When you walk the path in Austin's Ladybird park, you see dogs (lots of them), people and some interesting artifacts. While a statue commemorates American musician Stevie Ray Vaughan, there is also a different kind of shrine -- one that I don't believe I have seen anywhere else -- a shrine to the homeless.
Having arrived in Austin a day earlier for a quick trip, I had been remarking to my husband about how strange it was to see the largish homeless population on the streets. Even though I have spent quite a few years in the U.S., it is tough to accept that the cities in one of the world's wealthiest nations have such a visible number of homeless people. Without delving into the reasons behind this phenomena, I also had the strange sense that Austin took a different view of this phenomena. While there are soup kitchens and shelters for the homeless as well as fantastic non profits that work for their cause in my adopted city of Chicago, I continued to feel that Austin somehow almost welcomed the homeless.
When we came upon this colourful shrine in Ladybird Park, my hunch was confirmed. This shrine was meant to commemorate the homeless who died in anonymity and mourned the loss of these lives. And this odd gesture, more than any other aspect of Austin gave me the feeling that this city has a heart.
Having arrived in Austin a day earlier for a quick trip, I had been remarking to my husband about how strange it was to see the largish homeless population on the streets. Even though I have spent quite a few years in the U.S., it is tough to accept that the cities in one of the world's wealthiest nations have such a visible number of homeless people. Without delving into the reasons behind this phenomena, I also had the strange sense that Austin took a different view of this phenomena. While there are soup kitchens and shelters for the homeless as well as fantastic non profits that work for their cause in my adopted city of Chicago, I continued to feel that Austin somehow almost welcomed the homeless.
When we came upon this colourful shrine in Ladybird Park, my hunch was confirmed. This shrine was meant to commemorate the homeless who died in anonymity and mourned the loss of these lives. And this odd gesture, more than any other aspect of Austin gave me the feeling that this city has a heart.
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