Homelessness

8-12-2025

Homelessness

What causes people to become homeless in the first place? Is it circumstance, habit or choice?

Most people (myself included) simply look the other way or ignore the obvious – these are people who maybe down on their luck, destitute or just plain hungry. You have probably heard the stories like I’ve heard where someone parks their high end automobile in a business parking lot, gets out wearing their “homelessness” attire and grabs their sign to begin their fulltime job on the corner. Some even bring a dog (maybe not even their dog) to garner sympathetic support and a lot of extra bucks. Or the guy who rides a commuter bus to another city, begs for 4+ hours and then catches the return commuter bus back to where he started out (all in a day’s work).

These are just some of the questions I have when I see people panhandling, sitting on street corners begging or bum rushing cars at intersections with unsolicited wash your window for money schemes and businesses are begging for workers.

How is homelessness being dealt with? Is there a cure for homelessness? Finally who is ultimately responsible for ending homelessness?

Is homelessness confined to large inner cities or urban areas? I’ve seen the “tent cities” up in inner cities, downtown streets have people sleeping on the streets (sleeping bags, shopping carts full of possessions, and one enterprising individual staked out an area in a vacant lot and had a lawn mower where he kept his area clean and neat.

Some say it’s the government, others say the “church”, while still others say it’s everybody’s responsibility. What say you? I say to a certain degree – all three.

So how do we change it?

Government can provide programs that can help lift an individual out of poverty; churches can provide food, clothing and shelter; and everybody can offer friendship, assistance and instruction.

The problem is whether the homeless individual is really wanting or asking for help out of the situation they find themselves in.

It’s impossible to help someone who doesn’t think they need or want your help.

Farmers, ranchers and business owners and managers are always looking for workers who take pride in themselves and bring forth a good attitude with dedication and commitment.

I once read of a “homeless” man who went to a church service where the “new” pastor was about to address the congregation for the first time. As the homeless man walked in and moved past the congregation to sit on the first row nobody said a word, however an usher or deacon approached the man and politely asked him to move to the back or outside as his appearance and body smell was offending everyone around him. The man refused to move.

Finally it was time to introduce the new pastor, yet the deacon who had been waiting patiently for him to arrive got up and made an announcement about waiting a moment longer for the new pastor who was a highly respected and well education theologian.

At that time the “homeless” man stood up and took to the pulpit. He introduced himself and his sermon was on Jesus’s sermon about the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) and everyone bowed their heads in shame.

We are not to look down on others, regardless of their outward appearance, the color of their skin or their racial background as everyone is equally made in the image of God.

We are instructed to Love God, Our Neighbors and when possible to live in peace with everyone. Let us start with our homeless neighbors who may just need a hand up instead of a hand out. – RTM