what we can do....

I just read this article on a local news site.

This article bothered me in more than one way. First, think of all the people playing on the human nature to help those in need. This bothers me for the obviouse reasons. However, the second, i think maybe bothers me more. how many people will give up on helping the homeless because of this article? or people who never helped before, never will because of it?

I just want to say, dont let these peole stop you from helping those in need!

Instead, just help them in the most valuable way. With your time and

LOVE.

There are so many practical ways to help truly homeless people without giving any money at all. Sometimes its just a few minutes and a nice gesture.

Not everyone knows what its like to see homeless where they live. For those of us in smaller towns and cities, homelessness is typicaly a non-issue, but needs are still great, even for those with homes. I live in a smaller city where there is only one homeless person, this person does not claim to be homeless. I would often see her wandering around the circle in shreded clothing and no shoes, even when its cold. More than once I wanted to stop and offer her a meal and a shower, but with kids, I have to think of the safety and well-being of more than just myself, so this has always prevented me from stopping. Last summer, I saw her and decided to stop and offer her my flip-flops. She didnt need my shoes, she needed the thought and the 10 minutes I spent talking with her. She said I reminded her of one of her daughters who lives in Chicago. She told me she didnt need my shoes, but that the offer was sweet. She told me that she knew she was devolping alzhiemers and that a doctor once told her that walking barefoot helped with mental clarity. We talked about her children in other states a little, and after asking her if she needed anything else, I told her goodbye and went home. I havent seen her since then. Maybe she got to Chicago some how. Maybe I just dont drive that way as ofen and she's still around, but the point is, money goes fast, but people will usualy remember a thoughtful and caring gesture.
There are so many ways we can help those in need without the risk of being "duped" by those pretending to have needs they dont have. Im going to list a few REALY practical ways to help, and a few that require our time(which might be less practical).

• instead of donating your clothes to goodwill, see if there are churches that GIVE donated clothes to people in need.
• donate non-perishable food items to a food pantry.
• donate school supplies to places that help get kids what they need to attend school(most churches do this along with several public assistance programs)
• join your local freecycle group (found on yahoo groups) this will let you have an idea of lower income households needs(this is a group that primarily prevents things from going to a landfil if it can be used by someone however some people will post things they need in hopes someone has an item they are not using), often you will see people in need of beds for children. This is a great way to pass on your clothing, especially for children.
• donate your time to a food pantry or soup kitchen. (my church volunteers at the salvation army a few times a year to serve the meal, I have heard how much they enjoyed getting to know the people that come to eat, its not just about feeding them food, some of them realy need the hope and encouragement that comes from kindness and conversation)
• volunteer time and or skills at a homeless shelter. There are many homeless shelters that need people with a learned skill to teach these skills to the homeless that live there. Skills that will make them self sufficient. Many of these people are single mothers struggling to make a life for thier kid(s), women without good upbringings, without being tought how to do things that seem to be natural, but arent. If you have a gift for couponing...teach it! If you can cook well, with little to work with and little money...teach it! Have a gift for time management? A single mom could use that too! How about secretarial skills? Knowing what to expect and what to do could get her the job she needs. How about programs and oporating systems? There are some jobs that requires the knowleage of using a certain program and if you know how and can teach it, it gives them something extra to offer an employer. These are just a few ideas, ther are so many skills you can teach people.

there are so many ways to help those in need, my hope is that people will be more and more encouraged to help others. If it takes a village to rais a child, what does it take to raise a family?