There are a lot of homeless individuals that live near my old house, and people tend to make fun of them or get upset because “clearly there’s a reason for them being on the streets.” That mindset is very upsetting to me because I have many family members that have been homeless. Last Summer, once a week I would pack water bottles and packaged snacks (granola bars, pop tarts, stuff like that) in a backpack and walk around downtown New Bedford, passing out water and snacks to those in need. There was also this one woman who stayed closer than all of the others who absolutely loved my dog. She had just lost her children to DCF and she had told me that me bringing my dog to her every once in a while allowed her to keep her head up and have something to look forward to. Seeing her cry tears of joy just because I let her see my dog warmed my heart.
