How the Story Ends?

The Olympics are here again and, depending on your perspective, the next couple weeks will either be a time of riveting fascination with your eyes fixed upon what's happening across the pond. Or you(if you are like my 8 year old) will be upset because your regular scheduled viewings of SpongeBoB and Gravity Falls will be put on hiatus so those around you can pretend to be interested in numerous sporting events to which they likely don't even know the rules. Anyway... it is time for nations all across this planet to gear up and out-compete one another.

Watching these amazing athletes in the prime of their careers is an inspiring thing. They have worked hard and devoted an incredible amount of time and energy into honing their crafts which lead them to the world stage. They are well-tuned machines of athletic supremacy...the best of the best x 10. It is hard to imagine weakness or vulnerability is even in their vocabulary. But how long will this last? Current glory is not an automatic qualifier for future success. I was doing some research for another article when I came across this story from change.org chronicling the tales of some formerly successful athletes. Homelessness is not predictable and can affect anyone for a number of reasons:

Anyone can become homeless. Especially now in these incredibly challenging economic times, many of us are living paycheck-to-paycheck. It is difficult to save money and even more impossible to plan for unforeseen circumstances that could demand a stronger financial burden. We are all at risk. Even those of us who are seemingly financially stable and who have ample support.

Back in July, we wrote about "Sugar Ray" Williams, a 10-year veteran of the NBA who is currently homeless and living in his car. Sugar Ray played basketball in the late 70s to mid 80s, and although the salaries were not as astronomically high as they are now, he had fame, fortune and potentially endless resources available to him. Yet even with all of this "cushion," he is homeless.

Former World Middleweight boxing champion Iran "The Blade" Barkley is living in a hotel in the Bronx. He had a 17-year boxing career in the 80s and 90s before retiring in 1999. Barkley made $5 million during his career. Until recently, he was living in his childhood apartment with his niece. When he was unable to contribute to the household financially, he was locked out. Now he relies on the support of some close friends to continue to stay in a low cost hotel for another night.His story is not at all uncommon.  Except that he is a retired successful athlete.

This is just another extreme example of how close any one of us is to the reality of poverty and homelessness. There are countless individuals around the country who are dangerously close to homelessness. Unemployment rates continue to rise, wages remain way too low, and health care and child care costs remain incredibly high. These are the obvious examples of the real dangers of homelessness. The stories of The Blade, Sugar Ray, and others prove that even those who are seemingly financially stable can also be in danger of becoming homeless.

We continue to assert that perhaps homelessness is not solely an issue of finances after all? Perhaps the issue truly is deeper and speaks of the necessity of a strong support system, access to adequate and effective resources, intervention during crisis situations, and consistent and supportive treatment of underlying issues. Advocates have long been arguing that these are the real issues at play. We need real changes so none of us is at risk of becoming homeless.