COMBINING COMPASSION AND ART
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| Country Club Plaza Fountain |
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| Fashion's favorite labels and shops call The Plaza home in Kansas City. Unbeknown to them, it is also the favorite hangout for some of the chronic homeless in Kansas City. With the summer sun beating down on the street while shoppers hurry to get to their destination to purchase their favorite name brand from Prada to Channel, the homeless are enjoying the same scenery with a different drumbeat. From an outsider's point of view some of them may seems repulsive. Yet these homeless get along just fine because with different priorities and needs, they can actually relax and enjoy the summer heat. In a way, it is almost like the olden days, when all your neighbors are outside at their front porches conversing with each other and catching up with their daily events. The sky is perfectly blue with few clouds hanging over; the Kansas City famous fountains flow with vigor to intrigue the passers by. It is one of the biggest tourist attractions in town, yet it seems to have two parallel lives, one the well-heeled and the other homeless. Their paths may cross but their lives do not mingle.
To an outsider, many of the homeless seem to be lost. Mothers with children will tend to avoid them. Shoppers in a hurry will quick step away; once in a while, one may stop to give them a dollar, especially on a weekend evening when some of the younger ones are out partying. Yet they coexist in a twisted harmony. The shoppers are excited when they find a bargain while the homeless are elated when they discover a left over sandwich from a forgotten take out box. The differences in perspectives and priorities make one wonder how their life stories compare.
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| Taking the time to know our homeless friends, we suddenly realize that our life stories are all the same. The daily struggles to get to where we want in our lives may be at different level of needs, but the struggles are the same. Our homeless friends have the same wants and needs like we do; the need for nurturing, love, care and concerns are the same. When I talk to Frog, one of my homeless friends, he talks with such clarity and understanding of life, I wonder the reason he is on the street. Frog demonstrates compassion and leadership when I bring food to the park he helps me hand out the food and does not care whether he has food first. It is important to him that the other friends have their share. In fact, this trait iof sharing among the homeless friends is typical, they always make sure everyone have enough. Can we truly said that for ourselves? Frog talks about the important rules of the homeless; how they have to stick up for one another, how they must keep their area clean and pick up after themselves, which are the same rules in every household in America. He jokingly mentioned that homeless individuals should be needy but not greedy. Ask for what you need but not more. A very philosophical way to look at life. Frog talks about life with zealous energy. I was surprised to learn about his liver failure and need dialysis. His life came crashing down when he discovered the diagnosis. Here he is, an 8 year veteran of 101st 31B Recon Green Belt. He had a total of fourteen years in the service had attempted by gun shot to head. Recovered from it and came to Kansas City. He ran his own home and commercial remoldeling business. He responded by using the basic human response fight or flight; he chose flight by giving up and drinking and waiting for death. He gave up his business, waiting for the final event. By giving up, he lost everything and chose to live on the street and spread the word of God. Now looking at this wonderful vibrant caring person, how can we condemn someone who faces one of life's most difficult challenges by choosing flight. None of us know what we will choose when our time comes. Here is an artist and a veteran who has created many artworks on display from the Health Department in Kansas City to City Hall in Columbus, Ohio, to the Chicago natural science museum. Now staying on the street by choice. We may think we will face our adversity with dignity and tenacity, but do we really know how we will react? But God always provides us with surprises. Along the way, he met someone on the street, and she is now carrying his baby. When they are together they radiate positive energy of love and togetherness. The tender moments of care and love shine through their relationship and provides Frog the motivation to turn his life around. Her presence inspired him to get back to dialysis, because being a father, he has to learn to get back on his feet and plan their future. One can imagine the love they have together and the bond they can build. Her presence is all the motivation he needs to get on with life.
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| Coutry Club Plaza Fountain |
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| Veteran: is a person who is experienced in a particular area, in United States the most common usage is for former armed services personnel. A veteran is one who has served in the armed forces, but usually not someone who had a dishonorable discharge. It is especially applied to those who served for an entire career, usually of 20 years or more, but may be applied for someone who has only served one tour of duty. When I first started to join my friends to feed the homeless, I was apprehensive with what I would encounter in these gathering. What have I gotten myself into spending time with the outcast? Am I really cut out to do this? On this fall day, the weather is perfect. There are demonstraters along the parkway, each carrying sign declaring that war is a crime, America should not be at war. The compassion of these demonstrators is to share with all the passing cars that war is a sin. Out of the blue there is an uproar; a bearded man in layered clothing charges at the demonstrators to berate them and chase them away. I thought who is this crazy person chasing after these people? This crazy person finally calmed down and joined us for dinner. Overtime I learned Bill was in the military and served his time in Vietnam. In my mind, he is the elder statesman who is in control of his group. He keeps everyone in line so their lives would be orderly. In passing, I learned his wife has died a few years ago. The reason for his normal life has passed, and he, in a sense, gave up. His six years military service still follow him, when he talks to people with respect manners. Orders are important; ignorance annoys him. To him the civilian does not understanding the experience of a veteran. Everytime when I have an opportunity to talk with him, there is always more depth that I learn. Because of Bill, I learn that many veterans are on the street. One can't help but wonder where do their stories start and end. How can we as a nation let our soldiers down? Is it the fault of the nation, or is it the choosing of the individual? To me it is a shame for anyone who has served our country to end up living in the street. Where is our support system? Veterans actually makes up 20% of the homeless populations. The statistic has shown about 750,000 people were homeless in the USA. 50,000 retired vetereans are living in the streets in California. Since the founding of USA, American soldiers made great contributions to the nation and world peace. American soldiers are the pride of American people. American soldiers helped various administrations and the nation go through the toughest moments. Now, they are living in poverty and living in the streets homeless. The income gap between the rich and the poor increased rather than decreased in the USA. Why didn't the American government take some measures to safeguard the veterans' living? What motivates us to choose flight instead of fight while one has trained in combats? In fact, in our little group, we have several veterans. It makes me depressed to think that will happen to 20 % of our children who serve our country. In years to come, how many of them will be living on the street?
