The Downward Sprial

 The Downward Spiral

Did you ever get caught in a cyclone when everything starts going wrong and you are powerless to stop it? My-wife-left-me-and-when-I-backed-the-truck-out-of-the-driveway-I-ran-over-the-dog-and-Mama-died-before-I-got-there-to-tell-her-goodbye kinda Country and Western song days? Weeks? Months? An insignificant little event begins a chain of one thing after another going wrong. You're screaming, "Lord, I can not take this...if one more thing goes wrong...when is it gonna stop...will I ever see the sun again?". Then things take a turn for the better. The turmoil of that whirlwind is soon forgotten like yesterday's nightmare.

For some, the nightmare of bad events never end. The company down-sizes, re-organizes, out-sources, goes out of business and you are out of a job. You find yourself competing with recent College graduates for work you have been doing for years; competing with High School graduates for jobs at your local Wal-Mart or McDonalds. You don't speak Spanish, which has suddenly become a job prerequisite. You did not need to know Computers at your last Stock room position. You become depressed. Your wife leaves you. Your unemployment benefits run out. The car is repossessed. Any number of reasons contribute to how one suddenly finds their self without a roof over their head.

A woman moves in with her boyfriend; boyfriend kicks her out. Single Mother is drinking & drugging, a series of men entering the home. Some abuse you. She beats you. She takes off and never comes back. You are 13 and do not know what to do. You party with your friends, and decide to rob a convenience store; get caught go to jail. Once released, your parents will not let you come home. No money, no home, can' not get a job, that way, you rob, prostitute yourself, do whatever it takes to survive.

You can not deal with the horrors of war. You drink to forget. You got hooked on drugs. The government slowly takes away your Medical benefits. Your wife is brutally raped and murdered. Orphaned in a war-torn country, you have heard that the US of America is the land of opportunity and move there to find, it is not as easy as it sounds.

The list goes on. The beginning of the end. Very few of the Homeless woke up one day and said, "Hey, I want to be homeless". Most got caught at the top of a whirlwind unable to escape, until they hit the very bottom.