WeeManDan

That’s what the three of us were up to last night with some members of the home group we’re part of in Reading.

For me it was quite an eye opener; very humbling but also surprising.

It’s quite incredible how these people live, carrying all their worldly possessions with them, most of them barely filling a coat pocket. Many of them are on the street down to past mistakes, getting mixed up in alcohol and drugs but equally there are those who appear to have just had the worst luck imaginable.

I couldn’t get over how nice most of them were, hugely respectful of us and ensuring we had space and time to set up some tables for putting tea and coffee. Sure there were those  who were impatient and grabbed for things but for the most part they were very polite and not at all what I was expecting.

I guess that says a lot about me more than anything. I was expecting more of a manic free for all and was worried about my phone being pinched, so it was tucked away in my concealed jacket pocket. It’s wrong of me to have stereotyped these people in that way and yes, for me it broke most of my preconceptions.

I said it was surprising and for many reasons; how polite they were, how far off my preconceptions were but also how fussy they were! Pret-a-manger (sp?) provide FAITH, the group that run this programme, with all unused sandwiches and salads from the day which I think is pretty awesome of a high street company. Anyway, it was quite surprising to see how fussy the people we were giving them to were, I kind of figured that if they haven’t eaten all day then they’d be happy with anything. Likewise we ran out of sugar for hot drinks and most of them then turned down the tea and coffee.

Perhaps though, that this is another thing I should ponder? Come to think of it, it’s wrong of me to think that just because they’re homeless they’ll eat anything almost like a stray dog. They’re people and therefore deserve some kind of choice, although I guess you could equally say they should be happy with anything, stale bread and water?

Yes it was a huge eye opener for me and humbled me in a way I’ve rarely thought of before, too be thankful for the small things we take for granted, food on the table and a warm bed.

Dan