Helpers

She asked one simple question, “How Can I Help?” and it made all the difference.

Meet Rhonda, the wonderful woman who called 911 after my accident. She’s a true Good Samaritan; and I was inspired by a story she shared about one of our local members of the houseless community, and I thought you might be inspired too.

One of the many charitable acts she does is to pick up trash in the neighborhood. One day, she got into a bit of a tiff with a homeless guy over a misunderstanding about her request to keep the neighborhood clean. Instead of getting into a battle and dismissing this angry man, she said, “How can I help you?”

The man told her that he needed a California ID, a resume, and a job. She said, I can help you do that. She took him to a shelter to get cleaned up. Then she took him to DMV for an ID. Then she typed up a resume for him and helped him get a job at Walmart.

That’s how we help. She asked. He told her the specifics of how she could help. She took action. I’m in awe of people like this. People who ask, “How can I help?” They are my heroes.

This is human kindness. This is what it means to be a village.

If you’d like to read more about how I met Rhonda, please check out the full-length story in the long form essay, PTSD: How Trauma Triggers Can Help Us Heal a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Story of Hope.

Sage Justice is the author of Sage Words FREEDOM Book One, an activist, a performing artist, a member of the Screen Actors Guild, and a 2024 alumna of the Château d'Orquevaux Artists and Writers Residency in France, which houses a piece of her writing in their permanent collection entitled, Comparing Ourselves to Others.