More
Volunteers Needed To Serve The Homeless
All
Year, Not Just During the Holidays
by
Rev. Paul J. Bern
Another
Thanksgiving has gone by, and I have once again seen the usual
fanfare on various media about hundreds of volunteers coming out to
feed the homeless this past week. It then occurred to me that,
besides Thanksgiving and Christmas, what do all these homeless people
do the remaining 363 days of the year? Before you say, “Get a darn
job!”, allow me to point out that I once wound up homeless myself.
I never thought I would end up homeless. I thought I was well
educated and diligent enough to avoid that fate. I also had the
opinion that, since I was in the computer field, there would always
be plenty of work. It used to be that a busy man was a prosperous
man, but that's no longer true. It's been over 7 years since I have
been in that kind of potentially dangerous predicament, but the
memories are still fresh in between my ears. After spending the final
7 years of my former IT career working a series of 'temp' jobs that
eventually ran out in 2008, I wound up homeless after using up the
last of my resources. I am far from being a lazy man – I worked for
35 years. But I developed significant medical problems when I hit my
fifties, so now I'm semi-retired while trying to carve out another
career as a writer and minister. But my point right here is that
homelessness can happen to nearly anybody, except for the rich. My 21
years in IT and the technology businesses did not exempt me or
insulate me from the effects of an American economy that has been in
a tailspin for years. My current home and office, along with the
church I attend, are located in what can only be described as a
blighted neighborhood about 2 miles west of downtown Atlanta. I am
seeing encouraging signs lately that this run-down area where I live
is slowly undergoing a gradual transformation that will someday
convert this area into a live/work/play green space surrounded by
residential streets lined with newly remodeled houses, many of which
date back to before World War II.
Unfortunately,
the reality today is that about one third of the houses I just
mentioned are currently boarded up, and some of them haven't been
lived in for many years. Since there are a lot of transient and
homeless people in this poverty-stricken area, a lot of them are
currently living in these abandoned homes with no electricity or
running water. Consequently, we have men, women and children living
in third-world conditions right here in the United States, even in
our midst! The primary cause of this can be laid at the feet of the
public education system in America, but also because of
institutionalized racism. Over 95% of the homeless people in this
area are African-American, and it is minorities and people of color
who are being cheated out of higher education or vocational training
opportunities. This is a social injustice, and my ministry is devoted
to helping out those that I can, either on my own where possible or
through my church. Are you going through hard times yourself right
now? I'm now living in some HUD apartments and I'm still in recovery
from my experience. I am where I am because Christ was with me every
step of the way, and if He can do that for me, He can accomplish that
for you too.
America
was once called “the land of milk and honey”. It was so named for
the prosperity and promise associated with the opportunity that was
once available to anyone who, when willing to work, could acquire a
piece of the America Dream. In contrast, the old notion of hard work
in the 21st century seems to mean little in our current
system, where the elite control all the money. The associated greed
so intrinsic they have robbed good, hard working Americans of their
right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness just so they
could squander the money on endless wars overseas that are becoming
increasingly dangerous. After a lifetime of effort in the chase for
their piece of the pie, some Americans are finding themselves out in
the cold, having lost their jobs and their dreams in the aftermath of
the Great Recession. Some have fallen victim to not only Wall
Street's criminal over speculation in a system that could not support
such monetary betting, but to a banking system that committed
wholesale mortgage fraud when looked to and trusted by home buyers
for professional guidance! Many of these unfortunate people are
quickly finding themselves added to the homeless numbers of America.
Many are trying to survive the current economic depression by seeking
federal assistance but have found, much to their dismay, that
government programs, one of their only rays of hope during their time
of tribulation, are being taken by the same group of people who
assisted in their demise: Congress.
Those
responsible for 2008's economic plunge and the ensuing chaos are
trying to phase out social systems that provide those who are
suffering a lifeline in the ocean of betrayal they are drowning in.
Even worse, it seems to not matter to those surviving the current
economic disaster. The top 1% of America's wealthy are scrambling to
protect their own by supporting a political bureaucracy that has
abandoned the remaining 99%. Like prisoners protecting their plate
of food, these people are surrendering conscience for three squares
and a warm cot of their own. In light of the actions taken – or
inaction in some cases – by our governmental representatives, those
from rural and suburban areas have had no choice but to abandon their
townships and move toward the cities in search of shelter and
whatever government aid they can get. They have migrated from
everywhere to the urban centers of this nation in search of the
remnants of their national security. But in place of the Golden Lamp,
they have only found iron bars and cold, impersonal streets. In lieu
of allowing the preservation of their survival, cities are beginning
to enact anti-homeless initiatives to drive them back to where they
came while those responsible for this treachery receive record
bonuses and wallow in ill-gotten gains. St. Petersburg, Florida is a
prime example of such inhuman approaches. The City enacted new laws
back in 2011 towards the criminalization of homelessness. A report
that same year by the National Law Center on Homelessness &
Poverty and the National Coalition for the Homeless, tells much about
the current war on these unfortunates:
- Since early 2007, St. Petersburg has passed 6 new ordinances that target homeless people. These include ordinances that outlaw panhandling throughout most of downtown, prohibit the storage of personal belongings on public property, and make it unlawful to sleep outside at various locations.
