How Do We Treat The Homeless?

[jpk1313]

I have been homeless three times in my life and my experince is this- most 85% of human beings ignore or treat with contempt the homeless. christians of all churchs do the same thing as the secular world. the biggist sin comited by christians is hypocracy. some give lip service while others back what they say with actions. I know we can not all give money to them but what we can do is see them and let them know they are not forgotten. **the next time you see a homless person go and say to him/her “I see you, you are not forgotten Jesus loves you my brother/sister.” and you will see the true light of the gosple. **

 

[MarysGirls]

I have been homeless three times in my life and my experince is this- most 85% of human beings ignore or treat with contempt the homeless. christians of all churchs do the same thing as the secular world. the biggist sin comited by christians is hypocracy. some give lip service while others back what they say with actions. I know we can not all give money to them but what we can do is see them and let them know they are not forgotten. **the next time you see a homless person go and say to him/her “I see you, you are not forgotten Jesus loves you my brother/sister.” and you will see the true light of the gosple. **

I’m sorry you have had to go through that experience. I don’t see very many homeless people where I live, but if I do see one, I certainly don’t want to ignore him. I heard Mike Yankowski on the Focus on the Family radio show and I’d like to read his book. Haven’t had a chance yet though…

 

[oldblueknight]

I have been homeless three times in my life and my experince is this- most 85% of human beings ignore or treat with contempt the homeless. christians of all churchs do the same thing as the secular world. the biggist sin comited by christians is hypocracy. some give lip service while others back what they say with actions. I know we can not all give money to them but what we can do is see them and let them know they are not forgotten. **the next time you see a homless person go and say to him/her “I see you, you are not forgotten Jesus loves you my brother/sister.” and you will see the true light of the gosple. **

God bless you brother, you are correct concerning the hypocracy of many, however there are also many who passup an opprotunity to help out of fear. It is the times we live in and the number of predators lying in wait for the next victim. So, even though they may want to be a good Samaratian it may be overwhelming fear. I too keep cash on hand in my vehicle to help the homeles and feed their pets when they have one. However, I have encountered violent individuals in doing so who suffer mental illness and have actually taken them into protective custody to try and get help for them. Unfortunately we do, in our times live in a culture of fear, and hypocracy.
May God bless and keep you!!!

 

[MargaretMary39]

I just finished the book in topic. Under the Overpass by Mike Yankowski undertheoverpass.com/uop/home.php

It was a fascinating read that provokes some rather simple, but profound questions. The mention of denomination is left out of the book (I think), although I have the impression that these two were Baptists.

They sought out all churches. They lived on the streets and had to find a meal anywhere one was offered, including The Church.

Do you people think that the church has it “taken care of” and you don’t feel the need to help further? I’m not sure how I feel about doing something more on a personal level. My opinion is that giving money to panhandlers is not a way to help. I’ve been moved to volunteer time at the local kitchen in the meantime while I figure it out.

My personal bias is that I am Vet and I see this problem advancing upon us like a tidal wave. Here’s a pic that sums up what I have seen.
http://usera.imagecave.com/petr/HomelessVetWorthlessBum.jpg

that image is something I see lots of times - the freeway offramps always have people holding those signs and the big SUV’s with that yellow ribbon just drive by - hard to know if they just don’t have money on them, or if they give to or volunteer at a shelter or a vet facility - but it does seem like a contradiction -

 

[Sheeniac]

Unfortunately, there are a lot of scammers out there. Vietnam veterans are frequently impersonated, but due to their age I think that’s becoming a lot less typical.

How do I know whether someone is a vet when they are standing by the road? I don’t… I gave money to someone once at O’Hare after a sob story. My then-husband asked him what his MOS was. He couldn’t answer. My former Marine step-father was angry when he heard I gave money to someone who didn’t know their MOS since he was obviously a fraud. Sigh…

 

[StillWondering]

I have been homeless three times in my life and my experince is this- most 85% of human beings ignore or treat with contempt the homeless. christians of all churchs do the same thing as the secular world. the biggist sin comited by christians is hypocracy. some give lip service while others back what they say with actions. I know we can not all give money to them but what we can do is see them and let them know they are not forgotten. **the next time you see a homless person go and say to him/her “I see you, you are not forgotten Jesus loves you my brother/sister.” and you will see the true light of the gosple. **

