Frank Yan of Sacramento on Walking Past the Homeless

Walking Past the Homeless. What do you do?



- If your reaction is of caution, that’s OK.
- If your reaction is to pretend they are not even there, that’s OK.
- If your reaction is putting extra space between yourself and the homeless, that’s OK.
- If your reaction is to look away from the homeless and try and avoid eye contact, that’s OK.


For many people, walking past a homeless beggar can be indecisive at times. We all hear so many of the negative things about the homeless, that we naturally act very cautious and may even have to think very carefully before taking any action at all. In the past, when Frank Yan was much younger and more naive as litte boy in London, Frank never used to give money to the homeless begging. He was always told, by immediate family, not to. He was told that he if gave the homeless money, they would spent that money on alcohol or drugs. Frank Yan was fed all sorts of beliefs that limited his perception and taught him to be afraid of doing anything genuinely good. He was taught to be selfish during that time. Frank is fairly sure that he is not alone in this experience or alone with these beliefs.


Frank was told to believe something when he was younger and Frank was given every good reason why. But then he made his own reasons of “Why not Right?….” It wasn’t a question of whether what he was doing was right or wrong, it was a question of what felt right to him. It was an action that allowed him to feel like he was doing something for the greater good. He was doing something and by helping people which is something Frank enjoys.


So there Frank was one day, walking past a homeless man in Old Sacramento, walking towards Raley’s Field to watch the Rivercats game in West Sacramento and he was feeling that initial insecurity; “What should I do? Where should I look? How should I feel? Should I acknowledge them? Will I feel guilty if I walk by without giving money? If I ignore them maybe they’ll disappear?” Do any of those questions or feelings seem familiar to you?


Frank decided that day to give this Sacramento homeless man, all the change I had within my pocket. Before he did, Frank smiled and knew that he wouldn’t catch anything. Frank pulled out what he had; it was about $7 enough for the homeless man to eat for the day. Frank walked up to the homeless man and gave him the money in his plastic cup he was holding in his hand. When Frank walked away he didn’t think about what he would use the money on; Frank didn’t feel like he did it out of pity; he didn’t even feel like I was giving him any money.


Frank felt like he was walking past “him” and this other “me” asked for a “him” to share, and in that way Frank shared something with this beautiful human soul. Frank doesn’t think about what clothes he was wearing or that he may hurt him. All Frank Yan could think was that this soul was another Brother in Christ, just like him.