I saw this young man one afternoon sitting by himself on a park bench in Manchester, NH. I said ‘hello’ to him and asked him if I could help him with anything. He said, “I hope so. Everybody walks by me like I don’t exist, and I have forgotten what it is like to be treated like a human being, to just have a hug. I could use that right now. Can you give me a hug?”
Here was this young man covered in dirt, obviously ill, beaten down by life and substance abuse begging for someone to show him a bit of humanity.
I hugged him and, he smiled and said, “thank you, sir.”
Merle Burke, President & Founder
Shepherd’s Way