The fellow below is Elliott. I don't know much more about him than his first name, that he was houseless and struggled with some kind of substance abuse disorder, that he lived on streets in the town that I live in, and that he died last Friday.
I say it often on this blog---
he was somebody's son. Regardless of what he got wrong in life and struggled with, he was a human being. He was one of us. I pass houseless people every day and try to provide what I can when I can, but there my solidarity stops. I feel helpless, and it hurts to think that I am complicit in anyone's suffering. Maybe you feel the same way. I carry an added burden here because I have spent so much time in my life struggling with my own demons and getting so much wrong. You would think that someone in my situation would do more and do better.
The philosophical and practical question of the day is this: are we worthy of those who we cause to suffer, either by our actions or through passivity? Is the story of Lazarus a fable or does it have meaning?
We have so many warnings. Why aren't we listening?
A family member wrote: "I want to say thank you to all those people who have helped my brother Elliott out while he was in your community. He was homeless and it sounds like commercial st was his area. I’ve ready so many loving stories of people who helped him in many ways. I appreciate you all. He made choices and lived his life how he saw fit. He passed away Friday. I just wanted to say thank you for knowing everyone out there is someone’s son or brother. We tried many ways to get him help, he chose what he chose and we still loved him. This was him clean and sober an Easter Sunday 6 years ago. We will miss him." (Advocates For Unsheltered Of Salem)
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