His picture has been all ove the internet these past few weeks. Made locally famous, a man with no shoes was given a gift that should be extremely helpful during the bitter cold nights of New York in early winter. A new pair of boot, a $75 pair to be exact, was given to a homeless man, Jeffery Hillman, by NYPD officer Lawrence DePrimo. Since the offering, DePrimo has been hailed a hero and has received much media attention.
And at this time of year, it's stories like these people flock to. Stories of selfless giving, giving by one of New York's finest nonetheless.
But, to Jeffery Hillman, being barefoot is much better for him than owning an expensive, new pair shoes. Being homeless in the winter is no new venture for him and his story of homelessness is one of 50,000 others in New York City.
So what do we make of an officer who becomes famous for a single act of kindness when the man to which he gave still remains homeless ... and now shoeless again? Does a random kind act trump all the good work going on by people who seek to help the homeless all year 'round?
Homelessness plagues our country and is now beginning to take many forms. Aside from the classic middle age homeless man model, there are now working-class families as well as victims of natural disasters who are homeless. There are various programs and shelters available for the homeless of places like NYC, but are they really doing the job to get and keep people off the street? According to Forbes magazine, more can and should be done.
A single, random act of kindness can bring about feelings of warmth during the holiday season as well as a restored faith in humanity during hard times. And hopefully it can also bring about a restored desire to see problems like homelessness resolved once and for all, because if that isn't the true spirit behind the Holidays, I don't know what is.
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