Customer Leaves 1-Star Because A Homeless Man Hangs Out By The Entrance, Gets Shut Down By The Business Owner
Society’s collective solution to homelessness is often to turn a blind eye. We avoid eye contact with homeless people, we cross to the other side of the road when passing, we even build cruel deterrents to prevent the most vulnerable in our society from finding any shelter in our cities. We do anything we can to avoid confronting the ugly truth that we are failing collectively to care for our fellow humans, and when the reality inconveniently pierces our bubbles of denial, we get super mad about it.
This business owner in San Diego is being praised for doing what we so often fail to do – treat homeless people as human beings. Rather than looking at Ray as just another addict, alcoholic or mentally ill statistic who should pull himself up by his bootstraps, the owner of Nomad Donuts sees him as part of the community and encourages others to get to know him.
Image credits: Nomad Donuts
Image credits: Nomad Donuts
Image credits: Brad Keiller
Far from a ‘shutting down,’ this thoughtful and respectful response makes us all think about the ways we interact with others and encourages us to see the person underneath the circumstances they currently find themselves in. We have all seen a Ray at some point in our lives, but have we ever stopped to consider the story behind their plight?
Here’s how people reacted to the story
Ray is a person. So we have to deal with the fact that he is homeless, because he is one of us. Earthlings. I would be a lot more comfortable with billionaires existing if homeless people didn’t.
The phrase get shut down is overused these days. Brad's comment was calm and collected. Not trying to be witty, sarcastic or snarky. Just having a normal conversation like people should. Kiddos for defending Ray
I'm growing increasingly sick and tired of the lack of basic empathy and compassion among people. And it's not just an American issue: here in Europe people get also "bothered" by the sight of homeless people who don't interact with them and whose only crime has been being less fortunate than us and perhaps making bad life decisions (as we all could make at some point). Most of us are two months away, if not less, of becoming one of them. All it takes is a streak of bad luck.
it is a terrible indictment that a so called 1st world country has poor souls living in appalling conditions. Mental health is a dreadful condition and there are not enough facilities to give these poor souls help and decent shelter!
Unfortunately the homeless population is just going to keep growing, until we as a society decide to change things. We need job security, better wages and we need to regulate rents to keep them affordable. But for now the Profit Motive is the primary driver for most people's existence, so until that changes, nothing will change.
I wanna know where anonymous_potato lives. Any city that's learned what a valuable asset homeless people are to the local businesses deserves a thumbs up as far as I'm concerned.
Just remember anyone of us can be in Ray's situation. It is very easy to go from living the life to being homeless. We should all be grateful and help people like Ray, who are trying to get out of it or at least I hope so.
I lived in Downtown Denver before the current BOOM and parked two blocks away in a fenced area that didn't have a security gate. Two homeless men lived in the area under a shelter that was originally intended for motorcycles, but had become their makeshift shack -- very neatly executed, BTW. I was told they were both vets with issues. Everyone took food, socks, blankets, gloves, and the landlord allowed them to wash up in the utility sinks in the disused laundry room -- the units had gone condo and each had its own laundry. THEY KEPT OUR CARS SAFE. When people were parking in the wee hours, they were up and kept watch. Single women brought them burgers and beer as thanks for the safety they provided. I have more in common with homeless people than politicians.
When I was in 6th grade, I gave my lunch to the same kind young-ish homeless man in the park across from my school- every single day! The rich kids teased him, but I thought he deserved kindness. This was 1978 and mentally ill hospitalized people were suddenly put out on the streets in Southern California. Such a shame the world seems to have learned nothing in all these years. :(
That response from Bard K (the shop owner) is wonderfully written. Clear, strong position, without being apologetic. Nicely done Brad.
Why not employ him as a 'host' or 'executive director of guest relationships' or something, to give him a purpose, a goal in life, some direction, a job, self esteem and some money. Hell, you can let him sleep inside at night as well to keep the burglars away. Easy said, I know, but there must be ways to get him back on his feet.
I'm sorry, in the United States we don't have money to help homeless people or start a universal healthcare system or fund education because republicans are too busy spending almost a trillion a year on our military. Priorities, people.
Of course homeless people make us feel uncomfortable, my town if full of them. My town ranks number 4 in the nation for income disparity. I see about 10 homeless people everyday on my drive into work and I feel uncomfortable because I work at a research hospital and all I can think about is how useless my job is when most people in my community can't afford to seek treatment from us. What good is it to cure cancer when people can't even afford a place to live? I was talking to my father's hospice nurse the night before he died and she told me that it is really sad when the young people come into hospice. They are there because even with insurance they couldn't afford adequate treatment so they are dying in their 20s, 30s, and 40s from curable cancer. That s**t makes me feel really uncomfortable and mostly defeated. It makes me question why I even bother at all. My university is trying to get to the top 5 for research, all while being the center of a town riddled with poverty.
By all means, it takes so little to be homeless, factory closes, a chain of stores close etc;, if we make a bad choice ,or it's out of our control, I always feel bad for those in their situations, and if somebody has a hand out, I give a little money, I won't go hungry, however who knows what tomorrow may bring, it could be me !!!
