Jim Withers Hero

In the street of a large city at 10:00 p.m. at night seems to be least likely place to find an experienced doctor working with patients, but that is exactly where someone could find. Dr. Jim Withers. In Pittsburg, Withers is recognized as the “Street Doctor” for the time he devotes outside of his work at the hospital to help and cure the homeless. With his fearless dedication to help, Withers has managed to help thousands of people who are passed daily by others with disgust. Every day, the homeless are ignored by people who have the ability to help which causes them to lose all hope. That hope is returned when Withers stops by to provide medical care and help them to an opportunity for a better life. His help would not come without certain …show more content…
For Jim, it is his ability to place himself in the situations of others. To fully understand and gain the respect of the homeless, Jim literally studied and read books on how it feels to be homeless. He did not assume he knew what was best beforehand. If he had, he would not have built strong relationships with the homeless because frankly, many of them are intimidated and fearful of personnel in the medical field. He dresses as a homeless person when he ventures out in the city. If it was cold, “He gets down to their level, suffers with them, feels some of what they feel" (Plummer). Many people are not willing to offer themselves to this extent. As a result, the homeless treat him the same way they treat one another, with respect. On the other hand, Jim is treated by the ordinary people in a quite different manner. People view him as less when he is dressed raggedly because they think value is based on how a person looks instead of who they actually are. Jim now recognizes that the homeless are like diamonds in the rough with unique and fascinating stories of their own. At first, he was the only one to realize their value due to the doubtful opinions of others in his …show more content…
Instead of taking matters into his own hands, Jim could have proposed a course of action to the city council. The city council would have been more influential on doctors than one man. The help of the many would out work the help of the few. As a result, more homeless people could have been treated on a more regular basis. An increase number of doctors would allow them to revisit specific patients more often, creating a better understanding of their medical history because they have worked with