Poverty is a prison

Sorry for lowering the mood, but the discrepancy between the just-before-Christmas shopping madness and the various homeless people I see on the streets when going to work is getting to me.

Poverty is a prison of the mind; try and imagine what it must be not to know if you'll have to pull cardboard over yourself under a bridge at the end of the day because you won't have managed to get the few euro/quid/bucks you need for a bed in a shelter (if they have room, that is), try and imagine how it must be not to be looked at by your fellow humans, to have the feeling you've sunk below their radar and have become invisible.

No wonder a good portion of homeless persons also suffer psychological poor health. And, although they are among those who should receive the more treatment, they are not getting it, because they are out of the system. Of course it is true of their health in general, but I am more concerned with their mind at the moment, for personal reasons.

I hope I have not lowered everyone's (everyone who reads me, that is!) weekend mood. I do wish you a very happy pre-Christmas weekend!