Back when I was still working a 9 to 5 job, I became more and more aware of the "street people" as I drove to and from my office. I observed their ragged and often downtrodden appearance. Some had nothing but the clothes on their back Many carried all their belongings in a plastic bag, tattered back pack or, in some cases, a borrowed shopping cart. One morning I was especially touched by a man dressed in Army fatigues standing on a corner. He raised his fist in the air and yelled at the street light. This vision haunted me. It still does.I began volunteering at churches and organizations that serve the homeless. Through these contacts and research over the years, I gained a better understanding of the circumstances that can lead to homelessness. There does not seem to be a no cookie cutter path to this plight. Some have found themselves in this position by their own doing and poor decisions, Mental illness and drug or alcohol addiction are often leading causes. However, others are victims of this complicated world we live in. The Veteran's Administration estimated there were 40,000 homeless veterans in 2016. Some take advantage of community shelters but the large majority are what is referred to as the "unsheltered" homeless. These people often live in places you and I would consider not fit for human habitation.
This realization coupled with the memory of the man on the street corner I mentioned above motivated me to spend hours at my computer creating "Don't Walk." It is a tale of homeless Iraqi war veteran George Becker. George encounters a mix of brutality and kindness as he fights to get his life back and overcome post traumatic stress disorder. Although it is fiction, much of the book reflects the homelessness experience. I invite you to read George's story. It is available on Amazon as a Kindle book at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078RDQ3D1 and as a paperback at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1976791901.
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