Okay, it has been awhile since I have posted on this. Time for the excuse brigade to begin, but I will hit true and hard here.
The Autumn to Winter holiday season is upon us, and many people dig deep to help the less fortunate this time of year. I want to remind everyone of what NOT to give to or do for the homeless, and why. Then I will challenge you to live what you preach.
In America, there are many types of homeless. Right now over a million are counted, but there are probably more than twice that uncounted. This year we have a much larger category that was previously very small, but is now the largest category in states where the cost of living is reasonably high: the working homeless. These are people that work full time, but earn too little money to both pay bills and afford rent anywhere at today's rent prices. They are stuck, cannot save money, and can't get higher payed work that requires skills or knowledge they do not have and do not have money or time to learn in school while working and paying bills they do have (such as car payments [those living in their cars], insurance, gas, bus tickets, student loan debt (they garnish your wages if you don't pay), tax debt, credit card debt (they still need to eat), phone (how else can you find work?), medical expenses and life expenses (clothes as they wear out, oil changes, etc).
So the common categories of homeless people right now (there are more than these) are:
-Working Homeless
-Unemployed (but able to work and trying to find work) Homeless
-Mentally Challenged Homeless
-Substance-Addicted Homeless
-Abuse Escapee Homeless
-Full-Time Single Parent (so unable to get work) Homeless
-Immigrant (unable to get all the papers in order) Homeless
-Re-Entry (Formerly Incarcerated; unable to find jobs or housing because of the criminal record) Homeless
This is not all of them, but these are the most common.
When giving to a homeless person or family, remember some basic things that a homeowner or apartment dweller often forgets:
1 - They do not have a cupboard to put any items into for safekeeping, storage or later retrieval.
2 - They seldom have a can opener or bottle opener or scissors to open hard sealed containers with.
3 - They do not have a file cabinet or drawer to put papers into for orderly safekeeping and retrieval.
4 - They do not have a refrigerator or freezer to store perishable foods in for any amount of time.
5 - They do not have a stove, oven, microwave, fireplace or any other apparatus with which to heat or cook food.
6 - They do not have a dishwasher or sink to clean foods or dishes in, nor a place to store said dishes or food.
7 - They do not have a clothes washer, clothes dryer, bucket, tub or washboard with which to keep clothes clean.
8 - They do not have a garden hose, tub or shower with which to wash themselves.
The above facts present some logistical and physical challenges that anyone who is homeless is constantly trying to overcome - sometimes successful, sometimes not.
If they have an income, many will use fitness center showers (if allowed) 2 or 3 times a week for hygiene. Without an income, this is not an option. Most cities have no shelters. The ones that do have shelters are often so full there is a several-month waiting list to get in unless you are a veteran, in which case they make room for you by kicking someone else out.
Those with an income do laundry at a laundromat, often at a cost of as much as $20 per week. Those without an income just wear dirty clothes unless they are lucky enough to be in a shelter or know someone who will let them use their washing machine on occasion.
When giving, keep these facts in mind, because if you give them something that requires any of the above things, it will likely get thrown away as useless to them. They cannot carry everything around with them everywhere; they don't have the strength or space.
Meals given to them must be ready to eat. There is no place for them to store any food for any period of time safely, and no place to refrigerate or cook it. Vegetables, fruit, bread or any perishable should be limited to what they can safely eat that day.
Drinks should also be what they can actually drink that day. They won't lug it around with them adding weight to all their meager belongings for long, so single serve adult portions are best (not big 1+ gallon bottles).
Blankets are always welcome, but must be light and portable and warm. If too heavy it will be abandoned fairly quickly. Clothing should be already clean and practical.
Coats, jackets, underwear, long lasting socks, good shoes and jeans in their size are the most difficult to acquire for them, and will go a long way with them.
The fear of drug abuse keeps many people from giving homeless people money. However, believe it or not, even drug abusers need to eat.
Money enough for at least one full day of meals goes a LONG way for a frugal homeless person. Right now, the average meal where I live costs between $11 and $25, even in fast food restaurants. Because of this, most homeless people eat one meal or less per day. They simply cannot afford more, and they have no means to store or cook food for making their own meals with raw ingredients. This means that a financial gift of less than $50 will probably be gone in one or two meals, and they will be right back where they started, just better fed for one day.
Actual meals are a Godsend to most. Yes, it is temporary and seems so small, but one meal more is one meal more than they would have had if you did not give them a meal. Taking homeless people out to a healthy restaurant and paying for their meal while fellowshipping with them does a great deal to lift their moral, and that is a big key to staying healthy when homeless (both mentally and physically).
What is the best thing you can do? If you have a spare bed, a couch, or a living room with floor space enough to lay down on and a blanket you are not using, you can
invite a person to stay in your house and help them until they get financially on their feet and can either pay you rent or find a place they can afford to pay rent at.
According to the number of people claiming to be Christians and the number of homeless people counted in the most recent US Census, if 1 out of 10 claiming Christians invited 1 homeless person into their home in America, there would be no one left homeless at all. Just 1 out of 10.
We all know that someone else who we think would be willing, but are we willing ourselves? It is risky. We could be taken advantage of. We could be robbed. The kids in the house might be influenced in a bad way. There are many reasons that a person who has no faith in YHWH or love of their neighbor can give NOT to invite them in. But YHWH tells us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Yeshuah calls this the highest law under loving YHWH Himself. If it was YOU out there with no place to go at night, what would you want someone with space to do?
So this is the real test. Do you love your homeless neighbor in concept of thought, but not in reality of action? Or do you give your life and rights up for the sake of another - which is part of the greatest form of love? This is what Yeshuah did for you when He went to the cross. Are you willing to take up your cross and follow Him for the sake of another?
I already know that many of you will say "amen" and agree, but then do nothing. In fact, I will be surprised if more than 2 out of the nearly 5,000 "friends" I have on Facebook take any action at all beyond their normal charity giving at the holidays - if that many. Thus my opening line about the "excuse brigade".
I know that some of you yourself are homeless. I know that some of you actually do work with the homeless and even house them. I know that some of you are in situations where you have no control, where you live in a shared environment that is already overcrowded. You can help the homeless in other ways. But this message is not mainly to you, but to the majority who have apartments or homes with room to spare, but are putting their safety and privacy ahead of faith and ahead of the safety and privacy of those who are out in the cold of their very streets right now.
#GiveYourLifeForOthers
#LoveYourNieghbor
#HelpTheHomeless
