What a first thread. Hold me, GAF.
I work in the heart of downtown in a major metropolis. For whatever reason I decided to stay in the office for a few extra hours to get some work done, leaving around 6pm instead of 4pm. It's cold and rainy here today, and it was pretty dark by the time that I started walking to my car, which is just outside of downtown and across the river. Just as I was about to finish crossing the bridge to get to my car, someone was walking the opposite way toward me that looked like an old high school acquaintance. I had headphones in but I could tell that they wanted to talk as I passed. Thinking it was the high school acquaintance I took my headphones out and turned to look and see the most broken man I've ever gazed upon in my life.
Long story short: this guy looked like he *really* needed help, and as he started talking to me I could tell without a doubt that he was not one of the dozens of people I see on a daily basis that ask for help. This man was young (28), sober, markedly intelligent and in trouble. He grew up in foster homes before settling about an hour outside of the city and doing relatively well for himself. All of that took a turn for the worse and his roommates took his stuff, beat him (his face was puffy and full of scratches. I noticed that his hands were completely clean which fit his story of the roommates holding him down to beat him), and left him in the city without anything. He was able to get in touch with someone the next city over (about two hours away) that he stayed with at a young age between foster homes and had a place to stay there, but this person is old and unable to drive a car. This man had been trying for days to get bus fare and looked completely fallen on the times. I was able to help him with bus fare, a scarf and an umbrella, but the kicker happened when I took him to go share a meal together.
After the first bite he put down his food and just started bawling his eyes out. He told me that everything was going so horribly and that people were treating him so poorly that I was his last ditch effort. If I didn't stop he was going to take his own life on the bridge.
We finished our meal, I gave him numbers for different synagogues/churches in town that can help, and hugged before I brought him back to other bridge that he was living under. He told me that I was an angel and that he believed that everything would be ok after I "showed him that humanity can still be ok."
I don't know how I'm supposed to feel. I don't want praise and I didn't come here for that, because I didn't do anything praiseworthy. If I wanted that I'd post this all on Facebook, but really I just want to know if anyone has had any similar situations and how they felt afterward. I can't stop thinking about how easily I could have been in that man's place but instead I grew up with two loving parents that worked to provide me a life free of the hardships that this man has faced since birth.
Anyway, thanks for listening, GAF. I didn't want to go tell this to a bunch of people I know in real life.
I work in the heart of downtown in a major metropolis. For whatever reason I decided to stay in the office for a few extra hours to get some work done, leaving around 6pm instead of 4pm. It's cold and rainy here today, and it was pretty dark by the time that I started walking to my car, which is just outside of downtown and across the river. Just as I was about to finish crossing the bridge to get to my car, someone was walking the opposite way toward me that looked like an old high school acquaintance. I had headphones in but I could tell that they wanted to talk as I passed. Thinking it was the high school acquaintance I took my headphones out and turned to look and see the most broken man I've ever gazed upon in my life.
Long story short: this guy looked like he *really* needed help, and as he started talking to me I could tell without a doubt that he was not one of the dozens of people I see on a daily basis that ask for help. This man was young (28), sober, markedly intelligent and in trouble. He grew up in foster homes before settling about an hour outside of the city and doing relatively well for himself. All of that took a turn for the worse and his roommates took his stuff, beat him (his face was puffy and full of scratches. I noticed that his hands were completely clean which fit his story of the roommates holding him down to beat him), and left him in the city without anything. He was able to get in touch with someone the next city over (about two hours away) that he stayed with at a young age between foster homes and had a place to stay there, but this person is old and unable to drive a car. This man had been trying for days to get bus fare and looked completely fallen on the times. I was able to help him with bus fare, a scarf and an umbrella, but the kicker happened when I took him to go share a meal together.
After the first bite he put down his food and just started bawling his eyes out. He told me that everything was going so horribly and that people were treating him so poorly that I was his last ditch effort. If I didn't stop he was going to take his own life on the bridge.
We finished our meal, I gave him numbers for different synagogues/churches in town that can help, and hugged before I brought him back to other bridge that he was living under. He told me that I was an angel and that he believed that everything would be ok after I "showed him that humanity can still be ok."
I don't know how I'm supposed to feel. I don't want praise and I didn't come here for that, because I didn't do anything praiseworthy. If I wanted that I'd post this all on Facebook, but really I just want to know if anyone has had any similar situations and how they felt afterward. I can't stop thinking about how easily I could have been in that man's place but instead I grew up with two loving parents that worked to provide me a life free of the hardships that this man has faced since birth.
Anyway, thanks for listening, GAF. I didn't want to go tell this to a bunch of people I know in real life.