My friend and I had this discussion on Thanksgiving. My town has a BAD homeless problem, mostly due to drugs. Our town council has been fairly pathetic about helping the homeless. Our main issue is lack of housing. They discuss it, but never seem to come to the decision to fund housing, blaming it on lack of money. However, we desperately need counseling services and detox centers (plus follow up). There are jobs here, but none are ready for them. We have disgusting camps that they make for themselves, then county personnel must clean it up (a huge waste of money. They should clean it up themselves, then next time, they'll think twice about cooking meth and pooping behind a tree. I do have empathy for them, but at some point, their behavior needs to be addressed.
The politicians in California have taxed everything in sight and used the money for what IDK? Yet they keep getting re elected? I never see Maxine Waters visiting her district perhaps it is too far from her house or too dangerous
I've never had a $5 donut before. For that price, it had better be the best damned donut on the planet. That comes out to 60 bucks a dozen. I feel like Homer when he said he paid for a Colossal donut and he was going to get a colossal donut, lol. homer-colo...3102ca.jpg
San Diego actually has a better success rate than L.A. or S.F. with helping the homeless get off the street. For the majority of these people posting It's still would be an overwhelming problem to deal with on a daily basis. I've lived in DT S.D. (16th and Island) for 5 years and just recently moved. I don't care if you're a business owner, customer, local resident it wears you down dealing with the number of homeless in your neighborhood. It's frustrating dealing with the open drug use, property theft, erratic/screaming homeless on the trolley lines, human waste spread on the side of your vehicle. The owner Brad K responded like a class act while the Yelp reviewer was clearly in the wrong here. Yet....most of these comments that are piling on the Yelp reviewer just seems disingenuous. The homeless problem here in CA is on a level that most simply don't understand and have even less of an idea how to fix. We're dealing with a mental health and/or substance abuse problem here.
The owner is so respectful and kind. If I lived in that neighbourhood I would go to his shop because of his kindness!
I wish the owner could employ Ray as live-in security, but he seems like a good guy who isn't holding out on kindness. Maybe Ray isn't mentally comfortable with working a full time job, or maybe he can't legally be employed for whatever reason. Wishing Ray and everyone else the best. We all have so much to give the world if our basic needs are fulfilled
Are panda that utterly heartless that they would downvote a business because the owner is kind enough to give a homeless person a place to be warm? We live in a society where only a few people have all the wealth, but anyone who doesn't have wealth is looked at as a freak. This donut shop owner is awesome and I hope things get better for Ray.
I don't get it - why doesn't the citizens of San Diego want give these people a home? That would be one less issue for them to deal with, and everyone could enjoy their meals more. A nobrainer win-win.
This is r******d as f**k. Oh no look it's something reminding me of my own mortality and possible outcome in life if I meet extreme failure... let's be a d**k about it... Ironically it's the same people that ask for handouts the fastest if they do ever fall into s slump
Most cities don't have enough beds for all the homeless in their city. And most homeless aren't mentally-ill or drug addicts. Most homeless people are just regular people that wound up in a bad way and are trying to get out of it, which because of those stereotypes, make it damn near impossible to do.
Load More Replies...Ray is a person. So we have to deal with the fact that he is homeless, because he is one of us. Earthlings. I would be a lot more comfortable with billionaires existing if homeless people didn’t.
The phrase get shut down is overused these days. Brad's comment was calm and collected. Not trying to be witty, sarcastic or snarky. Just having a normal conversation like people should. Kiddos for defending Ray
I'm growing increasingly sick and tired of the lack of basic empathy and compassion among people. And it's not just an American issue: here in Europe people get also "bothered" by the sight of homeless people who don't interact with them and whose only crime has been being less fortunate than us and perhaps making bad life decisions (as we all could make at some point). Most of us are two months away, if not less, of becoming one of them. All it takes is a streak of bad luck.
it is a terrible indictment that a so called 1st world country has poor souls living in appalling conditions. Mental health is a dreadful condition and there are not enough facilities to give these poor souls help and decent shelter!
Unfortunately the homeless population is just going to keep growing, until we as a society decide to change things. We need job security, better wages and we need to regulate rents to keep them affordable. But for now the Profit Motive is the primary driver for most people's existence, so until that changes, nothing will change.
I wanna know where anonymous_potato lives. Any city that's learned what a valuable asset homeless people are to the local businesses deserves a thumbs up as far as I'm concerned.
Just remember anyone of us can be in Ray's situation. It is very easy to go from living the life to being homeless. We should all be grateful and help people like Ray, who are trying to get out of it or at least I hope so.
I lived in Downtown Denver before the current BOOM and parked two blocks away in a fenced area that didn't have a security gate. Two homeless men lived in the area under a shelter that was originally intended for motorcycles, but had become their makeshift shack -- very neatly executed, BTW. I was told they were both vets with issues. Everyone took food, socks, blankets, gloves, and the landlord allowed them to wash up in the utility sinks in the disused laundry room -- the units had gone condo and each had its own laundry. THEY KEPT OUR CARS SAFE. When people were parking in the wee hours, they were up and kept watch. Single women brought them burgers and beer as thanks for the safety they provided. I have more in common with homeless people than politicians.
