On any given night, there are about 500,000-600,000 homeless individuals in the United States. Sadly, Redditor ExtracheesyBroccoli is one of them, and even though the man is actively trying to better his life, some folks are making it even worse for him.
In a recent post on the subreddit ‘Entitled People,’ the man shared his daily routine as well as a wholesome encounter with a little girl, cut short by her mother, who chose to sidestep a challenging conversation with her child and insult him instead.
Public libraries have become safe havens for those with serious needs
Image credits: MART PRODUCTION / pexels (not the actual photo)
But one entitled woman thought she has the power to decide who gets to be there and who needs to be thrown out
Image credits: Thirdman / pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Gustavo Fring / pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Tima Miroshnichenko / pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credits: ExtracheesyBroccoli
If the woman plans to continue visiting libraries with her daughter, eventually she will be forced to have a talk with her about the disadvantaged
Advocates say there is a nationwide trend of homeless people relying on American public libraries as a safe haven where they can get warm, use the restroom, and avoid harassment from law enforcement.
However, just as it was the case this time as well, the staff are often trapped in difficult situations.
According to Ryan Dowd of Homeless Training, a conflict resolution program for frontline workers, while library staff must be committed to serving patrons regardless of socioeconomic status, many of them don’t have training on how to act in these scenarios.
Compared to shelters, which are often loud, crowded and struggle to stay clean, “libraries are everything homelessness is not,” Dowd explained. “It’s a public space, for communal use. If the option is that or be outside all day in 15-degree weather, I know what I’d do.”
Dowd said people who have access to shelter beds still leave to read books and use computers, and libraries are the first point of contact in helping people with serious needs.
Library services and facilities are for everyone, the housed and unhoused, and the mother missed an opportunity to teach her daughter about that. Hopefully, she will use the next one.
Image credits: Pixabay / pexels (not the actual photo)
As the man’s story went viral, he joined the discussion in its comment section
Some people also tried to share helpful advice
While others recounted their own similar experiences
