As we walk through the streets of Manhattan every day, it’s no anomaly to see at least one homeless person on every street. They make us uncomfortable, and we don’t want to give them money, but we feel bad not doing so. While looking at a homeless man sitting at the corner of 34th and Park the other day, I began thinking a lot of other things, too, other than my discomfort. How did this man get here? Where was he before? Homelessness is a huge problem in America – but I think the reality behind these people is sadder than merely not having a home.

I pondered what would happen to me if, for some reason – God forbid – I would run out of money and lack a place to live. I could name at least ten family members or friends who would take me in in a heartbeat until I got back on my feet. So the people on the streets probably have no close friends or family. That’s probably the saddest aspect of their lives. Living through daily life on the street begging from strangers for money is embarrassing already. But couple that with having no one to talk to? No one to feel close to? No one with whom to hang out when you’re lonely or having a bad day? These people who live on the streets have nothing: no money, no family, no friends, no food, nowhere to live.

Equally sad is the homeless person who does have friends or family, but screwed up his or her life too much that he or she couldn’t be helped anymore. I personally know somebody like this. He had parents, siblings, and a family of his own. But sadly, he became an alcoholic. His addiction became so rampant that his family members could no longer keep him in their house. I hear the pain in his family’s voices when they talk about it. They loved him. They only wanted what was best for him, but he refused to get help and was therefore forced to live on the streets. Some people’s vices drive them to a breaking point, and that’s when they end up on the streets or worse.

And then there’s the generally crazy people. I always wonder whether they started off crazy, or were just driven to craziness because of their situation. If they started off crazy, how did they end up here? Every person comes from two people who made him. And a mentally retarded baby needs more care than the rest. What happened to these parents? If they left their child abandoned in an orphanage, then what are they doing out on their own? How are they even sustaining themselves?
To us, every homeless person is the same. To some people, they’re all just lazy bums who need to get a job. In some cases – many of them, perhaps – that’s definitely true. But we don’t know where these people came from. We don’t know what happened to them that put them in their situation. Maybe they have no one. Maybe they were abandoned. Maybe they’re just unstable. Either way, don’t judge them unfairly. You don’t know anything about them. They’re people just like you.