I’ve never lived out in the streets. I just wanted to share an idea that may help those who wishes to help but do not know how. I would imagine that if Jesus is wondering in the desert, the three things we can give is some shade, some food, and some water. The last of these seem most portable for an average Joe. So carry a case of water bottles in the car. I’m sure it is hard to find decent drinking water when one does not have a home. Give a person you see that is suffering some water. It could be a sign that you do believe they have their human dignity still. And it’s something we can all use. This is not everything but it is a start.

Edit: Give out unopened bottles. If they cannot open it themselves, I’m not sure. Maybe open it in front of them?

 

[tqualey]

Hi, Mommamia,

I really enjoyed reading your post… sorry I joined so late!

Personally, I wish I had a ‘How To Manual’ when I meet someone on the street who is panhandling. While I have not really experienced someone who was homeless as you described, I am guessing that most homeless are begging. But, because they are out in the open, I have no idea where they live.

I will be driving in town and see someone begging at a corner. While I don’t want anyone to go hungry, I don’t want to contribute to someone’s desire for alcohol. A CC I go to has a special collection for the poor and make a contribution there - but, I am just at a loss as to what to do when I actually see someone on the street.

Any ideas would be really appreciated.

God bless

Back to the topic of the homeless

This is a cause very dear to my heart. Dh and I with our children spent two years traveling the country in an RV working with the homeless. I will stop short of saying we lived as the homeless, because we did have a home, with beds, toys, water, stove, bathroom, tv etc… But basically we were transient. While we were generally able to work for enough $$ to move on, I will not forget the many, many kind and loving people who helped us out.

Honestly, my die hard Baptist hubby had to admit, if you really need help the Catholic church is the place to go. We worked and ate at soup kitchens, met with and visited homeless shelters, and lived and loved with homeless folks. And most of them would agree.

Many, but not all protestant churches want to help you…as long as you are willing to “tow their line”, attend their church services, obey their rules etc… Now, not all. Some of the protestant and non-church affiliated services were great. But generally they had a lot of rules and hoops to jump through.

Also we found that some nationwide services, such as the Salvation Army varied from place to place, with some being wonderful, and some not so much.

The one time we really needed some help, one of our children had gotten ill and needed medicine, we went to a Catholic church. Not a charity like St. Vincent, but down to the local parish. We explained we had money for food and such, but not the $85 for medicine. The secretary didn’t even bat an eye. We offered to have her go pick up the medicine (not wanting her to think we were lying) but she just called the pharmacy, found out how much it would cost, and gave us the cash. Then gave us a tour of the lovely church.

On the other hand, in one instance St. Vincent told us they do not help the homeless. They had no programs at all we could use if we were homeless. I was shocked.

And don’t even get me started on homeless shelters. I would rather sleep under a bridge than stay a single night in any homeless shelter I have ever seen or heard of. Horrible places that treat people like scum, or prisoners.

Honestly, the most love and support came from random folks. Seriously. We met people who told us things like “God told me to come talk to you”, and one lady who gave us enough money to live on for a while, just because she said “God was calling her to us”. So I think that it is really us, everyday people who can be of the best help to people. By just not ignoring what is right in front of our face, or judging the guy asking for a handout.

 

[tqualey]

Hi, StillWondering,

I appreciate reading your post. I am a semi-retired RN - just work the weekends at a psychiatric hospital’s Intensive Care Unit. While allthe patients have been admitted because they are a danger to themselves or others, about half of the patients are homeless in one form or another (living in a group home, assisted living, transitioning from one home to another because of behavior problems and a few who actually have no home).

I added the bold in dispute.

I feel the need to reply to this because those that are unstable may act like they do not “want help” but how could one know if they are unstable. In fact many who get help and change their lives talk about how wonderful it is and how appreciative they are of people that would not give up.

I know for a fact many people who are mental ill lack the mental capacity to understand they need help or even those that do understand lack the capability to ask for help.

The loving Christian thing to do is to seek what is best for another.

