This week I had the pleasure of learning sooooo much about what it means to be in poverty, and homeless! I guess this is what inspired me to reach out to a guy that I have known for sometime but just because he always stands at the same spot in the morning at our school holding the door for our students to enter. Mr. Eats. is what the student giggle and call him because they always see him eating everything lol. At first , I was concerned that we had a homeless person that close to the school, however as the years progressed I never seen or heard anything happening, and the kids love him so much. I had a conversations this week with Mr. Edley and I asked him could he tell me how he got to that stage of his life. Mr. Edley explained that he was beat by his father his entire life ,and his mom never did anything to stop him. Once, he got into age he told his mom the next time he was beat he would leave and never come back. Well, the next time Mr. Edley was beat and his mother just stood and watch it happen strike after strike. That night as he heard his father beat his mother, he escaped into the backyard, into the woods, and he kept going until he couldn't go anymore and that is how it all happen. From 17 years of age, he has went from place to place. No one looked for him , and at that age he started hanging with the wrong crowd and the problem slowly took over him. He tried to get back on his feet, but after a drug addiction, criminal record, nothing could bring him back to normal. I asked him why does he stand and open the doors years later at this school, he said so parents can tell their kids at a young age "don't turn out to be like Mr. Edley"! This hurt me to hear, but reality kicked in that our generation is slipping and a example like this could prove a point. I admire Mr. Eats because he has got a job as our custodian and they now call him Mr,Edley ! LOVEEEEE ITTTTTT
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ReplyDeleteIt was so sad to read about Mr. Edley. To think that his mom didn't look for him. Let's hope that she didn't want him to come back in that abusive environment. There are so many outreach for families now. Mr. Edley seems like he is now satisfied with life and he's happy. I can only say that he was worth fighting for. When I get tired and frustrated I listen to this song. I am sending Mr. Edley and my classmates my favorite spiritual song by Brian Courtney Wilson called 'Worth Fighting For' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSD81hFaIjo
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post. Thank you for sharing your story of Mr. Edley. Great to hear he is happy and working at your school. There are so many people out there that are homeless and not because they did something wrong,but unfortunately because they didn't have any other choice.
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is, WOW! First of all, I think that going straight to the source is an excellent way to learn about something, especially when it comes to learning about poverty and overcoming it! Just think of all that we could learn from him! He is a true example of resilience and overcoming obstacles. Furthermore I am sure he would be able to disprove many misconceptions about poverty, domestic violence, and drug use.
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