Sweeeeeet!!

australianbogan:

I was walking through the city today and I noticed that a homeless man was curled up in a ball crying. For some reason, I couldn’t just continue to walk past, I had to do something, so I asked him if I could sit down.

This is Graeme, as you can see, this man is homeless. He suffers from Cerebral Palsy and Epilepsy. This is probably the first homeless person I have ever given money too. Because of the Cerebral Palsy he has a slur and an uncontrollable drool. I sat with him and took the time to talk. I asked him what was wrong and he told me his story.

All this guy needed was $150 to have his own place, to get his pension back, to have his own personal carer to take care of him. Only $150 could get this man everything he needed. He had to get this money by the end of the day or someone else that came up with the money, would take the place he had reserved.

In the hour I spent talking to him, hundreds of people just walked past, not even looking down to see what someone else wrote for him because he was unable to bend his wrists to even smoke a cigarette, let alone write. Businessmen walked past, in their business suits and shined shoes and offered nothing. But Graeme had nothing other than his spirit.

Graeme draws; he likes to draw to take his mind off the pain, but he can only draw as a child draws, and he can only draw for 5-10 minutes every hour because the pain in his hands is just unbearable.

He told me that every day he sits in that same spot and he watches the trams drive by. He told me how easy he thought it would be for him to just stand in front of a tram and let the pain go away, but he wanted to make a difference in the world.

This wasn’t your average beggar on the streets who wants money for heroin or alcohol, Graeme wanted the money so he could have a roof over his head, so he could begin raising awareness for the homeless and people with his disease. He explained to me at night, when he is resting, thugs take his money and run away with it because they know he is helpless and can barely walk, let alone run after them.

Graeme never knew his parents. He was brought up in Foster Care and on the streets; he explained how his life would be so much better if he knew them. Graeme lives on the food others would give him; he had ‘Up and Go’s’ that had never seen a fridge, an apple, which was rotting, a black banana and one stick of chewing gum.

Graeme has changed my life; he has helped me to respect every little thing and cherish those who are important to me.

Into his tin, I emptied my bag of money from my pay the night before; it was only around $15 but that’s all I had. I explained to Graeme that I wanted to write about him and take his photograph. He smiled when I told him that he had made a difference in my life. 

All homeless people have a story; they just need people to listen. Everyone makes mistakes, but some are unavoidable; in Graeme’s case, it was his disability and the situation he was placed in as a child that was unavoidable, and his whole life became nothing because of it.

When you see a homeless person, before you judge and if you have the time, sit down and talk to them. If you feel uncomfortable giving them money then don’t, they just need people to listen and understand why they are there; it’s not always by choice, but it’s how they have to survive.

Graeme, I hope one day you read this; somehow, somewhere, just so you know you’ve changed how I look at the world. You’ve had a positive impact on my life and made an impression. I am more than thankful that stopped to talk to you today; I just wish there was more that I could do – but maybe this is a start.

Lewis McKenzie: Graeme

drenkeeg:

dreamc4tcherr:

jackie-smile:

Gosh, he’s hilarious and cute:3

Baby.

He’s my baby, not yours.

(Source: ryanhigainspired)

thatfunnyblog:

http://thatfunnyblog.tumblr.com/

(Source: kezzoh)