Speaking form personal experience, there have been a period in my life where I would shun the people around me. Crawl under my bed sheets and pretend the problems I have do not exists. Sure when people ask me, I would tell them I’m fine and do not want others to insult me thinking I need help. But inside me my soul wails for the love of another – for someone to give me their hand.

I am very lucky that people took that fifth look because during the first four I am very convincing that I am doing exactly what I want and need no attention. I cried the day that one of my professors tracked me down at a campus function and spoke with me. He told me he does not understand what is going on with me, but he trusts that I want things to be different. I did not know how to reply to him, I was scared, I was angry, and I was confused. He told me something so simple, but it was his heart that spoke clearer than any words. He told me he wants the best for me and he will wait for me to go get help then continue with my degree.

My problems are minor compared to many out there, but this minor problem was enough to devastate my life, effect my faith, cause great great strife within my family (four out of six of us in the family have serious mental illness and the remaining two, my eldest sister and father, exhibit social problems.) I cannot imagine how terrible it must be for some of those with mental problems that then become homeless. At this point, I do not think it is fair to say they “do not want help.” We cannot even know what they truly want till they can use full human mental functions. My conclusion is that the only Christian thing to do is to help and continue helping whether they act like they want help or not as long as we do not harm their body nor soul.

Your professor sounds like a very special person… but, you know, your prof was part of a organized system - a college or university which has specific rules. While he may want to extend extra time - and possibly can - the institution sets the limits, exceed these and an Incomplete grade automatically turns into a Failure.

And getting that “5th look” is a something that I guess does not happen too often. The assumption - unless there is some over-riding objective evidence to the contrary - is that if someone says they do not want help is to basically withdraw the offer. Some of the flolks I have met would desperately need help would strike out at someone insisting to help them. Offering that ‘5th look’ has a certain risk for the ‘looker’ … the ‘lookee’ has been suffering with their mental illness for so long that making really prudent decisions (sometimes, just rational ones would be an upgrade!) is almost an impossibility.

Long term institutionalization (for the non-criminally insane) is not the big option it used to be - and that means that more mentally ill patients are out on the street being treated on an out-patient basis with varrying degrees of success. These are mixed in with the needly homeless who have suddenfly found the bank has taken over their home and they have no family or friends.

I do not have any great insights into this - but, from my experience, anyone expecting a ‘5th look’ because they turned down the previous 4, may be waiting a while.

God bless

 

[Timbothefiveth]

If they aren’t dangerous you could offer them some food, that way you won’t be feeding a drug habit.

 

[Ridgerunner]

One of the big problems with how we treat the homeless, is precisely that we don’t “treat” the homeless. Many, many of them are insane, but because of court decisions and the desire of states to rid themselves of very expensive institutions for the mentally ill, they’re turned out on the street.

One of my daughters worked in a psych hospital. Now and then the police would round up some of the chronic homeless who seemed to be in really bad condition, and brought them to her institution. They would clean them up, medicate them properly, feed them, put them in touch with Family Services. But once they became stable, all they could do was send them out on the street again. Eventually, they would nearly all return, in an endless cycle. Ironically, most of them had SSD or SSI and didn’t have to be homeless. But they were so insane, it didn’t help them very much. My daughter’s favorite was “Batman”; a guy who could be stable as long as he took his meds. But once he stabilized, he would always decide he didn’t need them anymore and would quit taking them. He would then become convinced he was Batman. He would do something dangerously crazy and the police would pick him up again and send him to the psych hospital again. He was a nice guy, both when he was Batman and when he wasn’t, and the staff all liked him.

That’s not to say all the homeless are like that. But there is also a Catholic homeless shelter (an old, refurbished hotel with a kitchen) in the same city. They basically deal with the sane homeless. They also try to get them jobs or welfare or both; whatever might get them back on their feet.

But given the numbers, (and granted, that’s just one city) it does seem to me the insane outnumber the sane, when it comes to the homeless.

 

[tqualey]

Hi, Ridgerunner,

While I have not experienced anyone quite like ‘Batman’ I can independently verify that the experience of being picked up by the police, cleaned-feed-medicated and stabelized, and then to discharge them is an on-going process.

