One Woman's Story

JCURE Cares. It really does. 

On or around July 3rd, one of our founding members was emptying her storage. Her name is Nili. It was afternoon or maybe morning. Anyway, the sun was out. Clanking and dragging and shoving her stuff into a car, she was hot. You know what I mean: the Miami heat isn't forgiving. 

After laboring away for an hour or so, Nili was done and prepared to leave. A lady came up to her. She was dressed in a dress, comfortable and loose and stripped with bright blue. A pair of cheap sunglasses hung from the neckline. Her hair was curly and cute, made up in a messy bun. Her hands were wrinkled -- old. "Are you going home?" the lady asked. 

Startled and slightly confused by the question, Nili replied, "Um, yes."

"I ain't!" the lady remarked with a bitter laugh, and suddenly the strength of her character was known. This lady's head was high, her stance exuding an air of power that was likely invisible to both of them at the time. 

Nili blinked. Cocked her head slightly. "I ain't," the lady had said. Well, why not?

A few minutes later, this lady's strength became clear to Nili. The lady was eighty-years-old. Homeless. She wasn't going home because she didn't have one. Instead, her safe haven was a mall parking garage. The mall was one of the rare places that let people stay late, but its image could not be sacrificed for these people. So they slept sitting up. 

But there are plenty of shelters, plenty of places that help the homeless, right? Well, sure. But there are plenty of homeless people too. Priority has to be given. The system can help if you are in danger, and apparently this woman's situation isn't. 

Isn't dangerous. 

Isn't urgent. 

It isn't dangerous? How could that be? An eighty-year-old woman sleeping in a parking garage isn't dangerous? Even if it is next to a mall, am I to assume that there is security at the parking entrances? Is there even an alarm system? Is there at least a locked door? 

It isn't urgent? According to a USA today article published on October 9, 2014, the average life expectancy for a woman in the United States is 81 years of age. Of course, that was published two years ago, and the life expectancy could have risen since then. In fact, according to the Social Security Administration, a woman turning 65 today can expect to live until she is 86.6 years old. But all that data doesn't account for sleeping in the germ-invested environment of a parking garage. It also doesn't account for how that unfortunate "home" might affect a woman whose cells are already decaying with age more severely. Never mind the lack of hygiene, it is known that stress itself can bring on physical sickness, and what could be more stressful than having no home? Never mind the psychological effects, we haven't even considered the life expectancy gap between a white woman and a black woman.

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, "Urgent" means "needing immediate attention." If her situation does not need immediate attention, then I suppose it doesn't matter at all because how much more time does she really have? 

She did look strong, though. Maybe she will live for many more years. Maybe she'll live to ninety. Or a hundred! 

And then, on her death bed floor, she will get to look back on the last twenty years of her life and remember all the beauty that comes with the spots of gum on the floor. 

However, this particular homeless woman did have the pleasure of meeting Nili, a woman that shares the homeless woman's strength of character. This woman also had access to $600 a month to pay for a room, so with the help of Nili and our fledgling organization, she was directed to various places within her price range.

We can all be rest assured that she will not be looking back on twenty years in a place like that.

While people like this and people worse off than this seek help from our members, we find ourselves too short on resources to help more than one to two people a week. However, we have a plan for fundraising that is ready to be put into action and will be as soon as possible. 

Meanwhile, our baby organization is now working to help the other homeless people in that garage, despite our lack of funds. 

Visit the site itself for more information at jcure.org.