Homeless Writing Assignment
Jessica Ng
I think that every person living in New York City has had an encounter with the homeless at some point. As sad as it is, it’s a almost such a common sight that it’s expected. This is particularly true if you ride the subway during the winter, where many homeless people will choose to take shelter. It is not uncommon to see homeless people sleeping near the entrances or on the subway seats. Many homeless people will also go through subway trains to ask for money. For a rider, it’s always an awkward moment when someone starts making an announcement asking for money, and you know they’re going to walk by you.
I haven’t had any particularly personal encounters with a homeless person or homelessness, but as a New Yorker it’s inevitable that I’ve had a few in general. Mostly, it’s been the usual homeless people who walk through the trains asking for money. In some of the more popular train stations, like 59th St or 68th St, I’ll see some people with signs asking for money. Recently, I take the subway from the 23rd St station, which has several homeless people living in it and outside of it. It seems like I cross by many of the same people everyday. Perhaps the most memorable and recent encounter was when a homeless person walked straight up to my mother and I, where we were sitting on the train, and asked for the food that we had in our hands. We refused, but it was somewhat of a scary moment anyways, as the train cart was fairly empty, and the man sat right behind us after we refused. In order to get away from him (and his smell), we moved to the next train cart. Later, I saw him exiting at the same train station as us. Although it seemed like a coincidence, it was still somewhat frightening.
Honestly, I don’t really know how to feel or deal with the homeless. I get that these are people in a desperate situation, but sometimes I have to refuse them, and I feel bad when there’s nothing I can do. I get that people don’t want them near when they’re riding the subway or eating at McDonald’s, but those are public spaces that everyone has a right to. Even if I don’t like dealing with homeless people, I don’t think I have the right to refuse them access. Looking back, it seems terrible that such a sight is so common that it’s expected, but I don’t think it’s something one person can change by themselves.
