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The Homeless and Our Response

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  • #16
    Originally posted by Paula View Post
    I have a question for my fellow Christians:

    What do you see as the appropriate response to the homeless?
    Sheep and goats parable gives a very broad hint.

    Originally posted by Paula View Post
    I occasionally, mostly when I go to a nearby big city but sometimes I run into it in my hometown, encounter homeless people begging for money (or sleeping out in the open).
    That happens.

    I try when begging to offer sth - like blog URL's - and to sleep sheltered in staircases and so forth as much as possible. Week days library opening hours, I am alimenting my blogs and staying warm in that way.

    Originally posted by Paula View Post
    I sometimes give them money.
    Good. There are still people who do.

    Originally posted by Paula View Post
    When talking with my family about the homeless, I heard safety concerns
    How close do you need to go and how open are the spaces?

    If a man sits down and people pass by, you should be safe.

    Originally posted by Paula View Post
    and a bit of skepticism about what they would do with my money (i.e. might spend it on drugs or alcohol). That is very true.
    Alcohol is a carbohydrate. That means it is nutrition. It is also usually packaged as a liquid, which means elimination can go by urine.

    In other words, as far as health is concerned, it is not totally just for ill.

    Some homeless who stay out way more hours than I keep warm on it.

    I try to get a more balanced meal sometimes by drinking beer to less solid than not drinking or just water to more solids. Otherwise I risk constipation.

    BUT the tactic fails if people seeing me do that get concerned that I am getting drunk, and then start giving me sugary things or much food.

    As Muslims sometimes do in such cases. Instead of a light and balanced meal I get a top heavy meal even further overweighed by the alcohol.

    Originally posted by Paula View Post
    It is also true that bad things can happen to anyone. So I am a little reluctant to judge people I've never met.
    Good.

    Originally posted by Paula View Post
    At the same time, I am a little hesitant to talk to people I don't know and there is a bit of a safety concern (especially in the big city).
    Are you sure you need to talk to them the first time you meet and help them?

    A coin or bill and a smile is appreciated. And having to tell your story over and over again, because that is what people "talking to" a homeless often ask, is a chore.

    Since I make publicity for my blogs (which I have been told very distinctly I must not do here, except in signature or when citing a piece of appropriate information from them), I try to be in some different places, often meet people the first time, and people wanting to know what has happened instead of asking what the URL is about is somewhat of a non-winner.

    Originally posted by TheWall View Post
    I try to help them. Give them some money maybe get them some coffee. That is what My grandma did when she encountered the homeless in Ireland. I was not a christian then but I knew her faith motivated her.
    Good.

    Originally posted by TheWall View Post
    I was also called a yuppie by a panhandler. I forgave that guy after I came to faith.
    Is yuppie that bad in your ears?

    Originally posted by rogue06 View Post
    Offer them a job doing things like mowing the lawn, raking leaves ... (okay, not exactly "big city" things but I'm sure you can come up with stuff) which you'll pay them generously for. This helps separate those wanting help from those looking for a hand out.
    Apart from helping with chairs of cafés, when they open and libraries aren't open anyway, I would not take that.

    Consider (those reading this closer to me than you are) that my cardboard offers you reading, if you aren't interested, I hope in the first place for other and more interested benefactors who are also readers.

    But generally speaking, the practise is good.

    Originally posted by rogue06 View Post
    Another thing you can do is buy them some food and the like that way there is much less of a chance that they'll take what you give them and get drugs or alcohol if they are predisposed to do that.
    That depends.

    If first thing I get when starting to beg when hungry is food, I am thankful.

    But if food continues coming in, this is a health hazard. I am more likely to develop NASH than Alcohol related Fat Liver or Cirrhosis.

    Also, if I need to wash clothes due to wanting to be clean in libraries (my smell having more to do with how recently clothes were washed than with last shower), if people band up on that policy, it is like stealing my clothes - it is making them useless.

    When I still used to wear underwear, I regularly washed, could not dry and had to throw away when it became moldy, due to that kind of sentiment.
    Last edited by hansgeorg; 11-23-2016, 06:01 AM. Reason: added considerations + space
    http://notontimsblogroundhere.blogspot.fr/p/apologetics-section.html

    Thanks, Sparko, for telling how I add the link here!

    Comment


    • #17
      Originally posted by TheWall View Post
      Did I ever tell you guys the story of me getting almost panhandle in Dublin? I was called a yuppie. It is so messed up. They prey on sympathy.
      Some here would not give (or not give unless a job offered was taken) due to consideration that they should be responsible for their needs.

      Does your having sympathy make you a helpless victim?

      Have you considered eternity? Sheep and goats?
      http://notontimsblogroundhere.blogspot.fr/p/apologetics-section.html

      Thanks, Sparko, for telling how I add the link here!

