It should be an interest breakfast meeting on Tuesday morning. I’m sure the YouTubes will be discussed. We have a retired woman working every day to help the homeless and those less fortunate. There surely is a place in heaven waiting for her.
Are some of these people drug users. Yes. Are some or most of them responsible for their plight because of bad decisions? Yes. But I have never failed to stop my car and help a dog who is out running. How can we turn our backs on fellow human beings?
I’m always a bit torn on if I’m “enabling” or helping. I continue to move in the direction that I’m helping. I won’t give cash to a homeless person - but do give donations to the Salvation Army, the local Christian Mission Group, etc.
Our church helped with a few meals at a roaming tent city when it was in our neck of the woods. They can stay in an area - usually a church parking lot for a couple of months. It was interesting to hear about it. Very organized, disiplined, etc. The “campers” help with security, litter patrol, laundry, food, cleaning, etc. They follow a strict set of rules, curfews. They have elections to form a self-governing group with outside oversight. They have had a few incidents inside a camp (drugs, fights, etc.) and the cops are called, arrests made and not allowed back in the camp. But the neighborhoods have never been adversly impacted. Opened my eyes quite a bit.
Various homeless gave their reasons for being in a tent city. Many of them are married and shelters are usually just for male or female. Some said some of the shelters downtown were too dangerous. Others said their jobs were here in the suburbs with no shelters nearby, etc.
But where are the truly needy? The only people I see are the "Will (not) work for beer money" scam artist lowlifes, and spare change guys. I'm all for helping someone who is at least TRYING. Not some bum who just doesn't "feel like" having a job.
“The poor will always be with you.”
Yes, compassion and individuals/ groups/ churches helping — always important. I ran a food program at church for a long time, and we gave food gladly and helped many people. These programs are tremendously important.
What gets me are the underlying assumptions — that somehow life should not be like this, that they should be able to live here in squallor, even tho civilization (order from chaos) ensures that disease doesn’t run rampant through cities, that they are not responsible, somehow, for their own situations or for getting OUT of their own situations.
Those assumptions include the unspoken one — SOMEONE ELSE will take care of me, and someone else is responsible for my plight.
That will do our country in.
There are a lot of starving people in different parts of the world and massive amounts of aid are flowing in. These people are living in areas that will not support them and they will not move. They will have more babies if they are fed and taken care of so more aid will be required. What happens when the need far exceeds the supply?