This is beautiful Melanie. Kindness is everything, human connection is everything. As a person who lived in London and Venice Beach for many years I regularly came into contact with high numbers of homeless people. Whenever I could I would always give them money, but on the occasions that I couldn’t, for whatever reason, I would still endeavor to make eye contact, smile, and interact. From conversations I’ve had, so many homeless people say that one of the worst things is the feeling of invisibility, and feeling disconnected from society, feeling less “human” in some way. I now live in Acapulco, which is sadly best known these days for being the “murder capital of Mexico”, and wherever I am, at whatever time of day or night, if I encounter somebody on the street I always make eye contact, smile and greet them. I figure that if somebody is going to kidnap and murder me then they can goddamn look me in the eye before doing so……. to date, it’s served me well. I personally believe there’s a lot of power in human connection and treating others as we would like to be treated ourselves, no matter what their current or past circumstances may be. ❤️