Our Neighbors
As tents take hold of Portland’s sidewalks many appear to be more like homes than camps. When you look inside some of these tents you see rocking chairs, and overstuffed lounge chairs. Some have tables and sideboards, double beds. everything you’ve left out on the sidewalk for taking. One has a huge teddy bear sitting in a very large outdoor camp chair. A little kitchen area may be seen in some with canned goods and other non perishables neatly lined up ready to be used for a next meal. A door mat welcomes you in.
Many of the sites are neat. Others not so much. I wonder if we took a look back to when some of our homeless were teenagers we could predict forward who would be messy and who would be tidy just by seeing how they behaved as teenagers behind closed doors. We have walls to hide our clutter, they don’t. One of my friends when he goes dumpster diving ends up with toy parts. I can imagine him as a child putting together model airplanes with his brothers. I suspect this brings him some comfort.
Many of the women still don’t like to leave their tent without first putting on their makeup. And I watch the way they walk when they’ve put on something that they know they look good in. That desire to be noticed doesn’t just go away because you are living on the street.
At lunch sometimes when we run out and somebody comes late, we see somebody offer their sack lunch to another, “how long has it been since you ate? Here have mine.” Gratitude for the offering comes in the form of a song or a knowing bow, or simply, “Thank you brother. Thank you.”
I fall in love with my friends more every day. I see how they look out for each other and make sure they all have enough to eat. They know who has trouble asking for help so will do the asking for them. They know better than the housed folks how to care for and/or talk to someone who is having a mental health crisis. They are family to each other..for better or for worse. They are also a forgiving bunch. Sometimes it seems that they may be doing community better than us. We are all learning all the time what it means to be in this life together.
