Jesus said that we would always have the poor with us (Matt 26:11).
As a result, we find it easy to conclude that the problem of the poor is too big for us to solve, so we drop a few dollars in the Salvation Army kettle at Christmas and write a check for missions and give it to our local church.
We almost become blind to the poor where we live.
When the recent census revealed that there are over ten thousand homeless people in San Diego, everyone I know thought those numbers must be incorrect. “Occasionally I see a homeless person at an intersection begging for money but surely there can’t be more than a few hundred homeless people in the entire city!”
One church group of which we were a part decided that the homeless were on the streets because of “bad decisions” they had made. The group felt that helping them would only encourage them to stay homeless. The solution they proposed was that “Homeless people should get off their butts and get jobs!”
Their perspective might have changed if they had gotten their butts out of the pews and gone down to get to know some of the homeless in the streets.
Going to the Homeless
Last Saturday our small group ventured to downtown San Diego to an area where several hundred homeless people live on the sidewalk, in the shadow of the ballpark.
As we walked in the shadow of this great structure, I was reminded of Jesus being born in Bethlehem, literally in the shadow of the Herodian, one of Herod’s palaces and a symbol of the wealth and might of the Roman Empire.
Friday had brought a soaking rain. On Saturday the homeless were trying to dry their clothes, blankets and sleeping bags. As several told us, “We’re trying to get dry before it rains tomorrow.” We shared chips and some other prepackaged food we had taken with us and talked to them. Some had been living on the streets for months or years. One man said he had lost his job, had run out of money, and had just joined the ranks of the homeless that day.
We went home thankful for our warm bed and dry clothes.
About lunch time on Sunday the second storm arrived. The rain continued until the middle of the night. The heavy rain woke me up several times that night, and I prayed for the people sitting in the rain on the sidewalk downtown, some without even a garbage bag to cover their heads.
As the rain fell, the temperature dipped into the upper forties and low fifties. As many homeless have explained to us, even though the temperature might be above freezing, being soaked to the skin on a chilly night can lower body temperature and is especially dangerous for those with health problems. If a person remains cold and wet on the streets, hypothermia can set in and the homeless person may die.
Are the Homeless My Problem?
As I prayed for the homeless while it rained, I began to wonder if I had done enough.
We had taken food to the homeless, but I was lying in a warm dry bed and they were sitting on a cold, wet sidewalk getting soaked. We had given them dry clothes, but those clothes were now soaking wet while I had a whole closet full of warm and dry clothes a few feet away.
The problem of the homeless seemed too big for me or our small group to solve.
Was there something more we could do, or should we just give up?
As I lay there, I realized the truth of what Jesus said about the poor.
It is true that the poor will always be with us (Matt 26:11), but this is not an excuse to not help the poor, but an opportunity! Since the poor will always be with us, every person in every generation has the opportunity to be blessed through helping the poor.
More than that, since Jesus Himself said that if we give a cup of cold water to one of the least of these in His name, it is as if we are giving the cup of cold water to Jesus Himself (Matt 10:42), the opportunity to feed and clothe the poor is an opportunity to hang out with Jesus!
With this in mind, it would be unfair for only one generation or one group of people to have this opportunity! Therefore, it is a blessing that the poor will always be with us, because now all of us can go meet with Jesus on the streets.
So if you have ever wanted to meet Jesus, now is your chance! Go out and love the homeless.
There is so much need in the world!
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Great questions. I wish I had more answers. I often feel guilty about the house I live in, the car I drive, the food I throw away, the money I spend on clothes.
I sometimes feel like I should take a vow of poverty, but continue to make what I am making, and give the rest away.
But then “reason” kicks in, and I continue to live the way I am. I don’t know what the answers are… But I’m looking forward to your next post on the subject!
We’re planning to go back tomorrow with tarps for them to sit under and put their stuff under in the rain. Problem is, you and I could give all we have to the homeless and the problem would not be solved.
