There are people all over the world suffering because they don’t have a home. Realistically too, just about anybody could end up homeless after dealing with a number of misfortunes.
This is why homeless people should not be marginalized and treated as if they were criminals. They once had a home, a job, and many of them even a family, and they are now alone living in poor conditions, relying on charity for their survival.
According to statistics, in January 2019, seventeen out of every 10,000 people in America were homeless.
70% of this homeless population were found to be individuals living on their own with other adults, while the rest (30%) were people in families with children.
So, while these people are struggling with day-to-day challenges and, often times, with mental illness, society should be more understanding toward them and should try to find ways to help them.
Like a deputy from the Columbia County Sheriff Office, who decided to brighten up the day of a homeless man in Lake City.
One day, Brownie Lyons was in her car with her husband, on their way to a local drive-thru restaurant, when she spotted an officer getting out of his patrol car and approaching a homeless man who was sitting in the street nearby.
Lyons told WCJB:
“He pulled over and opened his back door and was getting something out of the back seat. It turned out to be the chair he’s sitting in.”
As Lyons and her husband lost sight of the two men for a while- they obviously moved on to order their meal, pay, and receive their order- they started wondering what the officer would have used the chair for.
They eventually concluded he wanted to have a chat with the homeless man about his situation, and then some time later, they pulled out and realized things did not turn out exactly as they expected.
“We were wondering if he was going to talk to the guy about being on the street but when we pulled out, he had set up the food and was sitting down with him eating,” Lyons explained.
The woman felt the need to capture the moment, so she took out her phone and snapped a photo of the two eating dinner together, which she later posted on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10157178391975766&set=a.402485950765&type=3&theater
“I watched this officer get out of his patrol vehicle and set up dinner on the sidewalk tonight…
Columbia County Sheriff’s Department, Lake City, Florida ❤️” the caption of the photo read.
As she explained, she wanted to show everyone that there are good officers out there who treat others well and go above and beyond for the community members. This instance was just the perfect opportunity to prove she is right.
Soon after the woman’s post, the Deputy was identified by her own son as Shane Foote. According to Lyons’ son, “that’s Shane all day every day!”
The post has since gone viral with more than 1.2k reactions and more than 4.5k shares. People have been praising the officer for his kindness and the comment section has been flooded with positive vibes.
“This is one of the coolest things I’ve seen in too long a time,” a Facebook user wrote.
For those of us who are lucky enough to have a roof over our heads, it’s a wonderful thing to help others whenever possible. Hopefully, this story helps inspire more little acts of kindness!
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