I really enjoy my evening walks with Lola. Life from her perspective – standing at less than a foot above the ground – is quite different.
She notices feet and things that happen to be sitting at her eye level. This also means that she makes connection with people who are sitting on the ground. She meets them where they are at.
Yesterday we sat down and had a lovely conversation with a fella whom Lola had connected with. His name is Jack. He has lived homeless for many years. His home is his back pack, he sleeps in Beacon Hill park at night and panhandles during the day to buy beer because he is an alcoholic and needs to find relief. He suffers from depression, but does his best to stay positive. He has asked the government for help and is hoping to get back on his feet and to finally get a roof over his head. He just turned 50. Jack grew up near Port Hardy, is First Nations and misses his culture and heritage. He is from the Quatsino band.
I shared the story of my son Steven and his struggles with Jack, he cried as he listened. He said “you need to share this story about your son so people know that it can happen to anyone”. I agreed.
We will visit Jack again. Lola is a sort of angel here on Earth, she sees what we as humans often miss.
I’m so grateful for these opportunities to connect at street level. My life is far richer for them.