This commentary is by Garry Schaedel, of Burlington. Previously, he was the health promotion and disease prevention division director for the Vermont Department of Health. He is now retired from state service.
It was a conversation I have heard many times. Too many unhoused people, too many people suffering from substance use disorder, too many criminals in Burlington — implying no one is doing anything to fix it, and our community is rotting away.
I get it. The challenge is great. The solutions are complex. The cost is significant. I do not deny the seriousness of the issues we all face.
But we are humans.
A while back, I drove to the downtown City Market in Burlington to shop for groceries. When I arrived, I realized I left my wallet home. Darn it! I also had to pick up a picture I had redone at the LeZot Camera store on Main Street, just a few blocks away. Luckily, I had already paid for it.
I walked down Church Street and took a left onto Main Street, where I picked up my picture. I went down Main Street toward City Market, in the opposite direction that I had walked to LeZot Camera. A few doors down I came upon a young man standing and looking at me as I walked toward him. I was prepared for his ask. I assumed he was unhoused and was looking for money.
As I approached him, I said, “I am sorry, I don’t have any money. I left my wallet at home.” He stared at me as I briefly waited for a response. Then he said, “Will you give me a hug?” He was so sincere, and it was not what I expected. I immediately said yes.
He was younger and shorter than me. I felt like I was hugging an adult son, if I had one. I hugged him gently, but he pulled us together a bit tighter. It was real. He needed a person to give him a hug. We all have felt this way.
We held each other until he let go of me. Still inches away, we were looking right at each other. I spontaneously patted his cheek, as I would do with anyone I love. A woman sitting on a step next to us yelled, “Wow, he does not let me pat his cheek!”
We looked at each other for a bit more. I said I was sorry I had nothing else I could offer him. I patted his arm. I said, “Hang in there buddy. I will be thinking of you!” — which I do so often when I am downtown. Before I walked away, he replied, “Thank you.”
We are all human.
