Why are homeless people always toothless?

I feel like i’m some sort of magnet for toothless, homeless junkies trying to make conversation.
Ok it may or may not be because i look like an older version of Dora the explorer, but seriously why do i always attract freaks?

When i was in year 8, i was followed by a homeless man for two weeks. He wore the same woollen colourful beanie and the same navy tracksuits with holes in them. I don’t think he was harmful, he was just super creepy for wanting to follow a little school girl.

In year 10, a junkie jumped on me in the train. I don’t think he meant to, he was clearly unstable and a little out of it. I was such a scared little school girl as it was and this toothless mental junkie fell ontop of me. I’m still thankful for a young couple who were also on the train and pushed him off.

This one time in band camp…oh no it was actually on a train again. ( I secretly wish I went to band camp though) Anyhow this one time on a train, this man in an orange vest started throwing orange peels at me. He looked pretty angry, a bit like he was about to punch something…so I just ignored it because I was scared. Yes he continued throwing orange peels at me until I got to my station. I just sat there letting him throw orange peels at me...what the hell.

So basically I attract mental people. I also always get asked for money by lots of weird people…

I’m not going to lie, i hate being asked for money...but as i was walking up Oxford Street today i realised how many homeless people there were. Majority of them toothless. I counted how many times i was asked for money. From World Square to Fox studios, i was asked for money four times.

I was fascinated...every single one of them were missing teeth. What do these people do with their teeth? Just because you’re homeless, why does it mean you have no teeth? Is it because they don’t brush them? They never went to the dentist as a child?(or learnt about Harold the giraffe at school) Or is it because they ate too many lollies? Or is it because they get into fights so they lose them?

So as I was walking to school today ,a man (toothless yet again) who was probably in his 50s begged me for 50 cents. Did I give it to him? No. Did I walk away? Yes. Not because I didn’t want to give him the 50 cents he asked for, but because he looked like a junkie and i was a little scared.

But as I walked away I realised how shallow I had become. I didn’t give him any sort of acknowledgement at all. He wasn’t an animal, he deserved some sort of respect even if he was homeless.

We tend to literally step over these homeless people everyday on our way home, to work, to school. It was slap in the face for me when someone who could be as old as my father was begging me for money and I literally walked away. I didn’t even flinch.

People go out of their way to do things like throw dolphins back into the water (yes random example), or to protest for animal cruelty. Ofcourse it is extremely important to help these helpless creatures and ensure they are treated right…but is it more important then helping another human?

Sure there’s a whole other argument about what these people actually do with their money. (and if I were them I’d probably get my teeth fixed first) But does it really warrant you stepping over them everyday? I mean how desperate do you have to be to beg a stranger for 50 cents?

So i think from now on, I’m going to try and be a little more open minded when it comes to homeless people. Yes they are social outcasts (and at times a little scary), but they are desperate. So next time you come across a homeless person…give them your undivided attention at the very least. And try not to stare at their teeth (or lack thereof).