The Home Loop

One day 11 year old Josh was walking on the sidewalk when he saw a family on the side of the street begging for money. It was a mom, a dad, a boy who looked his age, and a little girl that looked like she was three. He felt very sorry for them and he thought about what it would be like without a home and that he was very blessed to have one. He also thought if there was anything he could do to help them. That day when he got home he talked to his dad about it and asked if there was something like a charity he could donate to. His dad said there actually was a charity and it was called, “Habitat for Humanity.” This is how it worked, people could donate money that would go towards building houses for the homeless. Josh thought that sounded like a really good idea so he donated some money to it. The next day when he was walking home from school he saw a house being built, and when he saw the logo on one of the construction worker’s shirts he became overjoyed. It said “Habitat for Humanity.” And he became even happier when he saw who was talking to the construction workers, it was the family from the street. That night when Josh was going to bed he thought about how easy it was to make an impact. That morning he woke up to the sound of his mom yelling. He jumped out of bed and looked around, all he could see was smoke. “Mom!” Josh screamed. He started to cough as he tried to make his way out of the bedroom. Josh had asthma and he was now wheezing as he tried to call out for his mom or dad but nothing came out. He started to crawl down the stairs when everything went black. He woke up in the back of an ambulance with an oxygen mask on his face. He took the oxygen mask off. “What happened?” He asked a nurse. “A fire started in your house when you started to have an asthma attack, that’s when the firemen came and rescued you.” She said. “Where are my parents and my little sister?” He asked. “They got out of the house but the whole thing burned down.” Replied the nurse as they arrived at the hospital. They brought him in on a stretcher and laid him down on a bed. He smiled as he saw his family walking toward him. His little sister ran up to him and said, “Hi Dosh!” That’s what she called him. She was only three and didn’t really understand the situation they were in. Just then a doctor came and told him he could leave. He was relieved that he was okay but then he realized that he had nowhere to go. His house had just burned down and his family didn’t have home insurance because they couldn’t afford it. Then he got up and asked his dad what they were going to do. But he wished he hadn’t because his dad said that their only option would be to live on the street. He then sadly followed his family out the hospital doors and into the street. They walked until they found a spot to sit down and talk. His dad said that if they could scrape together enough money they might be able to afford groceries for a little bit. Everyone thought that was the best shot they had so his dad tried to find something to draw a sign with to start begging for money. But before his dad was going to go look he told his family to sit down and listen to him. “We may not have a house right now.” He said. But as long as we stick together, we’ll always be home. “Yay!” Said his little sister. But he wasn’t looking at her. He was looking at a boy walking on the sidewalk. Right in that moment he almost had a heart attack, the family that he had seen on the side of the street earlier was his.