When I awoke on the day of Homeless Resource Day, I’d forgotten that it was Homeless Resource Day, but I knew that there was something important was going on that day, I just couldn’t figure out what. It wasn’t until after I’d taken a shower, put on my usual white T-shirt, blue jeans with my leather jacket, ate my breakfast, brushed my teeth, and got into my car, that I remembered that it was Homeless Resource Day. I ran back inside to get the directions to the garage where I could park my car. It took me a while to get to the garage, due to traffic, but when I finally arrived at the parking garage, it took me five minutes to find a parking spot, on the fifth floor. When I arrived at the place where Homeless Resource Day was being held, I found that I had to sign in, get a volunteer T-shirt, and walk around so I knew where every station was and what every station held. When Homeless Resource Day started, I was surprised to see how many people showed up. I thought we weren’t going to have enough volunteers to escort everyone that showed up. I wasn’t surprised that I didn’t feel nervous at all, since I’ve volunteered for similar events like Homeless Resource Day before. My client, Alice (not real name), was overjoyed at Homeless Resource day. Alice reminded me of Rose Mary from The Glass Castle, but not by her being Homeless, but she reminded me of Rose Mary, because of the way Alice acted, Rose Mary should have done the same. Alice and Rose Mary are different through their work ethic, their personality, and how they react when they receive help.
The first difference between Alice and Rose Mary is their work ethic is that Alice is a hard worker. For example, during Homeless Resource day, Alice kept saying how nervous she was for a job interview she had later, and that if she got the job, it would be her third one. Even though it was Alice’s third job, she seemed excited to get that third job. On the other hand, Rose Mary hates having just one job. When Rose Mary had a teaching job in Welch, she hated it so much, that Rose Mary acted like a little kid, and wouldn’t get out of bed to go to work, and her excuse was that she was an excitement addict (Pg. 207). After seeing how excited Alice was on getting a new job for the third time, and reading how Rose Mary always avoided getting just one job, I realized that not all homeless people are like Rose Mary, who avoids getting a job. Hearing that Alice was going for a third job showed me that Alice wants to have a better life than she has now.
The second difference between Alice and Rose Mary is their personality. Alice is a kind person. When Alice was finishing with Homeless Resource Day, she grabbed two bags, filled one bag with clothes that can keep you somewhat warm and filled the other bag with clothes that can keep you warm in any kind of weather. When I asked her why she did that, she said that the bag with all of the warm clothes was for a friend of hers that was too sick to come, and the other clothes were for her. While Alice was showing her kindness by looking out for a friend of hers, Rose Mary showed her selfishness by hiding a family sized Hershey’s candy bar from her own children, who were already starving enough as it is. When the kids find out that Rose Mary was hiding a chocolate bar and eating it for herself, Rose Mary’s only excuse was that she was a chocolate addict (Pg. 173-174). Seeing what Alice did for her friend and reading what Rose Mary did to her own kids made me realized that not all homeless people are selfish at all, and do care about other people more than they do themselves, even though they may not be able to afford basic necessities.
The third difference between Alice and Rose Mary is how they react to receiving help. Alice accepts any help she receives. For example, Alice knew that she needed help with her finance, her health and her teeth. The way Alice put it, “I need help with everything.” She was so happy that she could finally get help with the problems Alice had. On the other hand, Rose Mary refused any help that was available to her and her family. When the Walls moved to Phoenix, AZ, Lori needed glasses. When Lori got her glasses, she let Rose Mary try them on. From Rose Mary’s expressions, you could tell that Rose Mary needed glasses, but gave them back to Lori, saying she wasn’t seeing better, but different. (Pg. 97). Seeing how Alice wanted help from everything at Homeless Resource day so Alice could get her life on track, and reading how Rose Mary refused help, even though Rose Mary needed help badly, showed me that not every homeless person likes to live the life they have.
As I left Alice and headed back to the shuttle, I realized that homeless people aren’t the kind of people I thought they were. I thought that they were people who held signs so they could get extra cash. Alice was different: She had three jobs and a child to care for. She got in the situation she is in, for reasons I promised her I wouldn’t tell, and she was doing all she could to get out of that situation. I had a new feeling for her and other people who in the same situation, and sense of pity, but pride. They know how important basic necessities are that people who aren’t homeless miss completely. I now cherish everything I have, for Alice would absolutely love to have the things I have. I now know that not all homeless people are like Rose Mary, who just look after themselves, but that most of the homeless people are actually kind hearted people.
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