The homeless couple who reminded me that love is expressed through dignity and hope.

I met them a few days ago while I was out on my daily exercise. They were socially distancing in a sunny corner of town and without breaching the regulations, I stopped to chat. For me, it was a welcome relief from conversations by Zoom or FaceTime.

This was different from meeting homeless people on a visit to the support centres across Sussex that do amazing work. These are charities such as Turning Tides, Off the Fence, Matthew 25, Seaview, and the YMCA.

On this occasion I was a guest in Kyle and John’s space, which gave them a bit of control and made for easy conversation.

Because the Covid-19 regulations had secured them spare hotel accommodation, even of a very basic kind, they were in better mental and physical shape. For them both it was unimaginable luxury to have a room each, to be safe and to sleep undisturbed.

They wanted to account for being homeless. Each had a story that mixed the proud tally of nieces and nephews with grief, such as the death of a parent, and then darker intimations of family strife.

There was also a strong assertion of what is right and wrong in the context of their social network. This carried details of some habits they were willing to admit to, such as drug and alcohol use, and others they flatly denied, such as stealing from churches or from each other.

I was glad to be free of an expectation that I would make any judgement about them. They were undoubtedly dealing with circumstances past and present that would defeat my brittle habits and complex coping mechanisms.

This lockdown is teaching us quite a lot about our life individually and as a society. Kyle and John taught me something about how distant we can be from understanding why a person is homeless. The reasons can be simple and inescapable, with devastating consequences.

Christians describe Jesus Christ as the loving shepherd who comes looking for sheep that are lost.

It was a couple of homeless people who reminded me this week that love is expressed in the processes of human respect that build dignity and hope.

I hope that when our lockdown is lifted, theirs does not start again.

Names have been changed.

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