On any given day, you will find someone needing help of some kind.
Sitting on the medians of the busiest roadways in the city, you will see people begging for money, work or shelter. Most of these people had a life at one point. They had family and they had friends. For some reason, their life changed … and there they sit awaiting your judgment.
In Grand Forks shelters, people try to pull their lives together again after whatever circumstances put them there. For many, the reasons were beyond their own actions and they are just trying to regain some kind of normalcy … hiding themselves away hoping no one they know will see them enter and exit the doorway.
New people move to Grand Forks and remain here for years without making one friend. Whether their journey was from near or from far, their struggles are almost always the same. Loneliness.
There are people lying in the hospital who dont see visitors often, if at all. These people are in pain. In addition to their illnesses, they become depressed because of their lack of companionship.
People are alone. People are hurting in all types of ways. What can you do?
If you see someone sitting alone, say Hi and talk to them for a while. No one is too busy to talk to someone for 5 minutes. Those 5 minutes of your time will mean little to you, but it might mean the world to someone else.
If you see someone on the street looking for help help them! Despite what you have been told in life, the majority of these people are not looking for money to purchase booze or drugs. Dont judge them. With an ounce of common sense and humanity (and safety in mind), talk with them and see how you can help. Most of us cant offer a job or even a dollar, but we can help in other important ways. If it is wintertime, give them an extra set of gloves you have in the car or a hat. If it is summer, give them a cold bottle of water.
Visit a hospital or retirement home to offer yourself a few hours per month and stick to it. Chat with as many people as you can! You will be surprised by how much you can learn by people in their later years of life. You will also be surprised by how much your time is worth to another person.
One small act of kindness goes a long way. Make it a point to be available to others. Open the door for people. Pay for the food ordered by the guy behind you in the fast food drive-through. Talk to the stressed-out mom in the checkout aisle rather than rolling your eyes in anger because her kids are screaming. Visit with a new neighbor. Get involved with your church. Leave a random, unsigned card on a co-workers desk thanking them for a job well done. Invite someone to lunch once a week.
We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty. Mother Teresa
God bless you, Grand Forks! I will no longer be writing for the GF Extra. It has been short, but great! Look outside yourself and help others … every single person in Grand Forks contributes to it.