by Jared Rouse
I have interacted closely with the homeless for most of my life. When I was only 16, I took it upon myself to leave home and travel the country via hitchhiking following a group of nomadic hippies called “The Rainbow Family.”
The Rainbow Family set up small gatherings in our nation’s national forests for about a month. Then they break down, clean up and move on to the next spot.
Once a year they hold a national gathering which takes place in a different state every year, and usually grows to several thousand strong.
Most of the people who attend these gatherings are homeless, or as they would say, houseless because the earth is their home, as it was mine for five years.
During my travels, I often stayed in towns and cities across the country waiting for the next gathering to begin. I have slept under bridges and in homeless shelters. I have eaten in many soup kitchens and churches. I have even camped on beaches or wooded areas outside of towns and cities for months at a time. Essentially, I was homeless during my travels from 1995 to 2000.
During my time as a mass communication student at Colorado Mesa University, I have worked closely with the homeless here in Grand Junction for many projects and stories. Including a short documentary on the Catholic Outreach Program’s soup kitchen. I also work in a liquor store which, as you can imagine, has a significant homeless customer base.
The one thing I have learned in all that time is that homeless people are just that, people. The only thing that makes them different are their life choices and circumstances. Each and every homeless individual has their own reasons for being in the situation they are in.
Some of them have severe mental disabilities that make it near impossible to hold a steady job. Some are veterans suffering from PTSD. Some have addiction issues with drugs and alcohol. Some of them just didn’t fit into society, so they chose an alternative. Some just simply enjoy the freedom of not having a job or having to be anywhere at any particular time. Often it is a mix of two or more of these things.
Having been all over the country and in many different cities, I can tell you that Grand Junction is exceptionally friendly to the homeless. My hometown of Sarasota, Fla., for instance, is quite the opposite. The police there will do everything in their power to drive them out or arrest them just to get them off the streets. The reason for this is because the town is rather wealthy, and they don’t want “undesirables” harassing the rich.
Grand Junction, on the other hand, is a lot more lenient with the presence of homeless people. They gather in the parks downtown without being harassed, and they are allowed to stand on street corners holding signs asking people for money.
These characteristics, in addition to the mild winters, make Grand Junction a haven for the homeless. Many nomadic homeless will often stay here for extended periods of time, and sometimes for years.
Just remember, the homeless are simply people like you and me. Each person has their own story to tell, and each homeless individual has their own reasons for being homeless. If you happen to pass a homeless person holding a sign on some street corner and you have an extra dollar give it to them. For you, it’s a cup of coffee, but for them, it’s a meal.
If you are worried that you’re just contributing to addiction, buy them a burger off the dollar menu of some nearby fast food joint. It will mean the world to them.
Kindness is something that is lacking in this day and age. Someday that could be you on the street corner or a loved one. Every single homeless person you come across has someone out there that loves them, remember that.
