Alissa Semple
MHC 250
Professor Clyde Haberman
March 7th, 2017
Response Paper 3 – Experience with Homelessness
I walked briskly from the small Wendy’s to the bus stop when a woman who seemed to be in her late twenties or early thirties stopped me. She wore her hair in a neat ponytail and her clothes were neat and clean. The only thing a bit disconcerting to me was that she had no bag or other personal belongings, even though we were at a major Queens transit stop. She spoke calmly and confidently. “Excuse me, miss. Do you have a dollar you could spare so that I can get something to eat?” It was only then that I noticed a small cardboard sign that she had left on the bench that read “Evicted, Please Help”.
I knew it was unwise of me, but I did not have a dollar–I had been walking around with only my debit card for days without withdrawing cash, and I mentally kicked myself for my bad street sense. I gave her a disappointed shake of the head, before I remembered. “Wait, I actually have a cheeseburger that I just got from Wendy’s, right over there.” I nodded in the direction of the store and pulled it out of my bag, still in the paper bag and its cardboard box, untouched. “I haven’t touched it or anything.”
The woman hesitated.
“Does it have bacon on it?”
Now it was my turn to hesitate. “No.”
“You know what, no thanks,” she said, politely enough before walking away.
I was stunned. I felt as if I had been cheated. I put the sandwich back in my bag, and after a few seconds of silently watching her walk away, did the same.