Homelessness

Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that homelessness has become an epidemic in America. As a young child, I never saw homeless individuals on the street corners with signs. I don't remember when it was that I first saw a homeless person, but I remember it was in a large city. Now, the homeless are everywhere and it's very sad. I've even read that most of us are only a paycheck away from being homeless. If you stop and think about it, it's frightening.

If you are a visitor to any social media sites, there's a good chance you've seen discussions on various aspects of the issue. Even at the church I attend, we have had discussions on how best to help the homeless individuals we encounter. Recently, on a social media site, I've seen some discussions where people had offered jobs to some homeless people and they refused, thus indicating that some homeless would rather beg for money than work.

Below, you'll find an article from the GoodNewsNetwork about a homeless man and how he decided to attack his situation. Needless to say, it's another positive article that I hope you'll enjoy as much as I did.

Homeless Man Hands Out Resumes Instead of Asking for Cash - and Land Job by Terry Turner - March 4, 2016.

A homeless man needed more than a place to sleep. He needed a job, so he parked himself outside a grocery store and turned one encounter into a networking opportunity - and it swung his life around.

Frederick Callison had come to California two years ago for a job with the Salvation Army, but it didn't work out and the experienced line cook wound up on the streets.

When Michael Marteen first spotted him, the homeless man was sitting on a sleeping bag with a stack of resumes. Marteen asked to read a copy and Callison stood up and treated the discussion as a job interview.

His resume listed eight past employers and touted Callison's experience, including 35,000 hours of experience and seven years in kitchen management.

The homeless man even had his Social Security card, food handler's certificate, and other documents ready to show that he could start right away.

Marteen posted the resume to his Facebook page and put out the word to people he knew in the catering industry.

In less than a week, Callison landed a job at a pizza restaurant, which also gave him new clothes.

"He was ecstatic about landing a job and very grateful for the opportunity," Marteen told TODAY. "He was up the night before studying the menu for hours."