Challenges for the Homeless

Have you ever thought about what it is like to live as a homeless person? I have. Our family has been looking at being homeless since we left our securities to follow what God has called us to do, which is a homeless ministry. We have been reaching the homeless for 18 years, but just this last September He called us to quit our jobs and work full time in the ministry with the homeless. We have learned a lot from the homeless. We have learned their challenges, their fears, their thoughts on religion, their story and background, and what they go through day to day. We tend to have an attitude as Americans toward the homeless and think they are just mental or lazy. But that is not true. Of course there are always some out there like that. We find that even with people who have homes to live in. We also tend to think that they are just there because of drugs or alcohol, but that isn't true either. There are some, but there are some like that who live in homes. People out on the street are just like you and me. There are Christians and non-Christians. There are all kinds, just like in the houses.

I would like to share with you some of the challenges that they face day to day on the street.

1) Being yelled at daily. Can you imagine being yelled at, cussed at, get in your face mean on a daily basis. They are told they aren't worth anything, lazy, need to get a job, scum of the earth, cussing, cussing, cussing, etc. It is horrible. Then, we wonder why they tend to be on edge and in a bad attitude, etc. It is tough. My husband has been yelled at several times by people who think he is homeless because he is out there with them. It is humiliating and hurts so bad. People yell accusations and they don't even know why that person that they are yelling at is on the streets. They never take time to listen. They just yell.

2) Arrested by the police. It is a constant battle that they get arrested because they are sitting somewhere, not doing anything illegal a lot of the times. We do know they are not all innocent and we even work with the county court to help the court keep track of the homeless and see that they do what is ordered of them to do. We have been asked to keep the homeless accountable and help them get the orders finished. There are so many times though that they get arrested for crazy things. My husband has been approached by the police who again think he is homeless and so they ask him to move along when he is doing nothing wrong. He is sitting on public property talking to some of the guys and all of a sudden the police come up and harass them. That is why we have started giving the homeless a voice. Anytime something is done illegally concerning the police, we have contacts and report them. The homeless are astounded that we would care enough for them to stand up for them that way. We have told the homeless that we will not stand up for them if they are in the wrong. We have had several times where they have tried to get us to help them get out of something when the police were right with what they were doing.

3) Get their things taken continuously. They only have a few things to start with and then someone comes and wipes them out illegally. There are actually laws where it has to be posted a couple days in advance where they are staying that they are coming through and trashing everything. I don't know how many times we have had to report the parks department, Oregon Department of Transportation, etc for taking the homeless things illegally. It is very frustrating when people donate clothes, tents, and things to the homeless and then the next day it is trashed by someone illegally. So, we have started fighting for the homeless rights on this too. We report them and can threaten to sue unless they pay back what they took. It has worked because now when they are cleaning out, they know someone is going to come back asking for a gift card so these people can get back the things they had to start with.

4) Have to live day to day. People often think the homeless are awful and scam artists when they are asking for money. I have heard people put them down when they hand the homeless a sandwich and the homeless tell them that is not what they needed, they needed money. I completely understand why people don't want to give them money, but they aren't always druggies or alcoholics wanting money for that. The best way to handle that kind of situation is to ask them what they do need. Some need money for a tent, blanket, flashlights, even alarm clocks (so they can wake up before people start getting up in the mornings and get their tents torn down), medicine for legitimate sicknesses, water, quarters for doing their laundry, a bike to get around, bus pass so they can get to a job interview, can openers to open those cans of non perishable food that is handed out, gas for their car, one night at a motel to get out of the freezing cold at night, cell phone service so they can be in contact to receive a job interview, etc. It is hard living day to day. We have had to do it. You don't know where your next meal is going to be, where you are going to get to lay your head down at night or if you are even going to get to lay your head down at night, etc.

5) You have to have an address. Do you know that in order to get food stamps, a post office box, or anything, you have to have an address? So, if you are homeless, you have to lie on things in order to get anything. You have to find someone who will be nice enough to let you use their address. You can't even get a job in most cases if you don't have an address.

