Neuro-Marketing for the Homeless - Advertising for Compassion - Meet Jimmy

This is Jimmy. It's not his real name, of course, but his story is all too real. Jimmy has no place to live, and he collects change from passers-by so he can eat, and maybe shower at the truck stop. The showers cost $5.00 each. He will probably sleep in the woods tonight, as he only collects enough for a little food each day. Any extra he has, he stashes.

Jimmy says he is "saving up," for a deposit on a place somewhere, but few places will have him because he has no rental history.

The shelters here in Oklahoma City stay full, and turn multitudes away each day for lack of space.

Jimmy is too far away from downtown anyway, and he has no shoes. He literally has NO SHOES. He "walked them to pieces," he tells me, with an affable, shy smile. I hope he doesn't see the tears that are welling up in my eyes.

He's barely 20 years old.

I ask where he's from, and he tells me a little of his story. His mom and his brother had just been killed in a tragic accident, and the family fell apart. They lost everything, including the family business. It's been less than a year, he tells me, but it seems so much longer to him. I imagine so. He has walked over 300 miles, from the neighboring state of Arkansas.

He thought he could find work here, he has a trade, and has some skills, but without an address, it's hard to land a job. He's barely old enough to vote, yet here he is with his sign. I have a child his age, and my heart breaks for Jimmy.

He had dreams. He had goals. He had a vision for his life, and today his only dream is eating, and getting to the woods safely, so he can do it all over again tomorrow.

Jimmy is holding a little sign that says, "Blessed 2 B Blessed." He tells me it is his good luck sign, people driving by always give him $2.00 at a time! Two dollars means the world to Jimmy right now, and he is reluctant to take the sign I have for him.

I beg him to try it for just five minutes, I tell him I'm doing research and it would help others tremendously if he could just try it for five minutes. In that moment, I'm praying my sign works, I want so desperately to help him.

He doesn't want to switch signs, it's getting dark and he needs a couple more dollars to eat. I finally convince him to try it for a couple of minutes, and I offer to take his picture holding my sign. He readily agrees! I gently ask him to stop smiling for the pics, he starts beaming as soon as I hold up my phone. It's sweet the way he lights up for the camera. It dawns on me that his mom probably used to take pictures of him, and she probably told him to, "smile." More tears swell up in my eyes.

I give him a sign that says:

I'm homeless, not heartless, do we have anything in common?

I take a few snaps of him with the sign, with many assurances that he can keep his "Blessed 2 B Blessed," sign, as if I would take away his lucky cardboard. I know many things have been taken from Jimmy, and I assure him he can keep both signs.

I momentarily leave Jimmy to his corner, evening is fast approaching, traffic is dwindling, and I see a young woman across the street that may need some help. I cross three empty lanes to attend to her on another corner. As I am talking with her, I hear someone running up behind me.

I turn around, and it's Jimmy! He's beaming, and he says, "Forget that 'Blessed 2 B Blessed,' sign, the FIRST CAR GAVE ME FORTY BUCKS!"

Sure enough, he was proudly waving two crisp, twenty dollar bills, hugging me and thanking me.

I think I was more stunned than Jimmy.

Although I passed daily, I never saw him again.

I like to think maybe he found a place. Maybe someone saw his sign and stopped to give him a job. Maybe he made someone stop and THINK.

If I ever see him again, I will tell him of #Steemit - of the place where people DO CARE, and want to effect change in our world. I'll tell him of people like @davemccoy and @beeyou , of @goldendawne and @lynncoyle1 , of communities like #stewardsofgondor and #adsactly . I'll tell him there is a reason to hope, and more importantly, a reason to dream again.

If you are like me, and have the heart to give, but not the resources, then this idea is for you. Maybe you could make a few signs. While you are passing them out, I guarantee you, you will make some new friends.

Can one sign make a difference?

Maybe.

Can many signs make a change?

We'll see.

Wise words from @arbitrarykitten :

"...most of the time if you see someone pan handling- it took an awful lot to get them to stoop that low. It is extremely degrading to stand on the street and beg, you really have to summon strength from I don't even know where. When you hear their story, remember there's so much more than there is time to tell, and you will never hear the worst parts."

https://steemit.com/story/@arbitrarykitten/10-things-i-learned-from-being-homeless

I invite you to make a few people better signs.

If that's all you can do, you may change the world in ways you never thought possible!

The first post explaining "Better Signs," can be found here:

https://steemit.com/stewardsofgondor/@seaslim/neuro-marketing-for-the-homeless-advertising-for-compassion

(Original photos by me, cred to livingrichonless.com for the background of my recreation of Jimmy's original sign)

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." ~ Theodore Roosevelt