Nonprofit Group Turns Bus Into a Bathroom for the Homeless

Tanya’s Comment: As a low income person myself, I’m touched that a group of people would go out of their way to help the poor. In so many instances, people put money before everything else. It’s heart warming and encouraging to know that kind people do exist!

Kindness Blog

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A nonprofit group is taking a novel approach to helping the homeless in San Francisco with a new bus that allows them to take a shower.

The former public transit bus has been outfitted with two full private bathrooms and offers hot showers, clean toilets, shampoo, soap and towels free of charge. The founder of the nonprofit Lava Mae mobile shower bus said she wanted to return a sense of dignity to those living on the streets.

“If you’re homeless, you’re living on the streets and you’re filthy, you’re trying to improve your circumstances, but you can’t interview for a job, you can’t apply for housing and you get disconnected from your sense of humanity,” Doniece Sandoval said. “So a shower just in of itself is amazing for people.”

Lava Mae says the bus is mobile, allowing it to reach homeless people scattered throughout the city…

View original post 323 more words

Advertisement

Moments of a Lifetime

Tanya’s comment: To practice self-compassion is to forgive yourself for your mistakes; to stop saying “I should’ve…”; to stop criticizing yourself for things you can’t change. Seeking to improve one’s self is a great pursuit, but constant self-judgement is not productive.

Kindness Blog

Meaningful moments

View original post

Practice Kindness

Kindness Blog

View original post

Everyone Must Help

It’s a shame that this still needs to be said, that we still need to tell people we’re all in this together.

Firefighter Giving Water to a Koala

This is so sweet, I just had to reblog it! I hope this makes you smile! -Tanya

Kindness Blog

View original post

Homeless Man Returns $42,000 Found In Backpack

Photo courtesy of gofundme.com

 

A homeless man who lives in the streets and homeless shelters of Boston found a backpack at a shopping mall full of money- a lot of money. $42,000 in cash and traveler’s checks, to be exact. But despite the fact that he needed that money more than almost anyone, he flagged down a police car and handed it over to the officer. On Sept. 16th, Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis publicly honored and thanked the man, named Glen James, for his honesty during a ceremony.

What shocks me is that James knew that there was money in the bag and gave it to police anyway. How many people would do that? How many people wouldn’t take at least some of it before handing it over, especially if they desperately needed that money? He explained his reasons for returning the money during the ceremony (according to NewsOne.com):

“Even if I were desperate for money, I would not have kept even a…penny of the money I found. I am extremely religious — God has always very well looked after me.”

I think most people would call being homeless desperate! Yet something in him still made him think of the person who would be missing that money.

An altruistic act is one in which a person does something good for another person without expecting anything in return. It is not hard to understand why you may be hard-pressed to remember the last time you’ve seen a person be altruistic. And that’s exactly why these stories are important and should be shared when they happen. This story not only shows us that homeless men and women deserve to be treated with respect and dignity, but that kindness is important and means something.

Altruism is difficult to practice, but stories like this can hopefully inspire us to be more kind and compassionate, and less selfish. It also doesn’t hurt that sometimes people remember the good things you do for them and say thanks. Fortunately for James, someone said thanks by starting an online charity for him! To check it out, go to gofundme.com.

Thai Video About Random Acts of Kindness

This video is from Thailand and shows a beautiful story of a group of strangers who change each other’s lives by choosing to be compassionate to each other. It has become quite popular. I’ve posted it because it shows us how random acts of kindness can really make a difference in a person’s life.

It will definitely make you smile!