For me, it is an issue of my heart. Just because I can’t solve the problem is no reason to shut up my heart against the homeless. If I really am part of the Kingdom of God, I will not do that because that’s not the way those who are part of the Kingdom live.
Sam,
Great article and great questions. I have spent the last several years trying to answer them and I still am not certain I have any answers. Right now, we work on trying to meet specific needs as they are brought to us. We go to places where the homeless are fed or where they gather, and we get to know them. As we learn of a need, we try to find a way to meet it. Then we schedule a time and place to meet the person and give them the specific thing they need(blankets, tarps, shoes, socks, gloves, hats, jackets).
It is difficult because there are many hundreds of homeless and so many needs that we could never meet them all. We simply pray and ask God to lead us to those we can meet and provide for the needs as we encounter them. Is it enough, not sure, does it make a difference, yes. It is good to hear about what you are doing and we will pray for God to bless your ministry out there.
FedEx,
President,
Men of Praise Motorcycle Ministry
Just a note, we have both a Men of Praise chapter and a Set Free chapter that work with the homeless in San Diego if you ever run across them, let me know.
I located several Set Free Chapters online form the San Diego area, but could not find a reference to the Men of Praise chapter.
Yesterday (Sunday) three of us returned to the same downtown area we had visited last weekend. We took fifteen tarps and a bag filled with packages of wet wipes. Within seconds of walking around the corner where homeless people stood, sat and lay on the sidewalk, we were literally mobbed when they discovered we had tarps and wipes. We gave away everything in less than three minutes.
I am always impressed that most of the homeless people we meet are respectful, take their turn and share the little the have with each other. Seeing how little they have and how grateful they are for what they receive makes us want to give again. We’re trying to figure out how to get the most tarps, wipes, socks and other supplies for the amount of money we’re able to spend.
Thank you FedEx for what you and you group do for the homeless in Denver!
Thanks for the reminder. Several years ago I read a book called “Under the Overpass” about a couple of guys called to homeless mission. It had a profound effect on my understanding and view of people without homes. I would recommend you get a copy if you want to reach these people.
The other thing that may help in your church’s ministry is a group in Australia that has designed swags for homeless people that help with cold and rain. You can check it out at http://www.swags.org.au. I don’t know if they are in the USA but maybe this is an opportunity to take this solution across the sea.
May God continue to show you His view of these people. Your post has really brought the challenge to life.
Gail,
The Swag is great, I would love to see these available in the US. I am not sure how they would be accepted in communities like ours where camping is banned by ordinancce. But these look like they would be a great alternative to the less portable tents we normally work with.
I have not read the book Under the Overpass, and I have always been a little leery of people who choose to live like the homeless in order to understand. No one can really re-create the circumstances that result in a person becoming homeless, and no two experiences are alike.
Also, no matter how much you look and act like the homeless, you always have the option to return to your old life. They do not really have that option, and no matter how much you try to act like you are truly homeless, you always know you can go back. Maybe someday, someone will write a book about how they quit their job, and sold everything they owned, and gave away all their money, and then moved onto the street without any possibility of going back, or maybe not.
Not to be too hard on the authors, they had a good intention. They wanted to know what life on the streets was like, and they helped raise awareness of the problem of homelessness. I just think that creating artificial “homelessness” is not really the best way to get to know the problem. Sometimes, the best way is just spending time with the homeless; treating them like real people, and getting to know them on a personal level. Just Saying.
FedEx,
President,
Men of Praise Motorcycle Ministry.
I plan to read the book “Under The Overpass”, but I also wonder about what you’re bringing up – Is living like the homeless for a few weeks really the same thing as really being homeless? It made me think about the book I read a long time ago “Black Like Me” (The author dyed his skin and traveled around the country, mostly living on the streets, to learn how he would be treated.)
Last year there was a story in our local newspaper here in San Diego about a fellow who spent time with the homeless downtown. If I remember correctly, he would take a bag of sandwiches with him, sit down on the sidewalk, share the sandwiches and talk to and make friends with the homeless.
