Putting a human face on hardship
Ted Williams was homeless until a video showed off his deep baritone voice. Then he got job offers. Credit: AP
The story of the velvety-voiced homeless man, Ted Williams, who's been granted fame and a new future thanks to a chance encounter with an Ohio videographer, moved many in a way that the plight of the homeless in general has not. People now see Williams as an actual, troubled human being, not a crisis, a budget item, a charity case or a fear-instilling pest.
It's difficult to be apathetic about a human with whom we have even the most tenuous personal connection. It's easy to dismiss a cause or nameless group.
Most homeless people don't possess astounding voices. Williams, captured on video by the roadside, wild hair flying, has a huge talent and an engaging nature. And he now has numerous job offers and a chance to pull his life together.
But it's not his voice allowing him the chance.
What's allowing him the chance is the fact that people became able to see him as a human, an individual desperately in need of help.
That's what homeless people are. And while it's true that few of them have golden voices, it's also true that they don't need job offers with the Cleveland Cavaliers or guest spots on "The Today Show." They need our attention and help, and their mere humanity - if we can just recognize it - should be enough to earn this. hN
