The Exit Strategy

A Simple Idea That Could make a difference in one life at a time.

One morning, I went out to get some bagels for my daughters from a bagel shop near my house. It was a quick trip, just picking up breakfast for my daughters as they were getting ready for school. Their bagel request came at the very last minute as they woke up, and I did not have much time to think just went and got it done. As I was driving I saw on the other side of the road a big sort of object but when I got nearby I saw a woment holding her hand and crying with pain and all her belonging on a shopping cart near by her.

I felt havey in my  heart. I wanted to go and check on her but I knew if I go I wont be able to make it on time to take breakfast and drop them to school.

I called 911. The man on the phone told me help was on the way. On my way back, I grabbed a bagel, a coffee, and some water to bring to her. But by the time I returned, she was gone. I left the food by her cart and prayed that she is ok.

It hit me hard and I start thinking about all my past experience of stopping at traffic lights. Driving through busy intersections. Seeing people holding signs: “Hungry, please help.”

Every time, I do something. A few dollars. A bottle of water. Whatever I can. But every time I drive away, my heart feels heavy. There’s this nagging feeling that what I did wasn’t enough., that here I am sitting in this AC car, protected from the elements, well fed and well rested and with a sense of security while a fellow human being is living in the streets, worried about their next meal and going from one day to another with no indication where the next meal will come from and where will they rest. All these people were innocent kids once, and if you are a parent you will understand when I say that every one of them had parents with big dreams for these kids. They had Dads that thought that these were the best thing that happened to them, and moms that would be there for them no matter what. And now, there is nobody to care for them, and it keeps getting worse.

As I drove home that morning, I kept thinking: There has to be a better way for take care of such people. We are living in the most prosperous times, and we surely must have the resources to address this issue. .

Then I remember a recent meeting I had with one of my friend how works at city of Houston Metro bus.

He told that how Houston’s public transportation system works. For every dollar it costs to run the buses and trains, riders only pay about thirty cents. The rest comes from taxpayers people like me, people who may never even ride a bus.

That thought stayed with me. and it led to a simple question: what if we did the same thing for homelessness? Most of the time the busses run with very fewer passenger. Yet they keep running all day long. The impact is there but the money we invest on them it is also a handsome amount. Im not arguing that bus services we should not have no not at all. What Im trying to say is. If we have a smiller program that can support the peoples on the street will benefit hugely to city and its peoples.

Everyone Has a Story

No child grows up dreaming of living on the streets. Their parents once hoped for them the same way I hope for my daughters: to live with dignity, to reach their potential, to contribute something meaningful to the world.

 

I’m not here to debate how someone became homeless. What matters is helping them stand again. Giving them a second chance that we all deserve in our life to build our life with purpose and hope.

 

A small little fee that most households wouldn’t even notice it, but that could transform thousands of lives?

With steady funding, our city could finally offer real solutions:

Safe, reliable shelter

Mental health support

Addiction recovery programs

Job training

Long-term guidance for people rebuilding their lives

We can also look at existing programs, and identify opportunities to ensure efficient usage to benefit the homeless and needy. There are nonprofits that are committed to helping such people, but that hasn’t produced the results we need!

The question is there are many nonprofit organization in city for this cause. Yes that true. There are no shortage of this. but unfortunately, this has not produce the result that we wish so far.

One of my very good friends who works as CFO for non profit company and now he stat his on LLC and all day long he offer his service to nonprofit multimillion dollar company that rack themselves in finical trouble every six month. And the other reason this model is not successful yet. this work (job) requires a lot of hard and challenging. The incentive is not much when you work as nonprofit org.

So people don’t really care. The get pay very little and ask to do a lot of heavy lifting they burn out and either give up or they stop doing the work but get pay for the doing a ok job.

As Charlie monger said. Show me the incentive and I will show you the result.

Just like we fund public transportation through a shared investment, we could have a Homeless Care Tax. A tiny contribution from all of us. A massive impact for those who need it most.

Where fund nerve dry, and has a CEO and people get pay fairly and has a incentive to work here to make a difference. It could be tied to results too – let us treat it as a capitalist, corporate problem and approach it in the same manner.

 

This wont a be a policy but a act of kindness from a city with big heart from a biggest state TX😊.

 

 

A Homeless Care Tax would be a courageous step. A generous one. The kind of change that shapes societies. The kind of mercy that lifts entire communities. The kind of legacy we’d be proud to leave our children: a city that didn’t look away, but came together to heal.

 

One Last Thought

I believe that no matter what religion someone follows, the message is the same. As Rumi once said:

“Every religion has love, but love has no religion.”

When we restore someone’s dignity, we build something bigger than ourselves. We build a city and a future that reflects the very best of who we are. Wars can wait, human dignity cannot!

Thank you!