EDITORIAL

Thankful for

Posted 12/3/20

Impetus for this poem, and article, came from a situation where a homeless person was traumatized while living out of their car. It could have happened here. It also could have happened far away. Either way, homelessness is a scourge that impacts far too

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EDITORIAL

Thankful for

Posted

Impetus for this poem, and article, came from a situation where a homeless person was traumatized while living out of their car. It could have happened here. It also could have happened far away. Either way, homelessness is a scourge that impacts far too many. While great efforts are made to address this concern, there is still much more to be done. Erasing stigma, which all too often assigns blame, is a start. 

Mental health, job loss, substance use, criminal records, military trauma and more, can turn lives asunder. Despite the tumult, and acrimony that has accompanied the 2020 year, most who are reading this have much to be grateful for as we head into the holidays. Not everyone got to enjoy even a virtual Thanksgiving. Not everyone gets to roast chestnuts over an open fire. We will eventually find a vaccine for the Coronavirus. Now, if only the same could be said about homelessness.

Without A Home

 

The weary face often passed

With condemning eyes

Did once upon long ago

Look to gentler skies

 

Shattered glass at midnight

Showered down in wrath

Upon lonely souls a sleeping

Near other’s daily path

 

So subtle is fate’s twist

A storm or rising tides

Sweeps away one’s table

While attacking what’s inside

 

Yet something crueler still

Befalls those who struggle such

Tis blame and indifference –

Completely out of touch

 

Judge gentle on the traveler

Who always seems to roam

In doing so be grateful

That you get to go back home

 

Please stay safe, count your blessings and take care of your neighbors. See you soon.

Bob Houghtaling

A frequent contributor to these pages, Bob is the director of the East Greenwich Drug Program.

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