giggling

In my last post I talked about how young people graduating from College or School in this tough economy could find different ways of dealing with the possibility of not finding a job in their field.  (See Swallowing Pride while digesting the Brain). 

 But it is not only young graduates that are having a hard time finding work. There are millions of other working people that have been laid off and some besides that have lost their homes or apartments. Thousands of homes have gone into foreclosure, which is a legal process that bars a person from redeeming their mortgaged home or estate. Literally the doors to entering their homes are barred shut as if with steel from them ever entering that house again. This is a terrible feeling to be put out of your own home, and besides that to not have a job. What are these people to do now? Some of the suggestions given in the previous post can also be used by older adults. It means doing whatever you can to make some money to get yourself off the streets, or out of a homeless shelter. Eventually to get a home again.

 I look around New York City and see some very creative ways some homeless jobless people are dealing with their situation. Like I wrote before in my first post (Finding humor amidst hard times) having a sense of humor can help anyone deal with any depressing and stressful situation. And this is exactly what some homeless people are doing to cope with their circumstances. Since a lot of them find shelter in the subways they use the trains as their working places. One homeless man rides one of the subway lines constantly and performs as a Comedian, even referring to the subway train as his new home and the passengers as his guests sitting in his living room (the train car). He tells jokes and keeps everybody on the trains cracking up. Then he walks around to each passenger with a Styrofoam cup or paper bag and collects money from his audience.

 Well, shouldn’t people pay him for his work? He gives them a comedy show, makes them laugh, they would have to pay a lot more to see a comedian on Broadway or in a theatre. Then after he finishes with one car, he pushes himself through the steel subway doors into the other car and gives his show all over again. He goes from one train car to the other pushing through the steel doors with his styrofoam cup collecting from each passenger after each performance.   

This is such a smart way to help oneself. He uses his talent as a comedian to perform and collects money in his homeless state, to get out of that situation. With the millions of people traveling each day, he can earn a lot of money to get himself back to living a normal life again. I see this being done by so many others when riding the subway trains in New York City. Some others play music on the trains but also on the platforms where people wait, and then collects their money from the passengers. Just last week a young man came on the train and called for everybody’s attention. Then told his story about losing his job and becoming homeless, even mentioning that he just had a newborn son in May and now they are living in a homeless shelter.

 He was trying to find a way to make a living so that he could get his own place again. Then he belted out in singing in the most beautiful voice ever. He had everybody’s attention, he could really sing. It was like being at a talent show as everybody was intently focused on this young man’s singing. After that he went around with his cup and to my surprise everybody put money in it, not only pennies but also dollar bills. We all enjoyed his singing and wanted to help him get back on his feet and get a real home to live in again especially with a new baby. 

So many use the subway trains and the waiting platforms to entertain and make some money to get out of their homeless state. That is smart. I don’t know if this is illegal or not. If it is then I am not encouraging anything that is against the law, but I see it all the time and think it is so brave and creative for people to find so many ways to help themselves in this recession. It is not begging, begging is asking for something without doing nothing. We should use decernment as to whether some people are just trying to scam us out of money. But I am talking here about those that are sincerely finding ways to work and help themselves. They are entertaining the passengers and asking for a donation which I think they rightfully deserve.  

They are working, even if using a different type of stage to perform, they deserve to be paid. And really, everybody enjoys entertainment, and if all you have to do is to contribute whatever amount you want, then by all means, put something in their cup to help them get a place to live again. It cost a lot more to go to a theatre or movie these days, than putting a few pennies or a dollar in a homeless man or woman Styrofoam cup for their performance. 

I see one homeless woman whom goes around the streets collecting empty cans and bottles from the garbage or off the streets, and putting them in a big garbage bag. She takes these to the supermarket where they have some type of machine that collects and crushes these and then pays her for each one. How much she gets depends on how many she collects a day. But still whatever it is, it is better than nothing, and she is performing a service by picking up tossed cans and bottles and getting some money for them. 

 But what I found to be a very interesting idea was one homeless man that used to sit on the sidewalk next to a Fast Food Restaurant not to far from where I live. But for the last couple of weeks, he had gotten up from sitting down on the sidewalk and was opening the door of the restaurant for each passenger as they enter. Even mothers with baby carriages he patiently opens the door and helps them get the baby carriage in.

He patiently keeps standing and waits until people exit, he opens the door again and holds out his Styrofoam cup to collect some money. Some people just ignore him and walk right pass him. But he doesn’t give up, and eventually some appreciates his service and put money in his cup. ”And why not?” I asked myself. Isn’t he doing the same thing that the highly paid uniformed doormen in the upper class neighborhood apartment buildings in Manhattan do?

He is performing a service for the customers, and he is asking for a tip or donation for his work. Can you imagine if he does this everyday and considering the hundreds of people entering this Fast Food Chain daily, he could make several hundred dollars a week. Eventually he could make enough money to get an apartment again and use this experience to get a real salaried doorman job if he choose to do that.

It is so interesting to observe how so many unfortunate people are using different ways to cope with this recession, to get out of their jobless and homeless state. It shows that many homeless people really want to work and are intelligent enough to find ways to make money to help themselves rather than resigning to begging and handouts. 

 And it depends on each one of us when we see someone genuinely doing a job or performing, whether it is on the subway trains or opening a door for us at a restaurant or anything else to really appreciate their service, their desire to get out of their desperate homeless and jobless state. In this way we can really aid many to open those steel barred doors that have closed their homes or apartments, by putting some money in their Styrofoam Cups. Helping them to get off the streets, find a real job and in getting a home, or a place to live in again. 

 Written by (C) Glenda Brill

Trackback URI | Comments RSS