The First--and most important--thing you can do to help the homeless is to realize that the tired old stereotypes concerning them just are not true.
Myth: They want to be homeless.
Fact: Less than six percent of the homeless are that way by choice.
Myth: They're to blame for being homeless.
Fact: Most homeless are victims. Some have suffered from child abuse or violence. Nearly one quarter are children. Many have lost their jobs. All have lost their homes.
Myth: They don't work.
Fact: Many homeless people are among the working poor. A person earning a minimum wage can't earn enough to support a family of three or pay inner-city rent.
Myth: They are mentally ill.
Fact: About 25 percent of the homeless are estimated to be emotionally disturbed. One percent may need long-term hospitalization; the others can become self-sufficient with help.
Myth: They are heavy drug users.
Fact: Some homeless are substance abusers; research suggests one in four. Many of these are included in the 25 percent who suffer from mental illness.
Myth: They are dangerous.
Fact: Sometimes an encounter with the homeless may end in tragedy. It is extremely rare, though. In general, the homeless are among the least threatening group in our society. If anything, they are the victims of crimes, not the perpetrators
Most homeless people are not drunks or drug abusers or former mental patients. Most are able or willing to work. They are not the perpetual social problem many people believe they are. So who are they?
Full-time workers
One out of four homeless is employed full- or part-time, according to the United States Conference of Mayors. The arithmetic is simple and frightening: a person who works forty hours a week at the 1992 Federal minimum wage of $4.25 per hour grosses about $700 a month, takes home less than $600-- and is a prime candidate for homelessness.
I meet such people at a shelter run by my synagogue in Westfield, New Jersey. Two neatly dressed sisters in their thirties arrived one evening. One was a full-time sales clerk at Bloomingdale's; her sister was seeking a job. Two rent increases in a year had eaten their savings and caused them to fall behind in rent. Consequently, they were evicted. By using the Temple's hospitality program, they hoped to save enough for first and last month's rent and a security deposit for an apartment.
Disabled vets
One quarter of the homeless are war veterans, most of them from the Vietnam conflict. Do you remember Ron Kovic's story in the film, Born on the Fourth of July? It dramatized the fact that the veterans of that war were abandoned and discouraged, even dishonored, and in Ron's case wound up on our streets, some of them disable, others mentally traumatized by their war experiences, others simply unable to find work.
Children
One out of four homeless people is a child. The fastest growing homeless group in the United States is families with children. Their number nearly doubled between 1984 and 1989, and continues to do so.
Even more appalling, many homeless children are alone. They may be runaways who left home because there is no money for food, because they are victims of rape, incest, or violence or because one or both of their parents is in emotional turmoil. Some are "throwaways" whose parents tell them to leave home, or won't allow them to return once they leave.
I was shocked to learn that in Washington, D.C., when a soup kitchen, Martha's Kitchen, was opened to serve destitute children, within three weeks they were serving thirty children a day.
The Elderly
Elderly people on fixed incomes don't fit the traditional image of homeless folk. But the fact is that a senior citizen who receives $450 a month in benefits and pays $350 for rent can't survive in any U.S. city. However, Social Security, Medicare, and other senior-oriented programs provide a safety net for many of the elderly, making their numbers disproportionably less among the homeless than other minorities. Although the elderly are not as likely to be found in shelters, it is true that some are afraid to go to shelters, or even a soup kitchen. Others are living in poverty, not homeless, but often homebound and without proper heating, water, or other amenities.
AIDS victims
Thirty-two thousand people with AIDS and their dependents were homeless in 1989. By 1995 over 100,000 AIDS related sufferers are projected to join their ranks.
Fast facts
What we are willing to do for homeless people is to a large extent a matter of our attitude toward them. If you think that they are human debris, if you assume that they will always be living in the street and in shelters, you probably also believe that any help you might give would be a wasted effort. At worst, some people firmly believe that any help given only encourages indigence.
But what if we believe that, like the rest of us, they have untapped resources? True, sometimes their potential seems to be unreachable. Layers of neglect, self-abuse, or illness cover their talents, buried deep within.
With patience, you can tap those resources. The first step is to give the homeless people the same courtesy and respect you would accord your friends, your family, your employer. Treat them, as you would wish to be treated if you needed assistance.
You are walking down the street of your town when someone approaches you for coffee, a meal, or a bus ticket to a town where "there are relatives who will help."
How do you respond?
I conducted an informal study, asking my friends and relatives what they think at that moment:
"She needs it more than I."
"Hey, fella, McDonald's is hiring."
"My heart says, 'Give,' but my head says, 'don’t be a fool.'"
"I've already given five bucks this week. It's starting to affect my budget."
"I help in other ways. I work at a shelter, support social agencies, and pay taxes."
The world of the homeless is confusing. Not only do professionals and volunteers involved with the homeless wrestle with difficult questions such as this--so does the average person who is approached on a subway platform, or while walking down the street minding his or her own business.
Amazingly, we can make quite a difference in the lives of the homeless when we respond to them, rather than ignore or dismiss them. Try a kind word. Remember, their self-confidence is nearly non-existent. Whatever we can say or do that gives them even an iota of self-worth will have some benefit.
http://www.welcomehallmission.com/English/English.html
www.generationsfoundation.com/intro.htm
http://www.evasinitiatives.com/home.html
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/2744/
http://www.homelessness.on.ca/