For almost 7 years now there has been something weighing heavily on my heart. I remember seeing a homeless person in the freezing cold for the first time when I was 15. It was while I was on a school trip to Ontario, Canada. It hit something deep inside me and I so badly wanted to do something for that poor man I saw shivering in the cold. Years passed before I faced this awful reality again. It still hit just as hard the next time and every time I have come in contact with someone who is homeless.
I have always done what I can at that point in my life to reach out to any homeless people I come in contact with. This compassion is something I feel is important to pass along to my children so we have made up bags of hygiene items and snacks that we give out. Unfortunately, I don't always have them in the car with me. I am one of those people who gives them some cash because I feel it's the right thing to do. Afterall, everything I have is God's anyway. I know they could use the money to buy booze but it's not my place to tell them how to spend God's money. As a human, I'm not always a good steward of His blessings so what right do I have to judge someone else?
Typically I hand a homeless man a few dollars or give him one of the bags the kids made up and he responds with something like, "thank you, God bless you!" And that's the end of the encounter. Not lately though...
I drove up to a Hess station a couple weeks ago and spotted a homeless man digging through the garbage for aluminum cans. So I sat for a moment and thought. Then I got out of the car, walked over to him and told him I would like to buy him a sandwich. He declined my offer and told me he collects cans and that's how he survives. I took another look at this man in front of me who was skinny as a rail and probably hadn't had a shower in quite some time. His clothes were torn and his face was dirty. Yet he spoke like a man with such dignity. Again I offered, telling him I would really like to buy him a sandwich and again he politely declined my offer. This weighed on me... a homeless man whom many refer to as a "begger" was declining the offer of a filling dinner. I wasn't sure what to make of this.
Then just a couple days ago I was at a stop light and saw a man who wasn't skin and bones like the other man but he was obviously homeless. He held a sign though I can't recall what it said. I reached into my purse and pulled out a few dollars and handed it to him. When he accepted the money he thanked me and it became very obvious from those few words that this man was mentally challenged. The light turned green and I had to drive away although I'm not sure what I would have done had I stayed. As I drove away I prayed for this man. I also had mixed emotions of compassion for him and anger at society, myself included, that this person was homeless. See, I believe some people choose to be homeless for one reason or another. I don't believe that was this man's case though. I doubt he is someone who would be able to care for and support himself. So why is he homeless? Our government pays so much money to people in welfare and social security benefits. How does this man get missed? Isn't there a program that could help him get into a group home or something along those lines? I would much prefer my tax dollars go to helping people like this than into the pockets of already rich politicians.
This has been on my mind for days now and I needed to get my thoughts out. I'm not sure what I could have done differently that day. I would have loved to bring him home with me, give him a warm meal, let him take a shower and find some of Paul's clothes for him to wear. Unfortunately, with 4 small children at home I just couldn't take the chance. I keep thinking I could have called DCF but would they have done anything? Beyond this I'm at a loss. If I knew he was going to be there every day I would probably drive past each day and bring him food and other necessities. But it's rare that I see the same homeless person more than once for various reasons.
I have always done what I can at that point in my life to reach out to any homeless people I come in contact with. This compassion is something I feel is important to pass along to my children so we have made up bags of hygiene items and snacks that we give out. Unfortunately, I don't always have them in the car with me. I am one of those people who gives them some cash because I feel it's the right thing to do. Afterall, everything I have is God's anyway. I know they could use the money to buy booze but it's not my place to tell them how to spend God's money. As a human, I'm not always a good steward of His blessings so what right do I have to judge someone else?
Typically I hand a homeless man a few dollars or give him one of the bags the kids made up and he responds with something like, "thank you, God bless you!" And that's the end of the encounter. Not lately though...
I drove up to a Hess station a couple weeks ago and spotted a homeless man digging through the garbage for aluminum cans. So I sat for a moment and thought. Then I got out of the car, walked over to him and told him I would like to buy him a sandwich. He declined my offer and told me he collects cans and that's how he survives. I took another look at this man in front of me who was skinny as a rail and probably hadn't had a shower in quite some time. His clothes were torn and his face was dirty. Yet he spoke like a man with such dignity. Again I offered, telling him I would really like to buy him a sandwich and again he politely declined my offer. This weighed on me... a homeless man whom many refer to as a "begger" was declining the offer of a filling dinner. I wasn't sure what to make of this.
Then just a couple days ago I was at a stop light and saw a man who wasn't skin and bones like the other man but he was obviously homeless. He held a sign though I can't recall what it said. I reached into my purse and pulled out a few dollars and handed it to him. When he accepted the money he thanked me and it became very obvious from those few words that this man was mentally challenged. The light turned green and I had to drive away although I'm not sure what I would have done had I stayed. As I drove away I prayed for this man. I also had mixed emotions of compassion for him and anger at society, myself included, that this person was homeless. See, I believe some people choose to be homeless for one reason or another. I don't believe that was this man's case though. I doubt he is someone who would be able to care for and support himself. So why is he homeless? Our government pays so much money to people in welfare and social security benefits. How does this man get missed? Isn't there a program that could help him get into a group home or something along those lines? I would much prefer my tax dollars go to helping people like this than into the pockets of already rich politicians.
This has been on my mind for days now and I needed to get my thoughts out. I'm not sure what I could have done differently that day. I would have loved to bring him home with me, give him a warm meal, let him take a shower and find some of Paul's clothes for him to wear. Unfortunately, with 4 small children at home I just couldn't take the chance. I keep thinking I could have called DCF but would they have done anything? Beyond this I'm at a loss. If I knew he was going to be there every day I would probably drive past each day and bring him food and other necessities. But it's rare that I see the same homeless person more than once for various reasons.