Hubris

She couldnt have been more than 18 or 19, dimunitive, dressed in ill-fitting clothes and too large shoes that came from the People's Park free clothes box (aka the Flea Box).

She was shivering violently as she walked toward me, her clothes covered in the dirt and dried leaves that she had slept in, the morning cold having obviously riven her awake.

Her haircut was recent and expensive, her skin smooth and unmarked and her speech SoCal middle-class as she shivered and asked "Sir, can I have a sweater?"

We looked at each other, then at this young pretty asian girl having come to us standing outside the mens shelter in Berkeley's Veteran's Building. I directed Rick to brush off the dirt off the girl, who said her name was Tracy, while I went inside to find her something thick and warm.

She never did tell us what had happened, although we later guessed she was a UC Berkeley student who had ran out of money, hung with the drug-addled crowd and got turned out of the space she had been staying.

Who knows.

Obviously not familiar with the protocols of handling herself without money and a support system, she was dazed and confused. Like most who find themselves without resources and money, thinking that all options have been exhausted.

But she thanked us and walked away, not asking for anything more, not to be seen again.

"She's asian. Asian folk dont like asking for help, they got a lot of pride" said Rick, of filipino and mexican heritage.

I dont know. Im getting to the opinion that pride is often a cover for fear.