Dear Homeless Guy,

I saw a comment on Pipe Tobacco’s blog about a certain Dear Abby post Kevin made. It piqued my interest and I navigated over to check it out. After reading it I felt alarmed and concerned. This is what I originally wanted to write in response…..

Dear Homeless Guy,

I want to ask you to please refrain from giving advice about maladjusted twenty something year olds. I know the mother did ask you but my personal opinion is that you are not trained or proficient in dealing with such situations. Please refer future cases to someone professionally trained to help and give advice in such matters. I feel that would be the best way to help the mother and son.

Sincerely,
Andrew

I felt for the mother whose son seems to be teetering on homelessness. I would like to urge the mother to seek out professional help for her son such as a counselor or therapist and not just some homeless guy who happens to write a blog. Someone trained in family therapy and who might not have all the answers but who could help guide the mother and son. They could help find resources and avenues that have not been explored. I really want to lean on the verge of not offering advice in this matter other than seeking trained, professional help. Do that and go from there.

What alarmed me the most was that this mother was actively seeking help on the internet and found a very prominent website dealing with homelessness. I assume she searched in a search engine about homelessness and as always “The Homeless Guy” pops up on the first page of links. I guess she assumed after reading that this guy writes pretty well and sounds intelligent so maybe he can help. My opinion is that someone whose track record is being mainly homeless for a very large extended period of time and who still happens to be is not a good place to go for advice on getting out of homelessness or staying out of it. Even I who have managed to work my way out of homelessness am not a good avenue of advice as each situation is extremely unique and requires professional help. There are people such as caseworkers, social workers, doctors, counselors, and therapists that have years of experience dealing with such issues and could better guide people to the resources and avenues of help they need.

Geez, I get diarrhea of the keyboard sometimes. I read something and off to write I go. It feels so good to get my thoughts down though. All these thoughts whirling around in my head and then I take the time to put them down and organize them. It is almost as if I get in a trance and look up after writing awhile and thirty minutes have passed. Well, let me go get a shower and head out to the clinic. I am running late today and need to get on the ball. They are expecting me this afternoon.