I have many favorite restaurants in the Atlanta area, having lived here all of my life. Some are appealing because of the cuisine, others because of the ambiance. One of my particular favorites, though, is unique in a way that is most exquisite for eating establishments. This restaurant serves a side of reality to go with my meal.

Located in downtown Atlanta, and only two blocks from one of the principal homeless shelters in the area, it serves as a constant reminder for me whenever I visit there. On a regular basis, I see people crowded together on the sidewalk, scarcely clothed on a cold evening. I expect the man hovering by the door to ask for spare change. I know the woman awkwardly walking adjacent to me on the other side of the street is debating whether or not to beg for a bite to eat that she desperately needs.

Yet there are less typical stories that I could also tell. For instance, there was the time when I exited the restaurant and found a lady seated in the complimentary valet's chair. Having frequented this place on a weekly basis for many years, I knew she was not the valet on staff. Besides, the valet's shift generally ends an hour or so before closing, and I had come for a very late dinner.

As I unlocked my car, she told me that I owed a parking fee of two dollars. There was only a one-dollar bill available to me at the time, but I had a feeling that she wouldn't mind if I fell a little short. By the time I exited the parking lot, she had disappeared into the night. This woman pretended to be someone else so that she could survive.

On another occasion, a man met me at my car as I was getting out one evening. He told me the restaurant was closed. I could see the lights on inside and customers bustling around in the windows. I listened to him explain that they closed early on Sundays. I thanked him for recommending another restaurant in the area. At the end, he asked if there was any spare change he could use to buy some food. The man thought a false sense of cronyism was a necessary prerequisite to earning enough to buy something to eat.

It's disheartening to realize that there are individuals who will compromise their integrity for one single dollar, or who will hatch an elaborate scheme to appear to be a friendly soul in exchange for some spare coins. It is even more discouraging when the realization comes: They need this money to eat, sleep and stay warm every night.

They are put in a position where, every day, they have to make end's meet. There are no unions to defend their wages or fortunate friends to lend them a helping hand. If and when it is apparent that honest wages for a beggar are small wages, these individuals are compelled to resort to other methods. Inevitably, they have to lie, cheat and steal to survive.

These experiences remind me that the world is not a perfect place and there are people who aren't afforded their most basic needs and rights as humans. It is certainly a dark reality, especially in this country of freedom and opportunity.

However, there is a second, more serious epiphany that comes from these observations that I find absolutely no closure in whatsoever. The simple fact that the mendicants and vagabonds of our city feel compelled to lie, deceive or pretend in order to convince someone to give them a few cents tells me we are not doing our part as American citizens, or even as human beings to help those in need.

My message is not for the poor and the homeless. It is for those individuals who are less familiar with the social and financial hardships of life. I am speaking out to the American people, from the person who walks by a beggar without giving them so much as a moment's thought all the way to the politicians and the lawmakers who dedicate themselves to solving the problems of our country.

This issue demands immediate attention and needs to be resolved quickly. There are those who contend that much can be said about a nation by looking at its lowest class in society and how they are treated. Trust me when I say that America does not want to be judged as a whole by how our poorest countrymen live every day, because it is far from acceptable and not at all what we as Americans stand for and believe in.

The Bible says it is more blessed to give than to receive. For those of us who have already received, we have no excuse for not giving in return.

> Stephen Ethan Lyle is a senior at Atlanta International School.

New Attitudes is a weekly opinion column written by readers between the ages of 15-22. E-mail submissions or questions to dbeasley@ajc.com or call 404-526-7371.