This past Sunday, Steven of Steven's Bags gave me 15 bags for distribution to the people of Kensington. I went to the corner of "This and That" Streets[1], a location known for being one of the primary areas in Kensington where women with Substance Use Disorder stand with the goal of being picked up to 'do a date' with some random previously unknown to them guy so as to fund an addiction they'd rather not have.
As I pulled to the curb at the corner, I saw 'Nadia' sitting on a window ledge crying and being comforted by another of the ladies. I approached them with two of Steven's Bags. Nadia told me that she'd been beaten up earlier in the day by her spouse who she'd thought to be one of the few safe people in her world.
With dope sickness overtaking her very quickly, she thanked me with a hug for the bag, wiped her tears, and walked to the corner of "This and That." I stepped back to my car. Within a few minutes, a random guy saw her sexiness and pulled over. She hopped in and off they went.
A few minutes later, she was back, still clutching Steven's Bag as the gift she knew it to be. Back at the corner of "This and That" she stood again, was picked up again, and was off again to 'do a date' with a second random previously unknown to her guy in one hour. Maybe half an hour later, I saw her again, this time from a bit of a distance. Steven's Bag was still in her hand but looking smaller as if some of the enclosed gifted items had been consumed.
What two random guys saw in that one hour was a hot _______ to use for their own selfish purposes.
If you knew Nadia at all, you'd know that she was 'sold to a pimp'[2] by her parent when she was a young teen and a life of sex for money and drugs is all that she knows.
If you knew Nadia at all, you'd know that she wants to heal and can't with all of the barriers that exist between her and healing.
If you knew Nadia at all, you'd know that she likes Cocoa Puffs and Brownies.
If you knew Nadia at all, you'd know that she really appreciated the gift of a bag decorated and filled by Steven and his team about an hour away from the corner of "This and That."
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