      Comment


      • #18
        Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post
        but I was really needing to be somewhere else.

        A couple days later I saw him sitting in front of Kroger on one of the benches to the side of the main doors. I parked, got out, and sat next to him. He looked at me funny, and said, "hey, you're the guy who almost ran over me". I said, "yeah, that's me -- and I saw you here and I want to hear your story".

        He asked, "my story"? I said, "yeah, you're not the usual down-and-outer - you seem like a really sharp guy, and I have to believe there's a story here, and I want to hear it". He got a little misty-eyed, and said "nobody has ever asked me that before". I didn't say anything - just waited.
        I have on the other hand heard people wanting to hear my story a bit too often.

        Some are not interested in anything else I could say on my blogs, which at least I consider more interesting than a temporal misfortune.

        I quote the end of paragraph, "somewhere else", because that is the title of an Apologetics blog where I defend credibility of Resurrection, Biblical History (except start of Genesis, which I also defend but on another blog, which I started earlier) and Existence of God.

        Wonder if googling "somewhere else" and "Hans Georg Lundahl" will get you to my blog.
        http://notontimsblogroundhere.blogspot.fr/p/apologetics-section.html

        Thanks, Sparko, for telling how I add the link here!

        Comment


        • #19
          Originally posted by hansgeorg View Post
          I have on the other hand heard people wanting to hear my story a bit too often.

          Some are not interested in anything else I could say on my blogs, which at least I consider more interesting than a temporal misfortune.

          I quote the end of paragraph, "somewhere else", because that is the title of an Apologetics blog where I defend credibility of Resurrection, Biblical History (except start of Genesis, which I also defend but on another blog, which I started earlier) and Existence of God.

          Wonder if googling "somewhere else" and "Hans Georg Lundahl" will get you to my blog.
          So you are homeless, beg for a living, and run blogs? How the heck does that work? Why not get a job?

          Comment


          • #20
            Originally posted by Sparko View Post
            So you are homeless, beg for a living, and run blogs?
            Yes.

            Originally posted by Sparko View Post
            How the heck does that work?
            Library cards mainly for the blogging. Tend to do at least one article per day.

            Beg mornings and evenings, and sometimes do homeless shelters in mornings for meals.

            Try to get a dry and calm place each night, including MILD trespassing.

            Originally posted by Sparko View Post
            Why not get a job?
            I like writing. I have also made it juridically and also I hope administrationally possible to republish material from my blogs or shorter ones in entirety as this or that or sundry book. With voluntary royalties. Now you might realise why I prefer being about people willing to look at my blogs, and why my look at stats are a bit like your looks at the stock market.

            FAQ on follow up:

            "couldn't you blog AND work?"
            not same quality, since not same quantity;
            "would it not be better getting some experience from work before writing, first?"
            not if the thematics are other than what I could learn about by work experience;
            "is anyone reading you?"
            see discussion on stats and what they mean on my intro thread.
            (My usual answer : "here are my stats" which I gave before the discussion)

            And from those who have really checked out what my offer means:
            "if anyone can print your blogs without asking and sending you money is optional, why would they send you money?"
            because some are honest and some are less honest (with optional, not sending money is not positively dishonest from a small startup) and I would be living off sum of those who are honest, not off medium or off those not sending anything back. A l s o, my problem right now does not seem to be the amount printing me and sending me no money, but the amount discouraged by various wizeacres from even trying to print my blogs or play my music.
            http://notontimsblogroundhere.blogspot.fr/p/apologetics-section.html

            Thanks, Sparko, for telling how I add the link here!

            Comment


            • #21
              Originally posted by hansgeorg View Post
              Yes.



              Library cards mainly for the blogging. Tend to do at least one article per day.

              Beg mornings and evenings, and sometimes do homeless shelters in mornings for meals.

              Try to get a dry and calm place each night, including MILD trespassing.



              I like writing. I have also made it juridically and also I hope administrationally possible to republish material from my blogs or shorter ones in entirety as this or that or sundry book. With voluntary royalties. Now you might realise why I prefer being about people willing to look at my blogs, and why my look at stats are a bit like your looks at the stock market.

              FAQ on follow up:

              "couldn't you blog AND work?"
              not same quality, since not same quantity;
              "would it not be better getting some experience from work before writing, first?"
              not if the thematics are other than what I could learn about by work experience;
              "is anyone reading you?"
              see discussion on stats and what they mean on my intro thread.
              (My usual answer : "here are my stats" which I gave before the discussion)

              And from those who have really checked out what my offer means:
              "if anyone can print your blogs without asking and sending you money is optional, why would they send you money?"
              because some are honest and some are less honest (with optional, not sending money is not positively dishonest from a small startup) and I would be living off sum of those who are honest, not off medium or off those not sending anything back. A l s o, my problem right now does not seem to be the amount printing me and sending me no money, but the amount discouraged by various wizeacres from even trying to print my blogs or play my music.
              So basically you are unemployed and homeless because you want to be, not because you have to be?

