Being Homeless is Hard Work

About 100 feet behind my office are two large dumpsters with block walls around them - probably put there by the City to make the area more aesthetically pleasing.

Sometimes, when I drive by them to my parking spot, there's someone either in or climbing out of the dumpster. Most appear to be homeless men searching for aluminum cans or other items they can recycle or sell. Those dumpsters are a regular stop for those on the homeless circuit who park their shopping carts outside while they look for something of value.

While the dumpsters are there for the business people in the area, construction workers, and landscapers who don't want to drive to the city dump also use them.

I bring this up because sometimes I have a hard time understanding why people would work that hard to survive.  Are they addicts?  Are they mentally Ill?

When you think about it, being homeless is hard work and sometimes dangerous.  There's never a guarantee that a homeless person will find something to eat. A place to shower, a safe place to sleep, or take care of their other needs. To survive takes a certain amount of cunning and ambition.

Several studies show that the homeless population has many addicts and the mentally ill within its population.  Yet, despite that, they somehow muster up the ability to survive and feed their habits.

I know that if they took the time to think about it, there are many easier ways to meet life's needs.  We live in a time of prosperity where signs are posted everywhere by companies seeking help. One would have to be blind to not see them.

I think they all could prosper if they'd put the energy they expend on scavenging toward positive things like working a regular job - they would succeed.

Or they might read the story of the man who went from being homeless to becoming worth 3 billion dollars.  His name is Paul Jones DeJoria and he's one of the creators of a top line of hair products.  His story is on YouTube and well worth reading.  Forbes magazine rates him as one of the 400 wealthiest people in the world, which goes to show that anything is possible if we have the will, homeless or not.

Click here to email John