Even though he wasn’t pretending to be homeless, some passersby apparently thought he was. He reported that along with his homeless friends he too was kicked, spat upon and told to “get off your lazy ass and get a job” by some of those who walked past. We have not seen that happen, but we tend to go on weekends. The ill treatment was at the hands of those who work downtown, during the day on weekdays. Seems those middle class suburbanites can get nasty!
I have “Under the Overpass” but have not read it yet. I will have to. The Swags do look interesting also.
Gail, Thank you for the encouragement. I will get a copy of the book. (By the way, I’m not the Sam in the book.) I looked at the swags website and tried to find a U.S.A. location, but didn’t find one. However I will further research the backpack bed idea to see if someone here is doing that. Thank you for the suggestions!
Firstly I want to commend and express my appreciation and thank you to all who are ministering to the homeless, poor and needy. Remember, some have entertained angels and not known it.
Hebrews 13:2
From 2005 to 2008 I was homeless in Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada. I was 58 years old in 2004 when mental illness (bipolar and PTSD) ripped my life to shreds and dumped me on the streets of Albuquerque. I did have a few clothes and a motorcycle. Even with 3 Masters Degrees and 4 decades of experience in high technology I could not find employment. So I went to the “slave market” (day labor, show up at 5 a.m. and hope you get called to clean restrooms, work in warehouses or chop weeds..what ever was being offered.) I did not earn enough to afford to pay housing rent, buy groceries, keep gas in the motorcycle and do the other basic functions required to “keep body and soul together.” I went to the VA and was summarily excused and invited to leave and not return, inspite of being a honorably discharged Viet Nam vet. I stayed in Albuquerque, lived in a street community and we share all we had, I can’t count the people I aided with transportation needs because I had “wheels”, worked from the slave market, skipped meals and saved enough money for fuel to get to Las Vegas, Nevada.
This took about a year because the M/C wore out its tires and other unforeseen challenges kept popping up. I need to add that I was not a Christian at this time but I had a relationship with God based on recovery from alcohol and drugs 35 years earlier. I was so ashamed of my situation that I did not share my circumstances with others in the 12 step meetings I attended.
When I arrived in Las Vegas the story remained the same, except that my mental illness was getting much worse…dangerous to myself and others. I once again went to the VA and was told it would take 4 to 6 months to process me in and get me care. I did go to a hospital emergency room, on the advice of a “street person” friend who recognized my pain from personal experience, and was placed in observational mental health voluntary care for three days and nights and given medications and a prescription for 90 days more.
I went under the interstate and to the slave market for about a year. I began to unravel again so I called a friend in Texas and asked him to loan me $200 to get to my childhood home on the reservation in Montana. Actually he had been trying to get me to do that for a couple years but my pride and illness prevented me from accepting his generosity.
I’ll stop this narrative at this point to address the main points of the discussion.
1. Going to the homeless
2. Loving the homeless
3. Are the homeless my problem?
It has been a long and challenging journey from those days to where I am now. But, I don’t EVER want to forget those days and try to use that experience to be the church to those God brings to me or brings me to.
Truly being the church in my community causes me to seek out the homeless. Non-judgementaly and without reservation learn to love the un-loveable as Jesus and countless others have done and are doing now. If I don’t know how to do this I go to the organizations that are doing it and learn how.
If I am to profess myself a Christian then the homeless are not just my problem they are my opportunity. My opportunity to “walk the talk”. I have found the most effective way to deal with fear is in the company of a compatible companion (someone other than my wife, she has her own ministry) This is why the first disciples went out 2×2 and law enforcement people have a partner and soldiers have a buddy or wingman. Seek out someone with experience in doing this work and ask them to teach you. They need not be a member of your congregation nor is any other commonality required, just the desire to do the work. After all we are carrying the church to them also.
God Bless all of you for what you have done and are doing,
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God, and the communion of
the Holy Spirit be with you.