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| Country Club Plaza Fountain |
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| The older homeless on the street makes one worry about their health and well being in the harsh winter in Kansas City. The summer heat is torturous on one's soul. With the economy the way it is, many of us are one paycheck away from homelessness. Disaster can strike anyone who is not well prepare for the downturn. With six consecutive months of employment contraction confirmed, gas prices at the heighest level ever, most retailers producing negative comparable store sales, and consumer's expectations for the future at the lowest point ever, now even the mighty Starbuck's, the world’s largest coffee chain, said that it would close 600 stores in the United States beginning this year. It will lay off more than 12,000 employees in the process, the most in its history. Each Monday, CoStar religiously informs readers of store closings announced in the weekly column. From the start of 2008, Costar estimates that 4491 closings have been announced for so far this year. (1949 in first quarter and 2542 in second quarter). So how do these older homeless souls compete in these challenging economic times? How do the younger homeless survive in this business climate? Sometimes, I work with the relatively younger homeless. I wonder the suffering they go through, because of home environment, alcohol, drugs, or personal choosing. From an outsider, we may look down at these workable souls and wonder why don't they just get up and work? Then I talk to one of them. His suffering is staying out in the snowy, harsh winter night in Kansas weather. Part of his body got frost bite; the doctor almost wanted to amputate his leg, but luck was on his side: he only lost his toes instead. Day in and day out, he has to walk the street with part of his limb missing. It is a disablility that he has to learn to deal with. At the same time, we read the success story about W. Mitchell, having overcome two life-threatening and life changing accidents - the first a fiery motorcycle accident and the second an airplane crash - Mitchell says: " Before I was paralyzed there were 10,000 things I could do . Now there are 9,000. I can either dwell on the 1,000 I've lost or focus on the 9,000 I have left." Where do we begin to gain the strength to fight through adversity and begin our lives all over again? How come some of us are blessed with the will to survive and thrive?
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| Country Club Plaza Fountain |
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| Rand |
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| There are always the eccentrics, the outcast, the drug addicts, the alcoholics. In fact they all wear their infliction well on the outside. They are honest enough to share with you their addictions, their hopes and dreams once you get to know them. There is an understanding that drugs and alcohol do not just affect the individual only; they affect the whole family and the society. According to Mayo Clinic's definition, drug addition is that you may be hooked emotionally and psychologically. You may have a physical dependence, too. If you have a drug addiction, you have intense cravings for the drug. You want to use it again and again. When you stop taking it, you may have unpleasant physical reactions. While not everyone who uses drugs becomes addicted, many people do. Drug addiction involves compulsively seeking to use a substance, regardless of the potentially negative social, psychological, and physical consequences. Certain drugs are more likely to cause physical dependence than are others. Breaking a drug addiction is difficult, but not impossible. Support from your doctor, family, friends, and others who have a drug addiction, as well as inpatient or outpatient drug addiction treatment, may help you beat your drug dependence. But if you are on the street, it means you have alienated your family and friends. You have cut off the support system that was once available to you. In fact some of them just got on the street, so there is still this excitment being on the street, the rebellious bout with the establishment, the authority. They are actually enjoying the no responsibility, the feeling of being carefree. Then there are some families who just got on the street, embarassed by their surroundings. The husband will not come down to receive food, because he is the provider of the house. Yet there is no more house; the home is a truck now. Because of pride, the wife will have to bring the 3 year old down to get food. But would anyone blame him? Would you and I not hide behind a curtain to disguise our identity, so we are look at as a failure? In the last three years, the number of people requesting emergency housing and food assistance has increased drastically, according to surveys of 25 major cities conducted annually by the US Conference of Mayors. In 2003, the survey found that requests for emergency housing increased by thirteen percent on average, following a nineteen percent increase in 2002, a thirteen percent increase in 2001, and a fifteen percent increase in 2000. In 1997, by comparison, the increase was just 3 percent. In addition, as more families and children become homeless each year, decades-old homeless demographics are slowly changing. In 1990 the mayors' conference survey noted that single men accounted for 51 percent of all homeless. Families with children trailed at 34 percent, followed by single women at twelve percent. In 2003 single men made up just 41 percent of the homeless. Families with children accounted for 40 percent, and single women; 14 percent. Then there are the ones who have been on the streets for years, and getting older and hoping to get off the street because the environment is too harsh for any living soul. There are some homeless women who would stay in an abusive relationship out of companionship, dependency, protections, drugs or whatever reasons to stay on the street. In the park enviroment, we tend to be friends with what the society calls the chronic homeless people. This group accurately reflects a microcosmic part of our society, it composed of all the different types of people, each with their own unique wants, needs, and hang ups. However, each one of them still come from a family; they were all once that cute little child we love to hug and hold. That feeling still lingers in their heart.
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| Rand |
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| Homeless with Sign |
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| Artist Nature |
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| This is an onging article that I will update and rewrite to bring you the current events. The statistics are from different publishing sources. Thanks.
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"How far in life you go depends on your being tender with the young,compassionate with the aged,sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these."
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