Feed the Homeless: Benjamin - 51 years old (New York Edition)

New York. Saturday, June 15, 2019

Biking around busy New York’s streets trying to find a homeless person was my goal. There he was, sitting on the sidewalk with his torn gray backpack. I offered to buy him lunch and he seemed very eager to accept. So we headed to the nearest deli to grab our food.

We walked over to Central Park and found a vacant bunch. We started chatting about today’s politics around the world. Benjamin, a Nigerian citizen, proceeded to share his experiences when he was back home. He is a war survivor and he saw things he didn’t wish on anybody to see. The unfortunate part of his life story he said is not only seeing dead bodies everywhere but also losing family except for his son who he fled with to Egypt and then they immigrated to the USA under refugee status.

Benjamin's profession is carpentry at which he excelled back home, but had a hard time finding a  steady job here. Also, Benjamin hasn’t seen his son since they parted way over 8 years ago but he hopes to see him someday. Time passed by too quickly, so we had to wrap up and go our separate ways. We gave each other’s a hug and wished for a great day.

Feed the Homeless: Shawn - 46 years old

Edmonton, Alberta. Sunday, May 26th, 2019 

On a hot Sunday afternoon, I was driving around Southgate mall on the look for a homeless person for about an hour with almost no luck. So I made the decision to go to 97th, however, as I turned on to 111 street, there I found him - settled under a tree and a shopping cart filled with miscellaneous items.

I parked the car and walked towards him so I can ask him to join me for a meal. After some hesitations, he accepted my offer for a bite to eat. So then the 46 years old Shawn and I went to the food court in the mall to have our meal. We both ordered A&W, as it’s his favourite and we sat down only a couple of tables away from the place.

At first, silence seemed to be the theme of this meal as his answers were short to most of my questions. However, that changed when I asked him to tell me a story. His story(s) branched out into too many scattered events that were a bit hard to follow. The theme was mostly: that he had a tough childhood - always picked on because of his weight. “People and my brothers kept on making fun of me and no one gave a rat's ass about how did that make me feel. Drugs were my escape”. Shawn said.

We finished our meals and kept chatting for a while. He is excited about the summer and is hoping that he gets a job soon so he doesn’t have to stay in the shelter. I told him that I will keep an eye for him on jobs and a way to get in touch with him - if you know of any jobs let me know as well and I will let him know. We decided to wrap it up and go our separate ways. So we walked back to his cart and we wished each other’s a good evening.

Feed the Homeless Day: Wayne - 56 years old.

Edmonton, Alberta. Saturday June 8th, 2013 - Outside temperature: +18° C.

Feed the Homeless Day didn't make it out to Slave Lake but it was out in the West End this month - a whole new area with new possibilities. Everybody knows that certain parts of it is fairly rough and in need of some attention. So, driving around Jasper Park there I find Wayne looking through the dumpsters with a cigarette in his hand. I asked him if he would like to have supper with me, he struggled first to understand what I was offering but he agreed at last. Subway was the closet place we can go to in that area, so we walked there.

Wayne didn't have much to say but the wrinkles on his face and his white hair tell many stories about his past. I tried to engage him in many topics, however, the dialog was never completed. He was getting stuck on one thought and kept on repeating it over and over again as if I didn't hear what he said. Time went by and we got to know each others. He does not have kids and he has been in Edmonton his whole life.

Time came for me to ask him my question: "Before I leave Wayne, if you had three wishes, what would they be?" he said: “win the lottery, get married, and buy a house and a fancy car”. We shook hands, I wished him a good evening and he left with a smile on his face (I think he was still thinking about my last question).

Anyways, stay tuned for another story next month! You can follow this blog here or "Like" the Facebook page "Feed the Homeless Day" to stay in the loop.

Disclaimer: This picture is from google.

Feed the Homeless: Louis - 37 years old.

Red Deer, Alberta. Sunday May 4th, 2013 - Outside temperature: +9° C.

On a sunny afternoon in Red Deer, around the Greyhound station, Louis was sitting on the side of the street begging for money. I stopped by and we started chatting about his day. One thing led to the other, he asked for money and I offered him a meal instead ... he agreed. So we hop in the car and I drove to the closest mall. It was few blocks away, not far.

We head inside to grab a bite to eat. We ended up getting Subway and and sit down to eat in the food court. He initiated the conversation actually by asking me about why am I doing this. I explained to him Feed the Homeless' initiative and his respond was: "To know that someone cares is the main thing I guess. People ignore us all the time and most of us on the street don't have anyone."