Stephan, Since you wrote this a couple of years after the original post was written, I missed seeing it. Thank you so much for sharing your story. I believe you have been there and praise God that you are in a better place now. Yes, the homeless are our opportunity, our opportunity to love them with the love of Jesus, and this includes loving them in concrete, practical ways.
Your advice is as good as any I’ve seen anywhere. We pray that God go with you wherever you go Stephan.
Your life story is both heartbreaking & inspiring. I live in NYC & often think of how vacuous & self absorbed this city is; but at the same time we always have an opportunity to answer the question: what would Jesus do?? Well, I think down deep inside I know the answer. Admittedly, I also have my own personal familial challenges with mental illness and feel exhausted & helpless. Nonetheless, Jesus would put himself last & others first. A foreign concept in today’s social media, “selfie” society. I am often plagued with guilt & find my life saturated with superficiality. I heard a quote in a movie- Cinderella to be exact, it was prudent advice given to Cinderella from her dying mother: “be kind & Brave.” THATS IT? Yes! That’s it! I still feel like my personal blue print life plan is vastly different from Gods plan for me. And as each day rolls on, I find my plan unbearable. Your story is a reminder that miracles happen even in the darkest situations & we all have the opportunity (not obligation – its a gift, not a burden) to help each other in this very tough love lesson, known as life. Thank you so much for sharing & God Bless You.
Thank you, Irene. Stephen’s story is indeed inspiring. May each of us learn to follow Jesus and love others, especially those who surround us – our friends, our neighbors and also the poor, the lonely and even the homeless.
Stephan. Your story is inspiring and parallel to my own. I too am well educated from a prestigious university. I have held executive positions in hight tech companies my whole career and have travelled the world, stayed at the fines5 hotels and eaten at the finest restaurants. Then the recession hit and I went through some grueling executive interview processes. I began to drink heavily during that time and proceeded to watch every aspect of my worldly identity evaporate and I became a shell of what I had been when times were good.
I soon became severely physically dependent on alcohol and began hallucinating. To make a long story short, I ended up living on the streets and then in a park for a year. I rekindled my relationship with the lord and watched him restore every aspect of my life by surrounding me with love from family, church and mental health resources.
The lord has delivered me from the depths of he’ll and blessed me with more money than I need. I feel called by him to take my professional experience and the lessons that I learned from being poor, hungry, cold, lonely, and mentally ill to do something much bigger than just volunteering at a homeless shelter or serving the church. I, like many others, am asking how?
This site has provided some good direction as to a starting point.
God bless you all for the care and love thatyou are providing to the mmarginalized and disenfranchised of the world!
Richard, I missed this comment, since it was written awhile after the original post. Thank you for sharing your story. So glad you are off the street now and that you want to help those who are still out there. See the response to Joshua below. That’s a good place to start in helping the homeless. Also, there are numerous posts in the archives on this site on this topic. Since Jeremy recently reorganized the site, if you can’t find them, let us know and we’ll post links in a follow-up comment.
Nice to see your post man. No one cares about the homeless today. Matt.25:35 is completely forgotten as today’s “christians” rush towards the self obsession “gospel”.
On top of our duty to help and remember to care for the poor, they are some of the most beautiful people in the world.
While many do not care about the homeless and do not want to see them or even be reminded that they exist, there are those who do care, those who do spend themselves to help the homeless, be it the proverbial cup of water or more. The problems of many of the homeless are complex: addictions, mental and/or physical illness, lack of employment and income, lack of job experience, lack of education, low self-esteem and of course lack of permanent shelter, and more.
Unfortunately a forum such as this can not deal with these issues in depth. However, each of us can do something. I would suggest something more than handing a homeless person a dollar out of your car window. Take the time to get to know at least one homeless person. Learn their name. Remember it. Hear their story. Listen. Remember. Why are they homeless? What can you do to help them get off the street? (Assuming they want to get off the street.) How can you best show the love of Jesus to them?
