Rarely do we think about a homeless person once being rich or successful or even stable. What if I told you that there are even many star athletes who are now homeless?
In reading a Poverty In America blog post on change.org, there is a story about a former WORLD CHAMPION Middleweight boxer named Iran “The Blade” Barkley. He had a 17 year career in which he earned nearly $5 million dollars. He is now homeless.
“Until recently, he was living in his childhood apartment with his niece. When he was unable to contribute to the household financially, he was locked out. Now he relies on the support of some close friends to continue to stay in a low cost hotel for another night.”
Homelessness can happen to anyone. The reasons for why it can happen vary with each individual. Even people who have a stable situation with plenty of support financially may find themselves homeless at some point. I think the greatest point to get from stories like these is realizing is that “the homeless” are people, human beings. Sure, they have ended up in a rough time, but most likely, they did not start out their life striving to be homeless. Situations happen, and tragedies occur. Sometimes they are brought on by the individual and other times it is because of influences out of the person’s control.
Point being, homeless individuals are human beings deserving of opportunity. They may have fallen on hard times, and yes it is up to them to get themselves out of the situation. However, a lot of times, they just need the resources and tools to do it. Help support these people, help provide support so that resources and opportunities arise so that they might get back to self-sufficiency. Visit our Homeless Initiative Program page, or visit our donation page to learn more or directly support our program!
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