I love the new MTV show World of Jenks… heard of it? It’s basically about this (totally adorable) guy who lives the life of various “types” of people. There have only been three episodes so far – one where he lived with an up-and-coming rapper and really experienced a “rapper’s life,” another where he lived on the streets of San Francisco with a homeless girl, and then there was an episode where he lived the life of a MMA fighter.

The second episode where Jenks experienced life on the streets was really touching. Living in a city like Montreal I’ve seen my fair share of “homeless” people… and while Mike and I have been known to give money and food to some of them, I’ll admit to having qualms about just handing them money. I often think they’ll use the money for the wrong reasons, as I’m sure so many people do. But while Jenks lived with a young woman named Danielle, someone who chose to live on the streets rather than at home with her abusive alcoholic parents, it made me quickly realize that some of my stereotypes about the homeless just weren’t fair. People who live on the streets don’t necessarily have addictions that they’ll fuel with monies donated to them – they could very well need it for food, transportation, or something else valuable, as was the case with Danielle. My guess is that some of the people out there sleeping on park benches or panhandling in the metro have had horrific, horrible lives I can’t even come close to identifying with, and two dollars would mean way more to them than it does me.

Just a little thought I was thinking I’d put out there…