Love your homeless post. They have so inspired me. Just learned yesterday my son’s office is having a homeless drive for warm clothes. So shopping I did go and filled their collection box but best of all, it was my heart that was filled to overflowing. I think I have finally found my calling. At least one and your post was the trigger for my spirit within. My spirit is leaping for joy!
Thank you Jeremy for your dedication and love.
Trish, Many of the homeless do not have the ability to wash their clothes, so they usually throw away the clothes when they get filthy. Once we figured this out, we started buying decent used clothes at thrift stores and discovered that we could buy multiples of most items for the price of one new item.
We’ve also learned that they really need protein. Most of them love ham and cheese sandwiches on hamburger buns with a little mayo. We buy the processed ham in loaves and slice it, and the pre-sliced cheese. Put the sandwiches in Ziploc sandwich bags and pack in a cooler with ice packs. You might also add peeled, hard-boiled eggs, which are also a source of protein. We buy the little packets of salt. Each person gets one sandwich and one egg. And of course they also need bottled water. The processed ham may not be the healthiest choice, but we’ve tried lots of things and this is what they like best.
The most important thing is to spend time with them and get to know them and love them.
Ah, noticed afterwards, Sam that you authored this post.
Thank you so much for the information. Thrift stores great idea. Just found at Walgreens a cool package of toothbrush, paste and brush holder. Bought all they had. Dollar Store has 10 pk crew socks for $5.
I have never gone out on the streets and even have to find where they frequent. So far just helping shelters. I’m sure Spirit will guide me in the street thing. Right now am recovering from a big back surgery so will be a while before can hit the street but am so excited and armed with your knowledge feel it will be a successful endeavor. Thanks again for the info. Think it’s an okay thing for a couple of women to do? Have a friend that wants to get involved also.
Helping homeless shelters is a great idea. Ask them what they need. They may have plenty of certain items and very little of others. Usually, men’s pants, belts and underwear are at or near the top of the list. In cold areas, add warm coats, hoodies, sweatshirts, gloves, scarves, blankets and so on in the winter. Men’s and women’s shoes (tennies, not dress) are always needed. Men usually outnumber women by at least seven to one on the street.
Should two women go out alone? – That depends on your area. Ask the shelter workers and other organizations that work with the homeless for their opinion. Generally, I’d suggest you have one or two men with you. Unless you and your friend and whoever goes with you gets to know the streets and the people really well during daylight hours, I’d suggest you not go after dark. We’ve been on the street many times late at night in the highest crime rate areas of the city, but I would never suggest that anyone else do that. Usually, groups of three or four during daylight hours work best. More than four can be overwhelming to the people you meet. Two is iffy, and only if you feel safe and the people already know you.
If you have lots of questions, ask here, or we can communicate by e-mail. Don’t list your full name or address, but if you want to mention your town or city that should be fine, or maybe the size of the city and how many homeless your city has. We have about 14,000 (higher than the official count, but probably the more accurate number), and that number would be higher if the “situationally homeless” were included (couch surfers, those staying with a friend for a few days and so on). If you have only 75 homeless in your town and you have a very low crime rate, how you approach working with the homeless could differ significantly from what I have written.
Felt the question important. Glad I ask. Thank you. We plan on volunteering at the shelter and that I think would be best to do.
Have a restful evening and again thank you for your insite. Some times I am quite naive regarding things of this nature. At almost 70 years old have a hard time realizing how things have changed so. Wise as a serpent Jesus says. Appreciate your direction tremendously.
Really appreciated reading these thoughtful comments. My husband and I run a Men’s homeless shelter in a small rural community. This is the 10th season and we have met many wonderful new friends while providing warm safe shelter for those in need. It’s all about relationships and loving others, not judging. We are not trained, we are not prepared, we are not worthy of such a wonderful opportunity. We are told to LOVE our neighbor and we are doing the best we can with Jesus’ help!
Good Stuff ! Thank you