Not to sound silly, but, does anyone actually give money to the homeless? If so, how much do you give and how many do you do this for? There is no ‘process’ so that one is neither setting themself up in a dangerous situation or is encouraging / enabling helplessness.

I am honestly at a loss here.

God bless

One of the big problems with how we treat the homeless, is precisely that we don’t “treat” the homeless. Many, many of them are insane, but because of court decisions and the desire of states to rid themselves of very expensive institutions for the mentally ill, they’re turned out on the street.

One of my daughters worked in a psych hospital. Now and then the police would round up some of the chronic homeless who seemed to be in really bad condition, and brought them to her institution. They would clean them up, medicate them properly, feed them, put them in touch with Family Services. But once they became stable, all they could do was send them out on the street again. Eventually, they would nearly all return, in an endless cycle. Ironically, most of them had SSD or SSI and didn’t have to be homeless. But they were so insane, it didn’t help them very much. My daughter’s favorite was “Batman”; a guy who could be stable as long as he took his meds. But once he stabilized, he would always decide he didn’t need them anymore and would quit taking them. He would then become convinced he was Batman. He would do something dangerously crazy and the police would pick him up again and send him to the psych hospital again. He was a nice guy, both when he was Batman and when he wasn’t, and the staff all liked him.

That’s not to say all the homeless are like that. But there is also a Catholic homeless shelter (an old, refurbished hotel with a kitchen) in the same city. They basically deal with the sane homeless. They also try to get them jobs or welfare or both; whatever might get them back on their feet.

But given the numbers, (and granted, that’s just one city) it does seem to me the insane outnumber the sane, when it comes to the homeless.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hi, Ridgerunner,

While I have not experienced anyone quite like ‘Batman’ I can independently verify that the experience of being picked up by the police, cleaned-feed-medicated and stabelized, and then to discharge them is an on-going process.

Not to sound silly, but, does anyone actually give money to the homeless? If so, how much do you give and how many do you do this for? There is no ‘process’ so that one is neither setting themself up in a dangerous situation or is encouraging / enabling helplessness.

I am honestly at a loss here.

God bless

When you ask whether anyone gives money to the “homeless” it’s hard for anyone to answer, because unless you know the people, you can never know who is really homeless and who isn’t. Generally speaking, I give money to people who are begging, unless they seem just too phony for words or unless they act in an aggressive manner.

But I also think things vary a lot from place to place. I live in a small town that’s fairly prosperous as small towns go. It’s not ritzy. I guess I should say, instead, that everyone lives pretty decently, employment is plentiful, and there are a fair number of millionaires, all self-made. The charitable organizations, including churches, are very effective. There are also huge extended families. So, if somebody who lives here becomes homeless, they really never become homeless. If a total stranger shows up in town, even they don’t stay homeless, even for a night if they get around to the churches and the other organizations.
Most definitely a family would not stay homeless even for one night.

But the local and state agencies are pretty good too, and work with the churches and other organizations to get people into stable housing, work, etc. They also provide “mentors” to monitor people like Batman to make sure they take their meds, pay their rent, etc. You can do things like that in a small town or a rural county like this one, because people know who’s who and who needs what. Some of the people who have rental property will put people up for free. But that never lasts very long, because people get back on their feet pretty quickly because the local organizations are good and there are jobs. It’s not too hard to be personally charitable when an entire community is involved.

Nobody here ever panhandles for money. I have never seen it. In larger towns to which I travel, sometimes I do. “Batman” was in a larger town nearby of maybe 250,000. They do have untended insane people in places there. But, as I said, the Catholic Church also has that hotel of which I spoke in a prior post, and it can pretty well handle the sane homeless until they can get on their feet with whatever help the Church and the local agencies can provide. So pretty nearly all the truly homeless there are insane. In big cities, it might be different.

 

[tqualey]

Hi, Ridgerunner,

What a charmingly delightful town! I live in a suburb of Houston… and things are a bit different…

When you ask whether anyone gives money to the “homeless” it’s hard for anyone to answer, because unless you know the people, you can never know who is really homeless and who isn’t. Generally speaking, I give money to people who are begging, unless they seem just too phony for words or unless they act in an aggressive manner.