              While there are people out there who can't get work, and are homeless because they have no choice, you are out there taking money from them by begging instead of working? You seem fairly intelligent if a bit strange, and you obviously speak at least two languages: French and English. You really have no need to be homeless or beg for a living. Stop being a bum, get a job.

              Comment


              • #22
                Originally posted by Sparko View Post
                So basically you are unemployed and homeless because you want to be, not because you have to be?
                Unemployed yes, homeless and poor no, with the readers I have, I should be able to get someone printing - unless people like you monopolise the reading, as seems to have happened here in France.

                Originally posted by Sparko View Post
                While there are people out there who can't get work, and are homeless because they have no choice, you are out there taking money from them by begging instead of working?
                I work and I beg.

                The work I do is not just for begging, but also for free reading and for my future, so please it God.

                The begging I do is usually on hours and nearly always on places not at same time used by other beggars.

                Originally posted by Sparko View Post
                You seem fairly intelligent if a bit strange, and you obviously speak at least two languages: French and English.
                Latin and Germanic, in more than one dialect each. French and Classic Latin the first ones of Latin, Swedish and German the first ones on Germanic, English coming in between.

                Originally posted by Sparko View Post
                You really have no need to be homeless or beg for a living.
                The moment someone starts using my work as intended, you are right.

                Originally posted by Sparko View Post
                Stop being a bum, get a job.
                With people s o unwilling to relate to my work, do you realise what a social life I could be having if taking an employment?

                With people beginning to relate to my work, I would be less in need of one.
                http://notontimsblogroundhere.blogspot.fr/p/apologetics-section.html

                Thanks, Sparko, for telling how I add the link here!

                Comment


                • #23
                  Originally posted by hansgeorg View Post
                  Unemployed yes, homeless and poor no, with the readers I have, I should be able to get someone printing - unless people like you monopolise the reading, as seems to have happened here in France.
                  Like me? I don't read your blogs. I looked at one and found it uninteresting. Perhaps that is why nobody pays you for them? Why would they want to print them out anyway? Today most people just read things on the computer screen. I think you need to rethink your business model.



                  I work and I beg.

                  The work I do is not just for begging, but also for free reading and for my future, so please it God.

                  The begging I do is usually on hours and nearly always on places not at same time used by other beggars.
                  What I meant is that you COULD work for a living, but choose not to have a regular job. So the money you get begging might have gone to someone else who could NOT work for a living. But instead you took the money.





                  Latin and Germanic, in more than one dialect each. French and Classic Latin the first ones of Latin, Swedish and German the first ones on Germanic, English coming in between.
                  So you have some important skills. Get a job as a translator, or in the library where you hang out on the internet. Then you could do both writing and working for a living. To know so many languages means you are very intelligent. use it.


                  The moment someone starts using my work as intended, you are right.
                  Like I said, you need to rethink your business model. People will not pay for what they can get for free. And they don't want to print out blogs.




                  With people s o unwilling to relate to my work, do you realise what a social life I could be having if taking an employment?
                  What does your social life have to do with getting a job to feed yourself?
                  With people beginning to relate to my work, I would be less in need of one.
                  If wishes were horses...

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Originally posted by Sparko View Post
                    Like me? I don't read your blogs. I looked at one and found it uninteresting.
                    And someone like you took that little slip of paper I gave to his son or daughter, told the young family member to let him read it first, found it uninteresting and also "forbade" the son or daughter to read it, lest the younger person should find it interesting.

                    That is what I mean by monopolising the reading.

                    Originally posted by Sparko View Post
                    Perhaps that is why nobody pays you for them? Why would they want to print them out anyway? Today most people just read things on the computer screen. I think you need to rethink your business model.
                    I was not speaking about printing out.

                    I was speaking about printing on books.

                    Turning pages beats scrolling a long computer screen up and down.

                    Perhaps that is why you found my blog uninteresting, if not printing out first, it would involve too much scrolling?

                    Originally posted by Sparko View Post
                    What I meant is that you COULD work for a living, but choose not to have a regular job. So the money you get begging might have gone to someone else who could NOT work for a living. But instead you took the money.
                    That is supposing the beggar had been there that hour.

                    That is also supposing anyone who gives me anything sees just the beggar and no one is interested in my blogs. I think some are, and I do publicity for them.

                    Originally posted by Sparko View Post
                    So you have some important skills. Get a job as a translator, or in the library where you hang out on the internet. Then you could do both writing and working for a living. To know so many languages means you are very intelligent. use it.
                    I am using it as a writer.

