The people in St. Petersburg, Fl. Were told to pack up and move. They were to be out by Friday as the city had evicted them from the only home they knew.

They had formed a city of tents. They are the homeless, those people that most try to ignore. It is difficult for some to even think about this situation, never having been faced with it themselves.

In our world today there are many who still live on the street. Some live from paycheck to paycheck and if only one is missed it could mean being without a place to live. Some live in cars.

Some of the homeless are drug or alcohol addicted. Many are veterans who fought in wars and have no means of support and just ran out of places to live. Some are old and sick. There are families who have no home, especially now with all the evacuees after the hurricanes that struck Florida in recent years.

However they got there or what keeps them there is irrelevant. The fact is they are there. Homeless is being in a hopeless state of mind. Maybe drinking alcohol helps make it more tolerable.

I believe a tent community would be much better than sleeping outside on the wet ground as I have done. I didn’t have a tent. You get creative when you have no bed in which to sleep.

I know what it is like to be homeless because I have been there. For awhile my home was my car. Then when I lost my car, it was wherever I could hang my hat. For years I was a person who is a stranger to me now.

I stayed frequently in an empty lot behind the VA Hospital In Tampa. Sometimes others would show up and we would share a quart of beer and conversation. Very seldom did I have a blanket so I am thankful that this is Florida. Of course, it does get cold here in the winter and that got pretty rough.

I have often wondered why I chose to remain homeless. I think I had lost all hope. I felt as if I was all alone in this world. When people would try to be kind it was hard to trust them. I had been hurt so many times.

It is easy to get lost when you reject society. Most people act as if you are invisible. The ones that notice are usually up to no good. I learned that men will buy you a beer before they will get you something to eat so I drank. This was a pattern that lasted for about ten years.

When I hear these stories on the news about the homeless being forced to move out of a community they have formed, it breaks my heart. This is a piece of property that was donated by the church for them to set up their tents and feel safe. They were thrown out of downtown and now are being evicted from here.

Social Services went out there last week and offered some semblance of help but only managed to really “help” a handful of the many who are camped there. I just wonder where they will go next.

People who are getting up refreshed in the morning from sleeping in a nice clean bed, heading to the shower, maybe then to breakfast should take a moment to stop and thank God for what you have. Always remember, this can be taken from you in the blink of an eye. Nothing in this life is permanent. Life doesn’t come with a guarantee. We take so much for granted.

Years have passed since this period in my life ended. I found a God who believes in me enough so that I could start believing in myself. I realize now that my homelessness was the result of some kind of mental disorder probably caused from the depression I have suffered for many years.

Today I choose to be happy. Sometimes it isn’t easy but I have a God who is much bigger than my little problems. I focus on all the good that is in my life. I do believe you can begin to consciously control your thoughts. I know that scientifically thoughts are formed into actions. My goal one day is to think only of goodness and Love and just have so many great things happening in my life!

I have learned for a fact that people can and do change by the grace of God. I know I did. When I first started to change I didn’t really know what was happening. It got harder and harder for me to survive. I became very sick and confused. Something deep inside of me, the person I really was, kept trying to surface. I understand now that it was God trying to mold me back into the person He wanted me to be.

I am a work in progress, not finished yet. I am not unlike any of the people you pass on the street wandering from place to place, wondering where they will sleep tonight. The difference is I came to believe that God had been in my life all along and would never forsake me. I began to put forth an effort to have a better life. Sometimes all people need is a hand up and not a hand out. If we would all try to do what little we can to help those who are not as fortunate as ourselves, just think of what a wonderful world this would become! The joy of giving far outweighs any gift you have ever received!

I don’t think the solution is to run out and donate a bunch of money or give people money out of your pocket. Just help them to help themselves. Allow them a place to live in their tent communities. Work with them and you will find some very worthy and quite intelligent people out there among the homeless, many who are willing to work though some are old and disabled and should have access to pensions. These are all God’s children and He loves them just as much as He loves you or me.

Sharlett F. Hunt Sharlette863@aol.com