But I also think things vary a lot from place to place. I live in a small town that’s fairly prosperous as small towns go. It’s not ritzy. I guess I should say, instead, that everyone lives pretty decently, employment is plentiful, and there are a fair number of millionaires, all self-made. The charitable organizations, including churches, are very effective. There are also huge extended families. So, if somebody who lives here becomes homeless, they really never become homeless. If a total stranger shows up in town, even they don’t stay homeless, even for a night if they get around to the churches and the other organizations.
Most definitely a family would not stay homeless even for one night.

But the local and state agencies are pretty good too, and work with the churches and other organizations to get people into stable housing, work, etc. They also provide “mentors” to monitor people like Batman to make sure they take their meds, pay their rent, etc. You can do things like that in a small town or a rural county like this one, because people know who’s who and who needs what. Some of the people who have rental property will put people up for free. But that never lasts very long, because people get back on their feet pretty quickly because the local organizations are good and there are jobs. It’s not too hard to be personally charitable when an entire community is involved.

Nobody here ever panhandles for money. I have never seen it. In larger towns to which I travel, sometimes I do. “Batman” was in a larger town nearby of maybe 250,000. They do have untended insane people in places there. But, as I said, the Catholic Church also has that hotel of which I spoke in a prior post, and it can pretty well handle the sane homeless until they can get on their feet with whatever help the Church and the local agencies can provide. So pretty nearly all the truly homeless there are insane. In big cities, it might be different.

Enjoy your town!

God bless

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hi, Ridgerunner,

What a charmingly delightful town! I live in a suburb of Houston… and things are a bit different…

Enjoy your town!

God bless

Thank you for saying that. Our Chamber of Commerce would be pleased. I will say, though, that a lot of small towns and rural counties are the same way. It’s not so much a matter of the attitude of the town. It’s more a matter of knowing things. If, say, a collection jar appears on the counter at Casey’s to pay for somebody’s surgery or whatever, a lot of people know who the person is and are likely to know at least something about their situation. If somebody goes bankrupt, there’s a fair chance you will know it. If you don’t know, somebody will know whom you can ask.

Also, in small towns there do tend to be a lot of interconnected family relationships. So, first of all, desperate situations are widely known. Secondly, there is a feeling of obligation to help them out even if they’re a fifth cousin twice removed. So, for example, if I want to buy a car and have an older car that’s still serviceable, I might just give it to my third cousin whose car broke down or got reposessed, instead of getting some low-end trade-in for it. Why not? If I butcher a beef or get a trunkload of nearly-free frozen chicken from Tyson’s, why would I not bring some to someone who I thought might not be eating too well? But first, I have to know their need. I doubt there is a person in your parish who wouldn’t empty their fridge for somebody they knew was hungry, or give them a check to help with their medical expenses. But first, you have to KNOW.

It seems the larger a city is, the less people know about others and the fewer family members one has (or knows) in that city. I suspect city neighborhoods were once a good deal more cohesive than they are now. Still, I can’t help thinking that the tendency of government to appropriate all charitable functions to itself, and tax people more and more to pay for it, is a deadly discouragement to private charity, and an encouragement to people, particularly in cities, to NOT get to know who their neighbors are and what their needs might be. I think it encourages people to think of others in terms of “classes” or “categories”, not as people. Churchmen, unfortunately, fall into that way of thinking as well, and end up supporting government coercion as a substitute for charity. And, of course, the government is largely capable only of broad-brush applications instead of targeting need where it really exists. The government approach is “All people earning less than ‘X’ get ‘Y’”, or “All people born before ‘A’ get ‘B’”. Consequently, it ends up committing injustices on both ends. People who are really in need are often disqualified while those who really have no true need receive benefits paid for by someone else who might be in even greater need. Politicians, of course, think that’s fine, because they study voting prospects by “categories”. Their objectives are “winning constituencies”, not truly helping individuals.

 

[fultonfish]

An inner city Catholic priest told me that he had to stop giving money to homeless people. One of his inner city friends, a protestant minister, had been panhandled and told the guy he had run out of money and the panhandler pulled out a knife and stabbed the minister to death.

So they give out food and clothing and help them find shelter. But no money.