The Forgotten Ones '

The Forgotten Ones '

By Paul McCann

During the time I worked with the homeless in the Salvation Army in Blackfriars , London , the Simon community in Belfast Ireland and Hope Hostel in Sydney I became very aware of the forgotten ones in society who are  unwanted and unloved by their friends and family .  The more stories I heard , the more I questioned why they had been abandoned , I was never able to get an answer to that question . Some of them were sons and daughters , others were mothers and fathers , some were grandparents but the biggest percentage of the forgotten ones were men . Once proud fathers and loyal husbands who had worked hard to raise their children and pay the bills during hard times but as soon as their usefulness had expired they were no longer needed and sadly in the end they were abandoned by those they had loved . I thought I would write a little about some of the forgotten ones I met and in my own way make their stories known and not  forgotten .

Lady Linda -   ’

I first met Linda , the lady who slept under the arches around Bethnal Green in Easy London . She was harmless and mostly all skin and bone . In her younger years she was in the mail room of a large office in central London . She travelled and seen many places around the world and lived in a small flat in Rowan Place , East London. She had a string of broken relationships with men . She liked spending money and most of the partners she had ended up paying dearly fot the time they spent with Linda . She always liked to party and by the time she was too old to work her ability to pat rent and buy food had gone .

I met her by chance as I was on my way to mark some papers at the Bible Way Church in three colts lane , Linda was lying on a piece of carpet she had put down on top of the cold cobblestones . A dim lamplight  shone down on her .

I looked at her as she shivered there in the evening as a cold winter wind and swept through the streets . She had lit a small fire with some sticks and bits of coal she had been given by one of the local residents . I sat down with her in the darkness
under the archway of a railway track that had become her home . I asked her if she had any family and she laughed and said ,

“I only had a father who promised he would leave me his inheritance but he died and I never had the money to bury him . The only inheritance I received was a few old pieces of furniture . I guess it was Miss Karma’s way of getting back at me for all the people I had used over the years . “

Linda had lived under the arches ever since her Father died . She had always though he was a wealthy man but the truth had blown all her dreams asunder and with no friends or family to support her she lived on the street and for many years had done her best to ignore all the insults that where frequently thrown at her .
Somehow she was able to rise above all that came to put her down and she kind of floated on her little piece of carpet along the street where a bright light that shone under the arches at night . I told her that I would find her a place on one of the shelters and they would pick her up in  a van later that night . She seemed grateful and smiled . I mentioned I had to go to mark some exam papers and she nodded her head . I contacted the Salvation Army who sent a van to pick up Linda however when they got to the address I gave them she had already gone and was never seen again by anyone who lived around there . I often wondered where Linda had gone to
and hoped that somehow  maybe her suffering was over and the passers by couldn’t insult her anymore . Life went on as usual for the people around Bethnal Green and Linda was just another forgotten one who had once slept under the arches .

The Exile Gabriel

I met Gabriel at the Simon Community in Belfast . He had returned from Canada for his Mothers funeral in Belfast knowing no one and a long time away . He ended up in a homeless refuge due to the fact he had just gone through detox from alcohol at a hospital in Belfast , Gabriel was not coping well after his Mother died . He was an only child and always had been a bit of a loner . He emigrated to Canada in the hope of making a new life for himself and his Mother remained in Belfast . Gabriel was accepted into the mounted Policed in Canada and enjoyed his role there .

He worked as a writer of sorts and was successful with publishing a series of puzzle books and crosswords . His return to Belfast sent him into a spiral of hard knocks that drove him to breaking and entering some of the larger homes in the city .

When he became a resident at the Simon community he tried hard to turn a new leaf and managed to stay off alcohol , Things started to get better for him and he started to think about returning back to Canada to his old job with the mounted police . He had never married and was desperate to find someone to share his life with which made him frequent some of the night clubs around the city .

He had a good heart but failed to make any impression with the ladies he approached . Feeling disappointed with life he joined some therapy groups that unfortunately brought some grief his way when an argument with another man which resulted In a fight . The police were called and one thing led to another with Gabriel having to spend some time in jail . After his release he was put on a program working with other volunteers in the community maintaining hedges and cutting grass around the city . With no family and no friends to support him Gabriel started to drink once more and was soon sleeping rough around some dangerous parts of town which started to have an effect on him . He became angry and very edgy with people and was getting involved with people he shouldn’t have . Now and then the good side of Gabriel was seen as he helped people in small but kind ways . One night as he was leaving a bar Gabriel came to grief with the man he had an argument with at the group therapy night and he was fatally wounded  . He was buried in a paupers grave with no headstone or mention of some of the good things he had done in his life . Another of the forgotten ones who should have been given some help but was never appreciated by many .

There are so many forgotten ones like David from Sydney who I met after his divorce and separation from his children , David moved into my home through a friend of mine who worked at the Hope Hostel  .

David The Braveheart   

David had once been the foreman of a large tool shop . He owned his house , car and thought he was in charge of everything in his life however one day out of the blue , fate struck a deadly blow . First he lost his job and one by one his life started to fall apart . He could no longer repay the mortgage to the house . He had a nervous breakdown , his wife left him and took the children and he became homeless . Never once did he hear for his ex-wife or children again . He was never  appreciated , by those he had loved . They never cared if David lived or died . Never again did his children say I love you . It’s hard to believe but its true. David was out of sight and out of mind and never a message was sent to him ,. He had become a forgotten one and after all the sacrifices he had made all of that was taken for granted . David stayed with me for a little while and with a lot of time he began to accept what had happened and eventually he moved on and found a job and a small flat where he lived a quiet life alone  His ex wife had spread stories about him being a woman hater and a woman basher but David was none of those things and found peace in the knowledge that he could go on with his life regardless of what people thought or said .

There were many similar stories of the homeless man I spoke to who had mentioned that once they had been working hard to earn a quid and all the things they did . Some of those men were young and others older , but they all had a similar story to tell about the job they did as a father and a husband . They did what had to be done that made them who they were but they could never understand why they had become a forgotten one in the lives of their family . Now they were down and out  looking for a helping hand  , trying to find a job , trying to get ion their feet , some were now too old to work , other too damaged to try but other were still strong and fit and they refused to quit until they found a job and got on with life as one of those forgotten ones who knew the truth and told no lies . They had give it all over the years , until their was nothing left to give and were left with many things unsaid that they took to their grave .

The future is unknown to most of us but at any time any one of us could become another forgotten one , So I guess  we’ll  have to just wait and see  .

Al, I can say to anyone that had made someone become a forgotten one is I hope you can see that you are the reason  why somebody stopped trying today and why in their heart they cried and withdrew a little more everyday because of you .

You are the reason why someone stopped singing their little songs and you tried to

destroy a good man with your scandal and lies telling everyone about the awful life you had living with a monster everyday . It better that you were locked away and become a forgotten one , it’s better that you are the one reaching out a hand for help because maybe then you will understand all of the hardships that the forgotten people have to go through , Its better you were left on your own with no one you can depend upon . Its better that you turn old and grey with nothing to eat and nowhere  to stay like a forgotten one locked up in a bubble of trouble for all the  terrible things you did . I chose to remember some of the ones who became forgotten because of the things you did .

The End