I am Here and I am not Invisible!

Humanity at its best and worse

A homeless person may not be as easy to spot as one thinks; some homeless people appear to just blend in with society and many even have jobs and go to classes every day!  Yes, a homeless person can be found seeking refuge in a shelter, staying with family members, living in a motel, campground, in their automobiles, underneath physical public structures such as viaducts, bridges and building cubby holes, benches or in the worst cases on the bare ground with a blanket or in a cardboard box. A homeless person can be any age, young or old and wear decent clean clothes or on the contrary, may wear terrible worn torn clothes that are dirty and soiled. So while they are present more than commonly understood, many more, out of pride, remain invisible.

Myths dispelled about being Homeless

The general population has misperceptions of homeless people that they automatically fall underneath a certain stereotype as maybe a drunk, a drug addict, a criminal, a failure or an overall terrible person in society. This is typically untrue of most of the homeless population! Most homeless people once lived prosperous and successful lives, had a nice family life, attended school, maybe even college, had a successful career and a new automobile, but somewhere along the way made a poor choice financially or made one mistake where they lost everything, such as a divorce, bankruptcy or loss of job. Some chose a poor isolated choice when it came to drugs and alcohol and ended up losing their livelihood before they could clear up their bad habits. For each homeless face, there is a story behind why that person is there; and thus no one has the right to judge or criticize someone else's life without first knowing the facts behind why they are there in the first place.

Organizations like StreetWise provides the homeless what they need the most so that the end result is that most of them will re-enter society with regained self-respect, confidence and pride. Also they are educating society on treating homeless people with dignity and respect which has an immediate impact to help raise awareness, lower recidivism, and prevent abuse among the homeless population. 

Homeless people have many needs, but most importantly, they need a true friend, someone who will stick by them no matter what. The stress of becoming homeless, and the stress of being homeless can cause a person to do some odd or extreme things, which will cause most people to turn their cheek. But a true friend would not abandon a person when they become homeless. The community outreach and direct caring must be genuine, expected and consistent to be effective. A true, honorable friend who is supportive and encouraging is the best thing a homeless person can have, and will be most effective in helping the homeless person get out of their homeless situation and back into society and not so likely to return again.

When just Caring is not enough

Other than a friend there are some things homeless people need or could certainly use while in their homeless situation and certainly during Winter.

• Clean clothes that are in good condition. Not only is it good for the homeless person's self esteem, it helps the homeless person to socialize in the world of the non-homeless with less of a stigma to overcome. Dirty, ratty clothes are one of the biggest giveaways that a person is homeless. And so many people reject those who even look homeless, so please donate clean clothes to organizations like Streetwise that they may advance one of the elements of their recovery back into society.

• A place to store their valuables and other things. The homeless environment is such that it is very easy for a homeless person to lose his/her valuables, or for valuables to be stolen from them. Having a safe place to store things helps them to keep their valuables, and keep all their possessions in good order. Lockers at homeless shelters are often available but are relatively expensive for a homeless person to rent. Perhaps you can donate to allow the organizations to make arrangements with a shelter to pay for the monthly locker rental of a homeless person. You can direct places like Streetwise to do this on your behalf.

• Keeping clean and presentable. This would include everything from donated soap and shampoo to razors and shaving cream - combs, brushes, nail clippers or files, make up, deodorant, feminine products, but please help by providing all prepackaged products or direct your donations for organizations to purchase these on your behalf.

• A Sturdy Back Pack. While many other exist, of the less expensive brands, Jansport, has proven itself over and over to handle the riggers or homeless life better than the others. We certainly encourage rugged backpack manufactures to contribute their products to be directly provide these to the homeless on your behalf as well. This is always most welcomed support.

• Seasonally appropriate attire and accessories. Coats in winter, shorts in summer. And certainly, clothing items and accessories such as leg warmers, mittens and flip-flops will be decidedly different in Spokane than in Pleasanton.

• Blankets and sleeping pads.  A roll up sleeping pad, such as used for Yoga, would help considerably. Blankets are important too; even in warm weather a person should stay covered when they sleep. It is necessary for homeless people to remain unseen when they sleep, so although shiny aluminum emergency blankets are far more effective at keeping a person warm and are relatively inexpensive, homeless people –generally- will not use them because they wish to remain invisible.  So if there are non-shiny ones, organizations are interested in getting them distributed.

• Food and a warm place. Cards, or gift certificates to fast food restaurants and cafes allow a homeless person to get decent food and drink, and allow them to get inside somewhere out of the elements. Subway food is healthier than McDonalds, but Subway doesn't sell coffee as a standard. So please consider this in your gift card donations. They need decent food, especially the children and homeless new mothers. Also lots of packaged vitamins.

• Opportunities to make money and reconnect with society. Employment is the key to reentering society. But employment can be extremely difficult to obtain for homeless people. Few people will openly hire homeless people; so homeless people have to lie to get jobs. Also, homeless people may be feeling depressed or unworthy of employment and so will be reluctant to go looking for permanent full time employment. Temporary work pays very little, and does not offer dependable employment that a person can use to get out of homelessness. Selling homeless newspapers is one solution to getting a homeless person working and making their own money. Being homeless actually qualifies a person to sell homeless newspapers, so the homeless person does not have to lie to get the job. The homeless person is allowed to set their own hours, and can work in an area of town that is most convenient for them, since they are in essence working for themselves. They are paid in cash for the papers they sell, so they don't need a bank account for cashing a paycheck. And they have immediate access to the money they have earned too. They instantly see the reward for their labor, and that helps them to build their feeling of self worth. Through donations any support organization can develop a Homeless Newspaper for sale which is distributed and funds collected by the homeless person to help them get prepared for better job interviews through building self esteem, confidence and social interaction.

Organizations like Streetwise are dedicated to supporting the homeless, educating the public and directly causing the reduction in homelessness by providing a complete environment which includes teaching religious reflection, prayer, hope, direction and dignity for all who arrive at the door step. While I am involved with one organization (StreetWise) which you can contact me about, I can attest to many more invisible homeless people in existence than we realize. The only goal must be to dramatically reduce or nearly eradicate homelessness at all levels. This is achieved through education, basic support and our humanity.