Pay It Forward - $10 to a single mom living out of a hotel room
Earlier this week, I was driving home from my weekly meeting with my networking group, and was at a stop at a major intersection right before I got onto the freeway.
There was a woman there who looked to be maybe in her late 20's on the corner with a cardboard sign that read:
"Single Mom living out of a hotel. Need help"
God forgive me, but I am sometimes skeptical of the reasons why some people do these types of solicitations on the street corner.
Yet at the same time, I know very well that many people are truly down on their luck, so my sense of wanting to "save the world" prevails and I try to do what I can. (which sometimes gets me into trouble as you can tell from some of my blog posts and comments)
But the reason why I had no real hesitations this time is that this young lady, although looking a little beat, appeared to be healthy and not showing signs of those who typically do with some kind of substance abuse problem.
So I gave her $10 and she thanked me. I hope that $10 somehow makes a difference.
And by the way, for those of you who do not know, dialing 2-1-1 in most metropolitan areas will put you straight through to the homeless information services for your area.
It will tell you where the nearest homeless shelters are and other helpful information.
I did not know until I called that number that people, if they qualify, can get a free stipend for motel expense so that they can get some shelter for a while.
And we're coming into the colder months now, so please keep that in mind and find out if that is the same for your area.
In fact, I think I will write a follow-up blog about that local service so that everyone can become aware of that.
