The Writing Group

The “Wrong” in Society

There are many wrongs and many rights in society. I would have to say that one topic that comes to mind would be “The Homeless”. I feel that society in general have their own opinions about the homeless but many of their opinions, although they could possibly be found among the homeless, are in fact true but not entirely.

Some members of society tend to shun the homeless. They are under the impression that most homeless people are uneducated, have addictions or mental illness, etc. Although this may be true for some, society is wrong in thinking that this is true for most.

I know as far as I am concerned and also being a homeless woman, from my point of view, I know that homelessness goes much deeper. Homeless people have one thing in common and that is “being homeless”. But we all have our own personal story to tell when it comes to why and how we were subjected to being homeless.

I found there is a fine line between being a respected member of society and shunned by society because of circumstances that have led many of us to travel a different pathway in life. Most of us are everyday people trying to adjust to a lifestyle that we never dreamed we would be a part of even though we were aware that this problem always existed.

I truly feel that if society spent more time striving to have mere compassion for their fellow man and trying to understand the truth behind the real issue, then maybe this would be a better place to live in.

~CSM

The Writing Group: Foreword

The people who contributed to this collection of pictures, poetry and prose range roughly in age from thirty to eighty. Some live or have lived in the Tedford Shelter or in their cars or in tents in the woods; some live in subsidized housing. Some are unemployed; some live on disability checks; some have part time or seasonal jobs; others are retired.

What we all have in common is The Gathering Place at 5 Tenney Way, Brunswick, which is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. for coffee, snacks, companionship, cards, puzzles and on Thursday afternoons for writing.

Over the past four years, I’ve hosted anywhere from one to a dozen writers who have shared stories, laughed (a lot), and cried (a little). I usually throw out a general topic—the first, as I recall, was “Scars,” and the latest, as I write this, was “Doors I have Walked Through--- although people can (and do) write about anything that is on their minds. Some of the topics I’ve given will be self-evident as you read; other topics won’t matter: what’s important is the response. Some of the pieces have been edited from grammar and spelling, but we’ve tried to maintain the original voice and content.

When we first began writing four years ago, some people thought we were having an English class, so they moved as far away from our table as they could; when we began sharing what we’d written, however, they can back, at first to listen, and then over the next few weeks, to join us.

Why? For many of us, writing is a way to make sense of the world, especially when our minds are looping around a particular problem. What I’ve also learned is that all of us need to be heard—listened to, respected—especially if we’ve fallen on hard times and feel that no one care anymore.

What else have I learned over the past four years? Probably the most important thing is that despite common stereotypes, homelessness and poverty have many faces, many voices and that both homelessness and poverty go far beyond not having a physical place to live or a specific job to get to. “Homeless” might mean losing a job that has given you an identity for twenty years, losing a spouse, a child or a friend, losing your health. “Poverty” may mean any number of spiritual or emotional deprivations.

Someone once said that going into The Gathering Place, he couldn’t tell who was a volunteer and who was a client. Four years of writing and listening to stories have shown me that’s because there really isn’t that much of a difference between any of us.

--Rick Wile
Writing Group
The Gathering Place