When was the last time
that you passed a homeless person on the street and judged them for being
there? Did you presume that they were their by choice, their own foolish
or irresponsible decisions, or that they were simply victims of circumstance? Did
you acknowledge their existence as you walked or drove by or did you pretend
like they weren't even there?
Growing up on the rough
streets of the eastside of Detroit, I have seen human life at it's rawest form;
homelessness included. The truth is that people end up homeless for many
reasons and while those socioeconomic factors must be addressed in legislation
and in our communities, every individual has the opportunity to impact a
homeless person's life by just acknowledging that they are there.
While I have never been homeless, I do know
what it is like to be prejudged and dehumanized. I know what it is to be
stripped of the smallest basic human dignities, to crave an ounce of human
kindness or affection, and to feel lost in the dark. I was wrongfully convicted
of a crime at the age of 17 and have been incarcerated for 15 years now. Most
of my days are spent seeking justice and exoneration so that I can reclaim my
life. Over the years, my desperate pursuit of freedom has made me more
sensitive and compassionate to the struggles of others around me. As a young
teen searching for acceptance on the streets of Detroit, I know firsthand what
it feels like to be young, disillusioned, and on your own. Left to drown in
your own abyss of hopelessness, the world will grow darker as you grow more
cynical, jaded, and withdrawn. Unless....unless there are places and people who
remember that you have value beyond your circumstances. Places like Ozone House
in Ann Arbor, MI.
Ozone House is a
community-based, nonprofit agency that helps young people lead safe, healthy,
and productive lives through intensive intervention and prevention services.
Through these support services, they help youth develop essential life
skills, improve their relationships, and enhance their self-image so that they
may realize their full potential for growth and happiness. There are
approximately 1300 in Washtenaw County each year. Homelessness for youth
means more than the absence of a safe place to sleep, enough food to eat
or shelter from the cold. Homelessness means a lack of safe,
healthy relationships, unimaginable
exploitation, and vulnerability to looming dangers like physical
assault, sexual assault, or human trafficking.
As
a former troubled inner-city youth, I was recently inspired to come up with a
way that I could help this cause. While I am in prison and my freedom is
restricted, my kindness can travel to places I currently can not with some
effort, organization, and team work. Hygiene items are an outreach tool that
help provide the homeless with a sense of dignity. It may be hard to imagine that a
deodorant or a tube of toothpaste could mean so much to someone, but it does.
It says, "I see you and I care." I had the pleasure of
spearheading a prison fundraiser during the recent holiday season to
collect hygiene items to donate to Ozone House. I am pleased to say that I
was able to achieve my set goal of collecting items to create care
packages for 30 homeless teens that include toothpaste, tooth
brushes deodorant, soap, and lip chap. I hope that this small
gesture of kindness will inspire the teens to continue to pursue positive
changes in their lives and to appreciate the people around them like the
amazing staff at Ozone House who have committed themselves to supporting them
on their journey. We may never physically meet, but we are connected
in a community bigger than prison walls or homeless shelters. We are connected
by humanity and as such we are all worthy of love and dignity.
