Ah, the creature comforts! Getting out of a warm bed, making coffee in the morning, reading the newspaper, checking up on emails. Things we usually take for granted.
After eight days without power, I became painfully aware of how driven I am by routines (although I wouldn't even recognize them as routines) and how grouchy I became when I didn't have them.
It's not the same to have to get dressed in the freezing cold, trudge out to the nearest coffee shop, and sit among throngs of people in the same boat as me--without power, without warmth, without hot showers.
In the big scheme of things, ours was not the greatest affliction--many people have/had it so much worse. But those of us who had to endure (some are still enduring) disruptions in routine because of lack of electricity got a little taste of what it might be like to be homeless. Where were you going to go when no one you knew had electricity? Where were you going to go when all the hotels within 50 miles were booked solid? You went back to a cold dark place and bundled with whatever you had.
Some people took refuge in temporary shelters in high schools, senior centers, and church basements where they could shower, sleep in a warm place, and find warm food. As power was restored, the temporary shelters were closed and people went back to their regular lives.
But there are people for whom shelters are their ordinary lives. It's easy for us to pick up the pieces, get back to work, go grocery shopping, and distance ourselves from our temporary homelessness. But before we do, maybe we should consider writing a check to a local shelter for the people who can't get to a warm permanent home.
Check out the shelters in your area and make a donation (even half the cost of one of the restaurant meals you had to eat last week). Now that we have a glimpse of what life might be like for others, it's more difficult for us to ignore it.
Here are some shelters as well as food banks and soup kitchens in the Greater Hartford area. Just google "homeless shelters" to find shelters in your area or check with your religious organization on where you might donate.
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Peggy Chirico, REALTOR®
Serving the Greater Hartford Area
Prudential CT Realty
peggychirico@gmail.com
860-748-8900
If you are buying or selling a home in Hartford County or Tolland County, please call me, email me, or visit my website. I would be happy to help you with your home search or provide a market analysis for your home.
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