The Boxcar Couple
by Christiane Gamos
I was slightly shocked when I was told the young couple was sleeping in a train boxcar. My husband, Arthur, let them sleep at our place on a sofa. Yes, both of them were on one sofa. Soon we put them to work. They did all right with the job, and one of employees let them stay in her garage. They didn't show much skills but seemed eager to learn.
I don't have much to say about the couple since it was so long ago and since we moved our office to another state shortly afterwards. Yet, when I think of homelessness, my mind quickly went back to them. Today I have more questions than answers. How long were they sleeping in that boxcar? Weren't they concerned that the train may pick it up and relocate them ....somewhere? What did they sleep on? Surely they had something like a bunk bed or at least blankets and pillows. What did they eat? I don't remember hearing about soup kitchens back then. How did they get in that situation?
Today we have it so much easier. Today there are shelters, soup kitchens, thrift stores and vouchers for clothing and other items. Yet homelessness is still major problems.
I wish everyone could stay in a shelter for at least one month. It would be quite an eye-opener for many of you readers. I hope to write some short stories about how shelters are run. It seems they are all so different, but share many common complaints such as snoring, sleeplessness, personality conflicts, staff members playing favoritism to some and picking on others. I have heard about some shelters making their residents leave around 8:00 a.m. and not letting them return until 3:00 p.m. while others do not allow their residents to leave the premises for the first 30 days. Some offer full-time programs while others give their residents freedom to come and go as they please. Some shelters have curfews as early as 4:30 p.m. while other shelters like their residents to be in by 11:00 p.m.
No matter what their rules, residents are seldom happy in shelters. They want to find a place they can call home. They want their own beds, to cook and eat what and when they want, to sleep when they want, and to come and go as they please. I do not mean that shelters' rules are wrong; I just mean that some people have difficulty changing their lifestyles by someone else's demands.
I don't have much to say about the couple since it was so long ago and since we moved our office to another state shortly afterwards. Yet, when I think of homelessness, my mind quickly went back to them. Today I have more questions than answers. How long were they sleeping in that boxcar? Weren't they concerned that the train may pick it up and relocate them ....somewhere? What did they sleep on? Surely they had something like a bunk bed or at least blankets and pillows. What did they eat? I don't remember hearing about soup kitchens back then. How did they get in that situation?
Today we have it so much easier. Today there are shelters, soup kitchens, thrift stores and vouchers for clothing and other items. Yet homelessness is still major problems.
I wish everyone could stay in a shelter for at least one month. It would be quite an eye-opener for many of you readers. I hope to write some short stories about how shelters are run. It seems they are all so different, but share many common complaints such as snoring, sleeplessness, personality conflicts, staff members playing favoritism to some and picking on others. I have heard about some shelters making their residents leave around 8:00 a.m. and not letting them return until 3:00 p.m. while others do not allow their residents to leave the premises for the first 30 days. Some offer full-time programs while others give their residents freedom to come and go as they please. Some shelters have curfews as early as 4:30 p.m. while other shelters like their residents to be in by 11:00 p.m.
No matter what their rules, residents are seldom happy in shelters. They want to find a place they can call home. They want their own beds, to cook and eat what and when they want, to sleep when they want, and to come and go as they please. I do not mean that shelters' rules are wrong; I just mean that some people have difficulty changing their lifestyles by someone else's demands.