I haven’t talked about any homeless stories in awhile. Back when I was living in my office on dirty 6th street in Austin and parking my car directly across from a homeless shelter here, I was having lots of conversations with homeless folks and trying to get to know them.
As I got to know more people who were living on the streets, it became quite sad. So many people who have drug problems or have mental health issues. Very rarely did I talk to someone who actually seemed sane enough to carry on the conversation.
As I had a conversation with one of my friends whose dad owns a soup kitchen in downtown Austin, I started asking some questions about the homeless people that he had experienced. We came to the conclusion that it seemed the longer the people were out on the street, the crazier they became.
I had a conversation today with a lady that was probably the most put together, sharp homeless woman I have ever met. My friend and I got to talk to her for almost an hour, and I just asked question after question learning about her. I wanted to learn about her story. It was refreshing to talk to someone who clearly didn’t do drugs or alcohol and could converse about some things that I’ve been wanting to ask many of these people before.
It has tickled my itch for wanting to learn more and have more conversations again with the homeless crowd. We shall see where the adventure leads.