henry encouraged people to get involved directly with helping a homeless person, rather than indirectly giving to them by donating clothes or food to other organizations. He said the homeless get used to getting free clothes and meals, and it stops meaning so much to them. But, a person who stops, see them, asks them to dinner, and treats them with respect could change their life forever.
That day, Henry was on his way to get his teeth fixed (His front two were knocked out one evening he spent in jail by a young man who wanted his sandwich. The police didn’t get him any medical attention for the gaping hole in his mouth, and eventually developed a staph infection on his head that lasted for years). The dentist was going to pull a few, clean the rest, and start preparing to replace his missing ones. Huge day for Henry. I was privilege to be a part of it.
