Awareness Wednesday :: Are You Aware of the Homeless?
I have a friend who has very precocious children. One day one of her younger children referred to someone as homeless. I asked the child if she knew the person and if she knew where the person sleeps. One of the older kids chimed in that the person was a hobo. Certainly precocious. I did not know that kids these days had ever even heard the term hobo.
It got me wondering if we are aware of the people we see each day. Maybe they are at the intersection holding a sign announcing that they will work for food. Maybe the sign says, “Please give, every penny helps,” or simply, “God Bless You.” Sometimes we simply look at a person and make the snap judgment: That person is homeless. We use the term homeless as if it is a dividing line between us and them.
At various times, money has been tight for me. I have not had the newest clothes and shoes. I bought things at a thrift store and met my family’s needs the best way I could. I have supplemented my income by busking at times. I wonder if anyone referred to me as homeless.
It is interesting to think of my parents and their attitudes toward people. My mother was a good woman and my father a very proud man. I was a teenager in the 80s. I have three holes in each ear. I wore my hair in a punk style, and it was occasionally purple or green. I cut the sleeves and bottoms off of shirts. I often had holes in the knees of my jeans, whether they were brand new and from Bloomingdale’s, or not. My parents were horrified! They would say things that equated to, “You look like you come from nowhere.” My friend’s kids are debating the nomenclature of the poor: homeless vs. hobo. I wonder how they would have described me.
Matthew 25:35: For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me. Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to Me.
I remember once in church a woman told a group that she was so proud of the level of charity that her husband has. I know him; he is a good man. His wife explained how every day he gave one dollar to a homeless person on his way to work. I think that is good. But I thought about Matthew chapter 25. If a person were hungry, will that dollar feed them? Will it give them drink, or clothe them. Do we visit? Do we come to them? We encounter people in need all the time. But we put them in boxes: family member box, friend box, work colleague box, or neighbor or church member box — homeless or hobo box.
I am my mother’s child. I am God’s child, too. I am a work colleague and church member. I am also the least of these. I know that if I were hungry, my family would feed me a full meal, and my mother would have filled my fridge as well. I know that my friends would do the same. Recently, I didn’t have my wallet at work. A co-worker bought lunch for me that day. I know my church members would feed me if needed. This is the way we show love to each other as part of God’s family. We do not make judgments in the family, do we? We just do what is needed.
Matthew 7:12: Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you: do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
A woman approached me on the street one day. She asked if I had two dollars so she could get a roll and coffee. It was about lunchtime. My first thought was, I have no cash and she is just another homeless person — it is not my problem. My second thought was, I have a credit card and she is a child of God. I called her back and told her to come into the nearby deli. They had grilled chicken breasts in the warming tray, so I asked her if she would like one and told her to order whatever else she wanted. I paid with my card and left her to enjoy her lunch, as I would do for myself and as I would want others to do unto me.
I think about giving one dollar to someone. In what spirit is it given? Is it given to make the receiver’s burden lighter, or is it given to make our own burden lighter? Is it given to make ourselves feel that we are charitable? Is it given to make the other feel that they are loved and cared for? Perhaps I should have stayed and had lunch with the woman who approached me.
Perhaps I could have found out if she was a hobo or a homeless person or a family member.
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Epilogue: I asked a friend to proofread this article for me. She cleaned up the punctuation and relayed the following message:
When I was a young child we were homeless for six months. We lived in our car. So this is coming from my own personal experience. Here are a few thoughts. Remember that these are people, and if you feel safe, take a minute to talk to them and see them as people. Realize that we’re all fragile. We are all broken. And we all fall down. And we often need help getting up. But some of us have better safety nets to catch us when we fall. The homeless often don’t have the same safety nets.
Consider what items homeless people actually need, and carry “give away kits” in your car to share instead of just money.
Needed items include socks of different sizes, hand warmers, wet wipes, combs, toothbrush and toothpaste, dental floss, cold medicine, pain reliever, toilet paper, garbage bags, water bottles, a loving note that recognizes them as individuals, gloves, bandages, sunscreen, nail clippers, single-serving snacks (like trail mix, nuts, tuna, crackers). For a female kit include feminine hygiene items.
Include gift cards to a grocery store or fast food place, and fill those in where it says “To” and “From” with something like:
To: A Valuable Person
From: Your Neighbors
Message: “You are loved” or “We see you”
Even if you have nothing to share, look them in the eye instead of looking away. Acknowledge them as individuals.
When you really talk to a homeless person, when you ask questions and listen, you’re likely to learn a lot that you may not fully understand.
What it is to be homeless? It is a deeply alienating existence. You can’t just assume that you know.
To read the other posts in our homelessness series, click here.
Charlotte Mountain is the anti-racism committee lead for Mormon Women for Ethical Government.
