"Haven't I Been Here Before?"

The weather was incredible Saturday in Dallas, TX. There were very few clouds in the sky. The temperature was a bit higher than what I prefer, but a nice breeze reminded me that a few weeks still remain between Texas and its brutal summers. I couldn’t resist the urge to run, so I set out on a 14 mile trek along Katy Trail.

If you have ever been on Katy Trail before, you know that it is only 3.5 miles long. I had to run the length of it four times in order to get to the distance I planned to run. Katy Trail is definitely a great place to run, but I have never been the type of runner that enjoys seeing the same scenery over and over again. It makes me feel as though I’m not really getting anywhere, and it lowers my motivation to press on.

The first seven miles weren’t very difficult. I kept reminding myself of my campaign Run for the Homeless, and the miles just kept adding up. The second half of my run, however, was brutal. I felt as though my campaign changed names and instantly became Survive for the Homeless. Like I said previously, I hate repeating the same steps while running. I kept thinking to myself, “Haven’t I been here before?” In those moments of questioning why I was running and really wanting to give up, I realized that my thought was the exact same thought that many homeless people face.

The Dallas/Ft.Worth Metroplex has many incredible emergency shelters and transitional housing programs that exist to provide the daily needs of the homeless. The Bridge and Salvation Army have been two shelters I have worked closely with over the past year. Through the partnership of LifeNet and these organizations (as well as others), many lives have been changed.

While many homeless individuals’ lives are radically changed for the better, still many others are facing chronic homelessness. I can think of many people I have encountered who can provide a homeless letter from at least 4 different agencies. They stay as long as they possibly can at an organization, hoping to receive help from someone…anyone. When their time at a given place runs out, they move on to the next location. Many times these individuals cycle through emergency shelters during their battle with homelessness, and I’m certain they have the same thought that I had on the Katy Trail: “Haven’t I been here before?”

I was only experiencing physical pain and a small sense of boredom when I was faced with that question, but the situation is much different for homeless people when they face that question. Their entire lives have been shattered, and they usually have no resources available to put the pieces of their lives back together. As difficult as it was for me to continue on with my running, how much harder is it for a chronically homeless person to battle the temptation to just give up? How much harder is it for that person to find within them the energy to ask for help?

I encounter people at different points along their path of homelessness. Some of them haven’t finished the first 3.5 miles of their Katy Trail journey. They are new to the struggles of homelessness. Other people, still, are well beyond even the distance I ran to help them. Some of them are experiencing a marathon of homelessness. Many of them have hit the “proverbial wall,” and they are at the end of their rope.
Regardless of when I meet them, I do believe that LifeNet can help them. LifeNet can rebuild and enrich their lives. LifeNet can end their battle of homelessness. With your help, we can do this to an even greater degree than we already are!

We all go through the ups and downs in life. Life is exciting and boring, colorful and drab, good and bad. Life is full of accomplishments and failures. Life is full of finding ourselves in places where we have been before. As you press on and run the course that life has laid before you, remember that you are not the only person asking the question, “Haven’t I been here before?” A homeless man, a homeless woman, even a homeless child is asking that very same question.

Join us, Catch the Vision, and help by "Giving the Homeless a Second Chance"

Thanks,

Brandon