- In January 2007, the Pinellas-Pasco Public Defender announced that he would no longer represent indigent people arrested for violating municipal ordinances to protest what he called excessive arrests of homeless individuals by the City of St. Petersburg. According to numbers compiled by the public defender's office, “the vast majority of people booked into the Pinellas County Jail on municipal ordinances were homeless individuals from St. Petersburg."
This
is not the only American city to turn its back on those in need.
Across America, the painful cries of economic injustice coming from
America's working people is being called to the forefront as the
newest form of white-collar crime. Many laws have been put into place
to criminalize people living in the streets, thereby dissuading them
from coming to their cities at all. Both sides of the Congressional
aisle have argued the semantics of the deficit crisis and the current
economic strife, but the blame for the downfall of this once great
nation means nothing when one is huddled beneath a dirty blanket
trying to survive the cold or going hungry. The homeless only know
that their basic American rights have been denied. Even cave men
lived in caves! Are they better than us? Adding insult to injury,
those Congressional representatives who were put into office to
ensure the continuation of our American system, are trying to take
even more from them.
Many
conservatives have complained that the US has become a “nanny
state”. They expound upon the belief that we must no longer allow
the expenditure of US tax dollars to go to those who supposedly will
not help themselves. This may have been a valid approach in strong
economic times of yesteryear when work was plentiful and the American
Dream was alive but now, in the shadow of Bush Era gluttony and
growing neo-liberal faux patriotic oligarchy, it stands as a slap in
the face of hard working Americans waking to the American nightmare.
Some on the left, voted into office by an American public that needed
to be protected, are making deals to further empower the elite in
order to acquire their own earmarks and campaign contributor
benefits. They too, seem to have lost sight of what America used to
stand for. The only security this country seems to care for anymore
is the one that allows for funds to be taken from social services and
used for illegal and unnecessary wars, Patriot Act driven oppression
and corporate welfare entitlements. Those unfortunate souls who have
to stand in line for a warm bed in an overcrowded dormitory or in a
food kitchen line to get a modest meal, are painfully finding that
many of their lifelines are being denied by the very country they
pledged their allegiance to. Instead of solutions, politicians are
only delivering rhetoric, excuses and false promises. In this, our
country's greatest time of need, they would rather protect their own
than fight for proper provision for the American people.
Many
try to ignore these people as they represent the errors and gluttony
of a nation lost but they are still American citizens and need to be
cared for. The religious right and their Tea Party counterparts
vehemently expound upon the protection of our borders against illegal
immigrants, terrorists, foreign influences and protecting the
Constitution for the preservation of America's citizens, but in the
same breath they condemn or cut funding to social services that
support Americans in their time of need. The simple reality is this:
American governance has become detached from the lives lived by those
whom it has been charged the protection and care of.
In
America today, people who have been misguided enough to believe in
the American system and lost their piece of the “American dream”
because of it, are now increasingly angry and have become
significantly more demanding about implementing some sorely needed
reforms. We are insisting on genuine, authentic reforms to a broken
government and to our economic system, which seems to work very well
but for only an elite few. We as a nation are quickly falling into
the realm of the second world – we are no longer a superpower.
Those who continue to blindly follow the myth of American
exceptional-ism will end up starting World War 3 and charbroiling the
entire planet. The future of this nation and the world will indeed be
dim if this bloodthirsty insanity is allowed to continue. The book of
Isaiah says, “'Come now, let us reason together, you and I', thus
says the Lord.” This is perfect advice for our modern times. All of
humanity had better stop and think about what we want to do next.
Let's
take a look and see what the Bible has to say about all this. First,
an example from Christ himself. “Now a man came up to Jesus and
asked, 'Teacher, what must I do to get eternal life?' 'Why do you ask
me about what is good?', Jesus replied. There is only One who is
good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments,' 'Which
ones?', the man inquired. Jesus replied, “Do not murder, do not
commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor
your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.' 'All
these things I have kept', the young man said. 'What do I still
lack?' Jesus answered, 'If you want to be perfect, go, sell your
possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in
heaven. Then come, follow me.' When the young man heard this, he went
away sad, because he had great wealth. Then Jesus said to his
disciples, 'I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter
the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to
go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the
Kingdom of God.' When the disciples heard this, they were greatly
astonished and asked, 'Who then can be saved?' Jesus looked at them
and said, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are
possible'.” (Matthew chapter 19, verses 16-26)
Now
let's look at what the apostle James had to say about homeless
people. “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have
faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or
sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him,
'Go, I wish you well, keep warm and well fed', but does nothing about
his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by
itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” (James
chapter 2, verses 14-17 NIV) Homelessness has in the past been
viewed as a state of laziness, but today it is a growing condition
that represents a dying world power. The elite persist in the denial
of this national illness, since its recognition would admit fault. At
the end of the day, ignoring it will not lessen the inevitability
that this, our once great nation, is now a declining empire. Many are
on the brink of bankruptcy in this country – so are many small
businesses – and where once lay the promise of prosperous times for
all, there now exists the reality that we are all only one paycheck,
one medical emergency or one misfortune away from being homeless in
the land of milk and honey. Plus, one out of every four homeless
people are minors under the age of 12. This is no way to run what is
allegedly the greatest country in the world. Homelessness in America
is inexcusable, and it's the government's fault.
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