When it was my turn to ask questions, I asked about his childhood and how he became a homeless, his respond was: "It all started when I was 15, my dad who used to beat us (my mom and my two younger brothers) left the house and I started using drugs to make me feel better, and it did. I regret it now but it's too late, I know what you are going to say". I responded with nothing.

I ask him my regular question: "Louis, if you had three wishes, what would they be?" he said: “Get a steady job somewhere, see my two brothers often, and meet my dad”. I'll have to say the latter give the shivers when he said it ... but he meant it in a good way. We wrap it up, I offered him a ride back, he said he would prefer to walk instead. We shook hands, I wished him a good evening, and he wished me a safe trip back to Edmonton.

Stay tuned for another story next month! You can follow this blog here or "Like" the Facebook page "Feed the Homeless Day" to stay in the loop.

Disclaimer: This picture is from google.

Feed the Homeless: Liza - 44 years old.

Edmonton, Alberta. Sunday April 7th, 2013 - Outside temperature: +1° C.

Liza was just outside the Southgate mall, sitting by the doors. We agreed to have lunch together, so we headed into the mall. They didn't allow us to stay in the food court (let's just say she has an eventful history with this mall), therefore, we grabbed our sandwiches and went outside to eat them, thankfully the weather was a bit warmer today.

We start chatting about where is she from and what does she do; she is from Nova Scotia and she has been in Edmonton for little over two years now. She mentioned that she can find food easier here. She didn't have much to say and our conversations was limited to small talks. Her mind kept on wondering around and she wasn't really in the moment (Unless I started to lose my charm when I talk to women :P).  Anyways, I felt that there were few factors involved that caused this, so I decided to keep it short and simple.

I ask her my regular question: "Liza, if you had three wishes, what would they be?" she said: “Connect with my family back east, a job that can feed me, and a roof over my head”. She was satisfied with the meal and she thanked me for it. We shook hands, and I wished her a good day.

Stay tuned for another story next month! You can follow this blog here or "Like" the Facebook page "Feed the Homeless Day" to stay in the loop.

Disclaimer: This picture is from google.

Feed the Homeless: Gregory - a story from San Jose, California!

San Jose, California - Saturday, March 30th, 2013.

A friend of mine, Chanda, down in the States was kind enough to allow me to share her Feed the Homeless story with me. She has been a great supporter to the "Feed the Homeless Day" initiative and I am happy to share her passion to help people here on this blog.

"I had breakfast today with the homeless guy that I met last week. His name is Gregory, he had a HUGE smile and was happy to see me. We shared 20-30 mins together this morning eating. He served time in the Iraq war and has never been married nor does he have kids. Today the sun is out and so is his smile. Coincidence? I think not".

"He was suppose to go to San Francisco today for a job. The man who offered it to him yesterday said he would pick him up today but never showed up. Gregory said, "I think he forgot" poor buddy... but never the less he was in good spirits and life was good".

"Hope everyone is having a good day. Enjoy the sun and share your smile with everyone...that is something that can never be taken from you!"

If you have a story and you would like to share it here, please feel free to send it to me and I will be happy to publish it for you here.

Stay tuned for another story! You can follow this blog here or "Like" the Facebook page "Feed the Homeless Day" to stay in the loop.

Disclaimer: This picture is from google.

Feed the Homeless: Markus - 48 years old.

Edmonton, Alberta. Sunday March 11th, 2012 - Outside temperature: -12° C.

Mark was just outside the Kingsway mall, sitting on the sidewalk with his head down. I asked him if he would like to have lunch with me instead of giving him money, and he agreed. We head inside a crowded food court and we stand on Subway's line-up. We get our sandwiches and we pick an empty table on the far south east corner.

He was very hungry to the point finished his one-foot sandwich very quickly - literally less than 3 minutes. So I asked him when was the last time he ate, and he said: it was yesterday at lunch time, he picked up something from a Chinese restaurant's dumpster (can't mention the name). I offered to get him another sandwich but he said he had enough.

We started talking about the weather, living in Edmonton, his family, my family, and his occupation. The conversation was like a roller coaster, had its ups and downs. I will just mention the ups: his son goes to Lethbridge University majoring in political science. He is very proud of him and what he is able to accomplished. He envisioned him as the person who is going to fix all problems in the broken systems nowadays. Another up was that he expecting a cheque of $2,000 coming in on March 28th for a construction work he did last week.

At the end of the sitting, I ask him my favorite question: If you had three wishes, what would they be? He said: “Good future for my son, a stead job I can earn money from, and a meal every day”. He appreciated the company for lunch, we shook hands, and we wished each others a good day.

Stay tuned for another story next month! You can follow this blog here or "Like" the Facebook page "Feed the Homeless Day" to stay in the loop.

Disclaimer: This picture is from google.