I Have never seen anyone look so depressed

mike l

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Sep 4, 2007
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Today was a truly beautiful day on the North coast and i was driving my scooter and listening to my music and thinking to myself what a great day to be alive.

I travel the backroads and I see this guy for the second week in a row.

He hasn't shaven and his clothes are soiled and he was doing what he was doing last week which was just sitting on a wall staring into the ground the ground like his life had no hope or direction.

He may have looked suicidal.

After I drove past i said to myself how could anyone be so depressed on such a beautiful day and it upset me so i turned around and handed him 1000pesos.

I hope it made his day because i sure felt good about it.

I don't give to beggars unless they are truly handicapped and i have never seen this guy beg before but i have never seen anyone as depressed as he looked.
 
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retiree

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Jan 18, 2008
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1000 pesos is a huge deal for someone like him and we can surely spare it. Good for you.
 

drloca

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Oct 26, 2004
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Kudo's to you for doing a good deed...you may have given him the hope that he had given up on.
 

whirleybird

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Feb 27, 2006
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An admirable gesture of generosity and kindness. Is there any chance that you will see him again and perhaps be able to chat with him about the reason for his depression - it just may not be money related? Although it probably is.
 

Lambada

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Mar 4, 2004
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Kudos for actually noticing him - a lot of people don't. Please now work with him, give him some of your time if you can. A meal comes first if he's hungry, followed by a shower & change of clothes and after that the chat about the life circumstances and how he got to where he is. No more cash until you know how the first lot was spent; if he's a junkie on a downer...well I won't finish that sentence. You have a big heart, Mike, but to really help get someone back on their own feet it has to be tough love at times. And that might not make you feel good but it doesn't matter, because it isn't about us.
 

mike l

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Sep 4, 2007
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I didn't speak to him as i do not speak Spanish.

I kept my earphones in and just kept listening to my music.

The value of a random act without words was refreshing and after i handed him the money he just folded it up without saying thank-you and i turned around and he had his fist closed give the signal " alright" and i nodded.


He was sitting on the fence of a waterfront home at the west end of town and for all i know he could be doing some work there but i doubt it.

He really did look like it was the end of the world at least for him and i could not just drive by when i am enjoying myself and saw what i saw.
 

jrhartley

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Sep 10, 2008
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there is someone who walks around all day with a beard and shabby clothes - I have seen shop keepers give him food .I think he might have some sort of a mental illness rather than just being depressed
 

mike l

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Sep 4, 2007
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there is someone who walks around all day with a beard and shabby clothes - I have seen shop keepers give him food .I think he might have some sort of a mental illness rather than just being depressed


I know who you are talking about and i think there are 2 or 3 of these guys
 

jrhartley

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Sep 10, 2008
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the one Im thinking of looks scruffy but people seem to look after him- he sometimes wanders up the middle of the road
 

mike l

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Sep 4, 2007
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There is the scruffy one and there is another that looks like he's drunk or on skid row
 

francoisatl

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Feb 13, 2007
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the one Im thinking of looks scruffy but people seem to look after him- he sometimes wanders up the middle of the road

jrhartley i thought that was you with the scruffy beard and do you not wonder up the middle of the road now and then :)
great job mike
 

Matilda

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Sep 13, 2006
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Excuse me but the last time I saw JR he was very handsome!!!! And not escruffy and no beard either
 

mike l

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Sep 4, 2007
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Yeap, now he knows how to make money. I am sure there will be copy cats.


Actors get paid great sums of money....give me a Phone Oscar!

I am sure all of the homeless people go to internet cafes to look on DR1

For a free Lunch!
 

DR Mpe

Banned
Mar 31, 2003
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More often than not, folks like this are mentally ill. I can show you dozens of them in Santo Domingo.

Many times, they don't even understand the concept of money. I have bought some of them a meal at times, but I would never just hand them money.

There is a guy that hangs out at Ave. Independence and Lincoln, who sits in the median and waits for folks to hand him money.

When he gets some, he runs to the corner, buys a beer, and puts the beer on the ground next to him. He doesn't drink it, he just leaves it there. Irrational actions by irrational people.

I think it's a commendable gesture by Mike to help the guy, but next time, buy him a meal, don't hand him cash.


Agree, food is a better idea. On the tourist road from Santiago to Montellano, a guy was sitting on the road for years. Last time I did not see him, hope he is in a better place now. It is a disgrace how DR treat (or not treat) the mentally ill.
 

Lambada

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When he gets some, he runs to the corner, buys a beer, and puts the beer on the ground next to him. He doesn't drink it, he just leaves it there. Irrational actions by irrational people.

Maybe irrational to you and me but maybe not to him. Maybe this makes him feel like all the other guys, it is 'his' beer, he owns it.

I agree with DR Mpe that state provision for the mentally ill is woefully lacking. There is, however, a lot of individual caring & kindness: it is normal practice to see bakeries/colmados giving food for example and societal toleration is much better in a society which was accustomed to each village caring for its own mentally ill. However, with the demographic shifts from country to town, I think we are seeing more psychiatrically disturbed people who have no family or reference group nearby and thus become homeless, isolated and alone.
 

carlam

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Aug 4, 2008
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hi mike,

be it money, food or clothing, any random act of kindness to a complete stranger, who we feel needs it most at that moment, is a wonderful act done by a good person, the world truly needs more people like you. hope you continue having good days..
 

mike l

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Sep 4, 2007
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hi mike,

be it money, food or clothing, any random act of kindness to a complete stranger, who we feel needs it most at that moment, is a wonderful act done by a good person, the world truly needs more people like you. hope you continue having good days..

Thanks,

I could have bought him a meal but he also needs a new shirt and maybe a razor

I like the idea of letting the person make his or her own choice with what to do with there little windfall.

If I was starving and someone handed me a meal of cooked liver, I'd still be starving!