6) Have to hear a sermon before they can eat. Do you know that a lot of places will only give you food if you come and listen to a sermon first? Can you really think straight if you are hungry, been on your feet all day, tired, had everything taken from you, and yelled at all day? I wouldn't. I'm a Christian and I think I would turn around and say forget it. The Bible doesn't say anything about feeding people only if they listen to a sermon. It just says to feed them, clothe them, take care of them. God will open up the opportunity to share His love if we would just be real, be concerned, get to know the person, and give your love away unconditionally.

7) Can't get a job. Most of the homeless that we have met want a job, but once you are homeless, it is tough to get a job. People don't want to hire a homeless person because they have all those judgements of being lazy and good for nothing druggies. They don't have any way of cleaning up for a job, and they don't have a way for them to contact them if they were given a job.

8) Have to walk all night to stay warm. The winters are tough on the homeless. It is freezing cold and either raining or snowing. When it is cold like this you can't stay in a tent and expect to be warm. People will give them blankets and coats, but that doesn't help when they constantly get wet. There is nothing worse than having wet blankets laying on you. So, a lot of the homeless will walk constantly for days and nights in order to stay a little warm and alive. We have found that winters are when the homeless tend to be drunk. These are even ones that don't tend to drink the rest of the year, but it gets so cold. In order to help their bodies warm up and block out the coldness they are dealing with, they drink.

9) Dealing drugs and prostituting. We have several who hate this lifestyle, but they know no other way of living. Their whole lives, even as little kids, their parents did this and had them do the same. I don't know how many times I have come from talking to them and just start crying because of hearing their stories about being prostituted as a young child. They have never experienced true love from someone- not from their parents, their families, they didn't have friends, and on the streets...they are judged and put down. Did you ever wonder why someone ends up in the lifestyle they are in? We have seen several now who have finally been able to walk away from that lifestyle just by walking with them as a friend. We show them that we love them even though they do that. We find out their story, so we know what has stemmed that lifestyle and we start working with them from there. We have seen many break from it because of being loved to Jesus. They experience true love with no judgement, and it shows them there is more to life than sex and drugs.

10) Exhaustion. Recently we learned this first hand. Our car was unable to be driven and so we had to walk or ride a bike everywhere. I don't have a bike, but my husband does. He had appointments and things to go to and in one day have to ride over 30 miles. He would come in so tired. He really wasn't able to achieve as much in a day as normal because it would take way longer to get somewhere. It was very frustrating. The kids and I walked a couple days on the streets and that was tough because my two year old would get so tired after awhile and my health would get really bad. I have heart and lung problems that would get stirred up. I also have a problem with my ankle that would cause both legs to hurt extremely bad. I just kept thinking about the homeless doing this day and night and some of them are in bad health also. It must be miserable.

11) Hunger. Have you ever been extremely hungry because you have missed lunch or something? The homeless we meet only get one meal provided a day and nothing on weekends. They aren't able to eat enough to fill them up when something is provided to them. Organizations will donate bread to them. How do you live on just bread? We have gone without food because we didn't have the money to purchase anything and we would feel so weak, tired, stomach feeling like it is turning inside out, nausea, and cranky...VERY CRANKY. I'm not sure why we think that the homeless should only eat once a day and nothing on weekends. Could you do that?

We are trying to help the homeless with these challenges, but it is a hard road to travel. We have a ministry called "Knowing Me Ministries". Please pray for us as we try to meet these challenges and as we teach others to do what we do. We also ask you to look at the homeless in a different light. Look at them as people who need more than just a sandwich or a sermon. Love them, pray for them, be their friend, and reach out to them. You never know for sure if you will be one of them or know someone in your family or a friend who may be out there as a homeless person. Wouldn't you want someone to reach out to you or to them? The Bible teaches us that we learn more about Him as we reach out to the homeless. Have you taken the time to do that? I did and it is something I never expected. I never knew how much I was going to love these people until God put that love in me and taught me these things. It is a wonderful thing.

If you have any experiences of some great stories of what you have done to reach out to the homeless, please share in the comment section. It would be great to hear the challenges that you have learned that they go through or some lives that you have seen changed, or just a way that you reach out to them. We would love to pray for you as you reach out to these people.

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