At Thrive DC the other day, I looked up and noticed one of homeless men among the group was wearing a green and yellow army-style camouflage t-shirt. Lettered on the front of his shirt were the words "Now You Can't See Me".
It struck me as particularly ironic that a homeless man would wear such a shirt. I was imagining how it might feel to walk the crowded streets of DC day in and day out without even a tiny bit of acknowledgement: never a "Good morning" or "How are you doing?"
How many of us are guilty of passing a homeless person without making any eye contact? It's as if the person doesn't exist. Some of us don't make eye contact because then we won't have to give the homeless person money or worry that they might spend that money on drugs or alcohol. Of course, there are probably countless excuses that we have for not looking at homeless people. Now I get it! The shirt's message comforts the wearer: it's not me, it's my camouflage shirt that prevents others from seeing me ~ ha!
As nurses, most of us remember reading the short poem: What do you see nurse? This poem was found among the belongings of a deceased elderly woman who once resided in a care facility. The poem chronicles her life and reminds us all to look behind the eyes of those elders we are caring for..to look closer and see the person within ~ not just some crabby old woman who can't find her stockings or shoes.
For reasons that still remain unclear, looking for the person within is even more of a challenge when that individual is homeless.
And, it is a challenge not only for nurses, but for all of us.
It struck me as particularly ironic that a homeless man would wear such a shirt. I was imagining how it might feel to walk the crowded streets of DC day in and day out without even a tiny bit of acknowledgement: never a "Good morning" or "How are you doing?"
How many of us are guilty of passing a homeless person without making any eye contact? It's as if the person doesn't exist. Some of us don't make eye contact because then we won't have to give the homeless person money or worry that they might spend that money on drugs or alcohol. Of course, there are probably countless excuses that we have for not looking at homeless people. Now I get it! The shirt's message comforts the wearer: it's not me, it's my camouflage shirt that prevents others from seeing me ~ ha!
As nurses, most of us remember reading the short poem: What do you see nurse? This poem was found among the belongings of a deceased elderly woman who once resided in a care facility. The poem chronicles her life and reminds us all to look behind the eyes of those elders we are caring for..to look closer and see the person within ~ not just some crabby old woman who can't find her stockings or shoes.
For reasons that still remain unclear, looking for the person within is even more of a challenge when that individual is homeless.
And, it is a challenge not only for nurses, but for all of us.
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