Written by krissy November 30th, 2009 | Published in Broken Heel Diaries | 4 Comments
This past weekend, I went to spend the weekend in Milton to babysit my girlfriend’s children. On my way there I stopped off at a Second Cup downtown to pick up a latte. As I placed my order from the corner of my eye I saw someone, I was lost in my thoughts and was startled when I realized she was speaking to me. I was startled because I didn’t know anyone was talking to me, I was so deep in thought.
I look over and see a young woman, homeless pregnant.
She says: ” You don’t have to be scared I am not going to ask you for money, I was wondering if you would be able to buy me a coffee. I am 17 years old, homeless, pregnant with twins. My hands and fee are swollen its so cold outside.”
She proceeds to show me her swollen hands and fee. My heart sinks, I know I have to help this girl but I don’t know what to do. I feel the tears building up but I don’t wanna cry. I wanna hug her, I am scared for her. ( I am very sensitive when it comes to these things)
So I look at her and respond ” You probably shouldn’t be drinking coffee, do you want a tea?”
She smiles the biggest smile and agrees. I order her tea, as I go to pay for it the second cup cashier (who by the way was being so rude before) smiles and says its ok its on the house. The young lady looks at me and thanks me over and over again.
She says: “Thank you, I am pregnant with twins, I am going to have a boy and a girl”
I walk away, and as I am walking away I start to cry because I start to think to myself that I didn’t really help her. What is going to happen to her 15 min after she finishes drinking that tea? I can’t help but think, could I have done more? I call my friend as I am crying explaining this to her and she immediately calmed me down by saying “You did more than most people did, you cared. Because you cared, the cashier cared as well”
I write this not to show my great deed, I write this to show you that the smallest things can go a long way. Even if you think that its not much the simple fact that you took a moment to help someone else can go a long way for that person. I won’t forget the way her face illuminated when she saw that I actually offered to buy her a tea.
Never hesitate to help someone, you may be the only light of hope they have.
how sad. I’ll keep this girl in my thoughts I know and my prayers..you too!
C.
Yes it was very sad, I hope she is ok.
i’ve worked in several missions and shelters downtown and despite the debriefing at the end of each work day there were times where i would just have my breakdown points. i would cry in the washroom by myself and would quickly have to recompose myself before getting back to trying to help these poor souls. u have no idea how unnerving it is for me to hear people express themselves in negative ways about people on the streets. alot of people think they end up out there because they are too lazy to work or they’ve let their addictions take over their lives, for a very minimal percentile that may be the case. for the majority it so isnt.
there is a native woman named Diana that lives under the Bathurst bridge. shes a squatter around the entertainment district. she left home when she was 9 years old. 9 YEARs OLD!! b/c she wasnt red skinned enough for her family to accept her and she was abused frequently for being too pale. she lived on the streets for awhile and eventually she ended up in the system which placed her in a foster home, where again she was abused, this time for being a “savage” (she was never called by her name just “savage”) so she ended up leaving her foster home and has been living on the streets since she was 12 years old. Diana is now 39 and has had 7 kids while being out on the streets. all from the same partner, Jason, he is also a squatter and has been caring for her for years. she remembers the names and ages of all of her kids and has not been able to raise a single one of them. Diana is a crack addict and her addiction becomes worse in the winter months as it serves an escape from the cold. Jason is an alcoholic and the nicest man.
i met Diana when i was coming out of a club i was at celebrating my 21st b-day. after having a very shitty night (my friends flopped on me, the club and music sucked and i almost got in a physical altercation with a girl that night) i went to sit on the curb beside Diana and started talking to her. 5 other girls, a couple of them drunk and others just wanting to rest their feet, ended up sitting with us to hear her story. complete strangers to me and to her. some gave her cigarettes, some gave her food. Jason joined us as he was watching her from a distance and knew that Diana would be overwhelmed with the attention and eventually had to carry her way. she started humming and swaying back and forth and that was it, Diana retreated to whatever corner she goes to in her head and stopped talking to me. I cried the whole way home and for days after for Diana and her lost children.
She changed my life.