COMMENTARY
By CAROL NICASTRO HUBBARD
It is hard to comprehend how and why people call the streets their home. Questions spin in the minds of people when they see someone sitting on the sidewalk or sleeping on a park bench. They wonder how this happened. Did hardship cause it? Why not get a job and get an apartment or a room? The answer to any of these questions will forever remain a mystery because each homeless person is driven by their own personal motives. The harsh reality is homelessness is far more common than realized. Over a half a million people in America face it. Massachusetts alone, although the numbers have declined, reported over 15,000 people are currently experiencing homelessness. Some people are a paycheck away from being homeless, some get caught into the ugly web of substance abuse, while others suffer from mental illness. Nonetheless, there are many reasons that can cause the streets to become their home.
Much like other communities, the Town of Wakefield has its share of people who call the streets their home. Although the town offers great resources to help, it still does not take care of the problem. Walking along Main Street, you will see someone in a vacant store front or resting on the benches that line the sidewalk. People react in different ways when they see this. There are those that choose to walk by, looking straight ahead, as if ‘they’ somehow will not be noticed. And then there’s the opposite, the ones who stop to say hello, dig deep into their pocket and hand over some lose change or a dollar or two. It really doesn’t matter how people react when they come across the homeless, because there is no right or wrong. The homeless know these reactions well and deal with them as they occur.
Perhaps the absence of the ‘Good Man’ who called Wakefield’s streets his home hasn’t been noticed by everyone. But the truth is, there is one less homeless man in Wakefield. The store front he occupied remains empty, making his presence clearly missing. Seeing him shuffle from bench to bench is no longer visible. Extending his hand or offering a smile to people as they walked by no longer exists.
This ‘Good Man’ who called Wakefield’s streets his home was a Wakefield resident, being born and living here his entire life. He attended Wakefield schools: elementary, junior high and high school. Just like most people, he had a promising life ahead of him. But life sometimes has a funny way of playing out for some people. Things can happen that alter hopes and dreams. No one truly knows why. Perhaps it was a choice made years ago or maybe a hardship that came out of nowhere.
The ‘Good Man’ who no longer calls Wakefield’s Streets his home was a caring, fun, witty and charismatic man who was part of a well-known local family. He came from a large group of siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles that love him dearly. He had numerous friends, many from years ago, that remained his lifelong friends. He added friends along his life journey, including during his homelessness. He could carry on a conversation with just about anyone who would give him the time. He was smart, engaging and kind-hearted. When news of his passing made its way through the town, there was instant disbelief, followed with kind words being spread about. Funny stories were shared, countless memories, all that were buried deep inside the shadows of better days.
Although the ‘Good Man’ who no longer calls Wakefield’s streets his home has passed on, his presence will forever be embedded in the hearts of his entire family, in the heart of all his friends and those who were lucky to know him. And his memory forever etched on the Wakefield streets that he called home.
