Gene Denton 01

A community is defined as a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common. To me, a community involves a strong sense of intimacy with other people who share the same interests, experiences, or goals. The communities in my life that mean a lot to me are my school, family, church, and neighborhood. These communities have shaped me into the person I am today. They’ve helped me understand that growing up in the right community is truly important and how being around a dismissive community that doesn’t offer one support and love can have a negative impact on one’s life.

I’ve experienced a lot of events in my life that made me realize that my community needs help. One that often happens is substance abuse among homeless people. There’s a store by my house called El Mercado Fresco. It’s a Hispanic grocery store in the Longview shopping plaza. The Longview shopping plaza is a place where many homeless people hang out. They always ask people for money when they walk out of the store. When I was younger, I always felt so bad for them. People were consistently declining their requests for money. I was perplexed because they were only asking for a small amount. The prices they’d asked for ranged from 0.25 cents to 5 dollars.

When I was 13, I had just come out of the store from buying snacks for my sisters and me when this man stopped me. He looked very un-kept and smelled rather foul. I recognized him as one of the homeless people that were always getting ignored by others when asking for money. I felt awful, so when he asked me for 5 dollars for food, I gave it to him without a second thought. It was my last 5 dollars, but I didn’t mind. I just wanted to help. He thanked me graciously. I expected him to go into the store or maybe down to the family dollar to get himself something to eat for cheap, but he didn’t. Instead, he went into the store that was attached to El Mercado Fresco; the liquor store. Numerous emotions went through me as I watched this all take place. At first, I was surprised because I never knew that there was a liquor store in this area. Then, I was upset because I gave him my last five dollars, and he was about to use it on alcohol. Ultimately, I was heartbroken. This gentleman just wasted 5 dollars on alcohol instead of buying food that could fill him for at least the rest of the day. Even if he wasn’t hungry then, he could’ve saved it for later. 

As I walked to my mom’s car in deep thought, I began trying to theorize why he would do that. I didn’t know the answer then, but now I do. Homeless people use alcohol as an escape. They don’t have to face the real world when they’re drunk. They don’t have to deal with their problems. Alcohol helps ease the pain, guilt, and any other emotions they may be feeling.

This experience strongly impacted me because I realized just how much this situation happens in my community. After Highschool, I plan to study nursing. When I graduate college, I plan to contribute back to my community by opening up a place in the Longview shopping plaza where they can get help. I can use my nursing degree to help them not only will they get help with their addiction, but also find people there that can help them get their life back on track by helping them find jobs, homes, and an education. This place will provide them with food, clothing, and other necessities that they might need. To be able to achieve any of this, I must go to college and pursue my career. I’m dedicated to completing college so that I can give back to my community.