Thursday; September 12

Even though it is still quite warm in many parts of the nation, autumn is not too far away.  While many of us look forward to the cooling temperatures, some of our neighbors lament the changing seasons because the cold, damp weather is especially difficult on the homeless.  Homeless is often viewed as a silent problem in our nation – we know that it exists, but we just don’t like to talk about it.  It can appear to be overwhelming ... often involving complex social, physical, fiscal and mental health components.  More often than not, it is easy to relegate this issue to our government and social services, but is there something that we can do help the people who have no place to turn?  Here are a few practical suggestions:
1.  Get involved in being a part of the local solution.  Most of our medium to large communities have organizations to help care for the homeless.  If we want to make a difference, this might be the best place to start.  Find an organization or agency and volunteer to help.
2.  Interact with the homeless when you see them on the street.  No, we probably can’t help everyone we meet nor will we be able to take care of their own personal issues, but by speaking to them and acknowledging them as people we can help them maintain their dignity.  Yes, they are homeless, but they are humans, too.
3.  Help people BEFORE they become homeless.  One of the best ways to deal with the homeless situation is to stop it before it gets started.  When we help someone stay in their homes we provide them with shelter and self-confidence.  Do you own a business that could use an extra employee?  Do you know of someone who has extra space that can be used to house someone?  Connecting people with resources before they are in absolute need is much easier than trying to get them out of their struggles after the fact.
          Homelessness is a challenge in today’s society.  Are we willing to get involved?
          Think About It!

Popular posts from this blog

Thursday; May 3

I have a fish tank that allows my three Bettas (Larry, Darrell and Darrell) to live in the same structure, but remain hidden from each other – well sort of.   When I go to feed the fish, I believe that one of the Darrell’s can sort of see that the other Darrell is getting fed and he will linger over on that side of the tank even after I put his food in his tank.   I have to tap on the side of the tank where his food is floating to help him refocus and eat.   I get the impression that he is so interested in what is going on in the other Darrell’s tank that he can’t enjoy his own food. I have been told that the brain of a fish is pretty small – which explains their inability to process “blessings”, but are we guilty of the same malady as Darrell?   Are we so worried (or consumed) by what happens to the people around us that we fail to realize what is going on with us?   Are we envious of the blessings that others are receiving and end up missing out on what we have been given?   Are w
Read more

Thursday; February 14

         While most of us are familiar with today being Valentine’s Day, there are some who actually refer to February 14 th as “St. Valentine’s Day”.  This title is often affixed to a criminally historic event known as “The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” on February 14, 1929 in Chicago, but that is another story for another time.  Not knowing much about the history of “Saint Valentine” I did a little research and found out he was a Roman religious leader who was martyred in 269 AD.  According to my limited research Valentine was killed because of his encouragement of Roman men (especially soldiers) to marry which was in violation of Claudias’ edict that prohibited marriage to keep their minds singularly focused on their task of defending the Empire.  Somehow, from this beginning – and possibly embellished by Chaucer – St. Valentine became intertwined with the concept of romantic love.           I am not really sure how February 14 th became connected with love, but inspired by thi
Read more

Wednesday; December 6

What does it mean to be a leader? I subscribe to the belief that a leader is someone who seeks the best for others and works with them to achieve their potential. There are others; however, who define leadership as the ability to have a vision and the tenacity to get their own way. Leaders who are this way are often portrayed as having developed the maturity to manipulate people to do things their way. However, is the ability to drive people in our direction mature or is it childish? The Christians of the 1st Century came from a lot of different backgrounds and had to work hard to work together. As the Apostle Paul challenged Christians in the city of Ephesus he challenged them to accept individual differences, “… until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. “ (Ephesians 4:13). Bossiness was not to be viewed as a sign of maturity, a willingness to wo
Read more