When I was in 6th grade, I gave my lunch to the same kind young-ish homeless man in the park across from my school- every single day! The rich kids teased him, but I thought he deserved kindness. This was 1978 and mentally ill hospitalized people were suddenly put out on the streets in Southern California. Such a shame the world seems to have learned nothing in all these years. :(
That response from Bard K (the shop owner) is wonderfully written. Clear, strong position, without being apologetic. Nicely done Brad.
Why not employ him as a 'host' or 'executive director of guest relationships' or something, to give him a purpose, a goal in life, some direction, a job, self esteem and some money. Hell, you can let him sleep inside at night as well to keep the burglars away. Easy said, I know, but there must be ways to get him back on his feet.
I'm sorry, in the United States we don't have money to help homeless people or start a universal healthcare system or fund education because republicans are too busy spending almost a trillion a year on our military. Priorities, people.
Of course homeless people make us feel uncomfortable, my town if full of them. My town ranks number 4 in the nation for income disparity. I see about 10 homeless people everyday on my drive into work and I feel uncomfortable because I work at a research hospital and all I can think about is how useless my job is when most people in my community can't afford to seek treatment from us. What good is it to cure cancer when people can't even afford a place to live? I was talking to my father's hospice nurse the night before he died and she told me that it is really sad when the young people come into hospice. They are there because even with insurance they couldn't afford adequate treatment so they are dying in their 20s, 30s, and 40s from curable cancer. That s**t makes me feel really uncomfortable and mostly defeated. It makes me question why I even bother at all. My university is trying to get to the top 5 for research, all while being the center of a town riddled with poverty.
By all means, it takes so little to be homeless, factory closes, a chain of stores close etc;, if we make a bad choice ,or it's out of our control, I always feel bad for those in their situations, and if somebody has a hand out, I give a little money, I won't go hungry, however who knows what tomorrow may bring, it could be me !!!
My friend and I had this discussion on Thanksgiving. My town has a BAD homeless problem, mostly due to drugs. Our town council has been fairly pathetic about helping the homeless. Our main issue is lack of housing. They discuss it, but never seem to come to the decision to fund housing, blaming it on lack of money. However, we desperately need counseling services and detox centers (plus follow up). There are jobs here, but none are ready for them. We have disgusting camps that they make for themselves, then county personnel must clean it up (a huge waste of money. They should clean it up themselves, then next time, they'll think twice about cooking meth and pooping behind a tree. I do have empathy for them, but at some point, their behavior needs to be addressed.
The politicians in California have taxed everything in sight and used the money for what IDK? Yet they keep getting re elected? I never see Maxine Waters visiting her district perhaps it is too far from her house or too dangerous
I've never had a $5 donut before. For that price, it had better be the best damned donut on the planet. That comes out to 60 bucks a dozen. I feel like Homer when he said he paid for a Colossal donut and he was going to get a colossal donut, lol. homer-colo...3102ca.jpg
San Diego actually has a better success rate than L.A. or S.F. with helping the homeless get off the street. For the majority of these people posting It's still would be an overwhelming problem to deal with on a daily basis. I've lived in DT S.D. (16th and Island) for 5 years and just recently moved. I don't care if you're a business owner, customer, local resident it wears you down dealing with the number of homeless in your neighborhood. It's frustrating dealing with the open drug use, property theft, erratic/screaming homeless on the trolley lines, human waste spread on the side of your vehicle. The owner Brad K responded like a class act while the Yelp reviewer was clearly in the wrong here. Yet....most of these comments that are piling on the Yelp reviewer just seems disingenuous. The homeless problem here in CA is on a level that most simply don't understand and have even less of an idea how to fix. We're dealing with a mental health and/or substance abuse problem here.
The owner is so respectful and kind. If I lived in that neighbourhood I would go to his shop because of his kindness!
I wish the owner could employ Ray as live-in security, but he seems like a good guy who isn't holding out on kindness. Maybe Ray isn't mentally comfortable with working a full time job, or maybe he can't legally be employed for whatever reason. Wishing Ray and everyone else the best. We all have so much to give the world if our basic needs are fulfilled
Are panda that utterly heartless that they would downvote a business because the owner is kind enough to give a homeless person a place to be warm? We live in a society where only a few people have all the wealth, but anyone who doesn't have wealth is looked at as a freak. This donut shop owner is awesome and I hope things get better for Ray.
I don't get it - why doesn't the citizens of San Diego want give these people a home? That would be one less issue for them to deal with, and everyone could enjoy their meals more. A nobrainer win-win.
This is r******d as f**k. Oh no look it's something reminding me of my own mortality and possible outcome in life if I meet extreme failure... let's be a d**k about it... Ironically it's the same people that ask for handouts the fastest if they do ever fall into s slump
Most cities don't have enough beds for all the homeless in their city. And most homeless aren't mentally-ill or drug addicts. Most homeless people are just regular people that wound up in a bad way and are trying to get out of it, which because of those stereotypes, make it damn near impossible to do.
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