RESCUE ONE PERSON

A rescued domestic pet is a common human companion in urban America. The patron of an animal taken from a shelter takes some pride in saving the life of the hapless creature. And rightly so. It is an act of kindness in most cases.

 

American streets, especially in warmer climates, are strewn with unrescued human beings. Hundreds of thousands of them. Where are the agencies set up specifically for rescuing these humans? Unlike the animals in shelters, which are given the mercy of a medicated death if they are not adopted, unrescued human adults are damned to a living hell on the street until they die of exposure, suicide, overdose, or chronic disease.

Like feral non-humans, street people often reach a point of no return. It is most likely impossible to rescue a street person who has spent decades divorced from civilization. 

The maligned state mental hospitals of an earlier time were like the rescue shelters which are now plentiful for other species. They frequently rescued human beings from the downward spiral of insanity which leads to living in permanent psychological isolation on the streets. Not all patients were rescued from a dismal fate, but a sizable percentage were. 

The destruction of state-funded mental health infrastructure was one direct cause of today's homelessness epidemic. 

Street people who have become unsocialized are beyond the help of the average well-intentioned person. In fact, as a former state hospital nurse, I would say that these discarded human beings can be beyond the help of unstructured institutions as well. Prison recidivism supports my point. 

I propose that anyone who reads this consider rescuing one person who is already in your social environment. We all meet lonely people who are struggling against depression. We all meet potential friends or lovers who don't meet our high standards, especially when we are young. This latter group are the least likely to be rescued by us. Why? Because, until we ourselves live long enough to experience serious misfortune, we tend to look to get more than to give in our relationships.

Rescuing another person requires being able to look beyond selfishness. 

Parents frequently speak of learning selflessness only after giving birth to a child of their own. I am sure this is true in many cases. But, when the need to change diapers and feed a child diminishes, parents often become less selfless. Too often, a child becomes a projection of the unaccomplished ideals of the parent. 

Rescuing another adult is different from rescuing a child or raising your own. Sometimes it is much easier. After all, a physically capable adult doesn't require nearly as much care as a young child. Sometimes it is more difficult. Like the rescued older cat or dog, the rescued human being comes to you with all the quirks and defenses their upbringing has ingrained in them. Bending bad habits to the light of self-discovery for an adult is like bending the trunk of a well rooted tree. 

Rescuing one person can happen in one encounter or may take years. It depends on you and that person. Intentionally initiating a generous and loving conversation with someone who seems alienated and alone at a party, in a cafe or on the street may actually ignite a spark in that person which rescues that person over time. 

Committing to an ongoing relationship with a person who is alienated or depressed, despite their resistance, requires a deep sense of who you yourself are. Those who take this action on with full understanding of and commitment to its difficulties may be considered saints among us. However, the rewards that come with that kind of relationship are tremendous. Selflessness is its own reward to the self.