                    Originally posted by Sparko View Post
                    Like I said, you need to rethink your business model. People will not pay for what they can get for free. And they don't want to print out blogs.
                    Once again, I was not speaking of "printing out". I was speaking of printing books with pages that can be turned. And sell and send me royalties from what they earn on it.

                    What they can get for free is scrolling up and down a computer screen for a long post, then clicking to continue on next post, which is also long. That is the best, if they are interested. Those who aren't will click to another one, without reading all first, then see it is long too, and feel like zappers.

                    A better reading experience is taking a post, see if theme seems promising, print it out, read the paper. That costs a few cents of copying expenses, perhaps half a euro, perhaps more, depending on how long the post is.

                    A very much better reading experience even than that is of course having the text in an actual b o o k.

                    Originally posted by Sparko View Post
                    What does your social life have to do with getting a job to feed yourself?
                    I am feeding myself. Even if certain someone's refuse to look at my publicity for my blogs as a service. As for feeding myself even better, will if it involves social life with people like you it will not be better, it will likely be more money, but less well spent.

                    Originally posted by Sparko View Post
                    If wishes were horses...
                    I can only say, as long as not, my chances of getting along with people at work are similarily slim.

                    Some of the things you and some others here have done can be considered as flaming. I don't relish the prospect of leaving bed to go to a place where I will most certainly have the real life equivalent of flaming. Because of my views.

                    If my blogs were read, views would change, and my social status having my views would change.

                    Not as in, "they aren't read", but as in they aren't yet read well enough to do their work.
                    http://notontimsblogroundhere.blogspot.fr/p/apologetics-section.html

                    Thanks, Sparko, for telling how I add the link here!

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Originally posted by hansgeorg View Post
                      And someone like you took that little slip of paper I gave to his son or daughter, told the young family member to let him read it first, found it uninteresting and also "forbade" the son or daughter to read it, lest the younger person should find it interesting.
                      maybe it is a language problem but I don't understand what you said.

                      That is what I mean by monopolising the reading.
                      um what?


                      I was not speaking about printing out.

                      I was speaking about printing on books.
                      same thing. why would anyone want to print out your blog into a book?

                      Turning pages beats scrolling a long computer screen up and down.
                      no.
                      Perhaps that is why you found my blog uninteresting, if not printing out first, it would involve too much scrolling?
                      no.



                      That is supposing the beggar had been there that hour.
                      people only have so much spare money to give away. what you take is that much less they can give to someone else who needs it more.

                      That is also supposing anyone who gives me anything sees just the beggar and no one is interested in my blogs. I think some are, and I do publicity for them.
                      which seems to be the case.


                      I am using it as a writer.
                      well you seems to be spending a lot of time here on this site, chatting, instead of writing. you could use all the time you spend here and work at a job instead and still have the same amount of time to "write"




                      Once again, I was not speaking of "printing out". I was speaking of printing books with pages that can be turned. And sell and send me royalties from what they earn on it.
                      nobody will do that. if you cant sell your "books" - why could they?

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Originally posted by Paula View Post
                        I have a question for my fellow Christians:

                        What do you see as the appropriate response to the homeless?

                        I occasionally, mostly when I go to a nearby big city but sometimes I run into it in my hometown, encounter homeless people begging for money (or sleeping out in the open). I sometimes give them money.

                        When talking with my family about the homeless, I heard safety concerns and a bit of skepticism about what they would do with my money (i.e. might spend it on drugs or alcohol). That is very true. It is also true that bad things can happen to anyone. So I am a little reluctant to judge people I've never met. At the same time, I am a little hesitant to talk to people I don't know and there is a bit of a safety concern (especially in the big city).
                        The government which we all contribute to and fund with our taxes, should provide food, housing, healthcare and vocational/job training to the homeless, to help them get back on their feet. The notion that people are homeless due to their own bad decisions, isn't necessarily true and even when it is, society should still get such people off the street into their own housing. Homeless shelters/warehouses, don't qualify as appropriate housing for wild animals, much less human beings. I know, I was homeless for several years and I remember the conditions I experienced in the shelter system in NYC and in other parts of the country. The Bible is clear that the poor and homeless, have rights, that have to be respected by the community, to do otherwise is a sin.

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Originally posted by Paula View Post
                          I have a question for my fellow Christians:

                          What do you see as the appropriate response to the homeless?
                          The problem is our city makes you take a course before you can feed the homeless. It may be a shock to the body to go from having nothing to eat for a while to eating something that is too much for their system. I have some vitamins that I cannot ingest on an empty stomach. There are some fish that are prepared that you can get sick on an empty stomach depending on how it is prepared.

                          Is giving food to people on the streets a good idea if they don't have a toothbrush or if you don't know if they are diabetic or have other health problems? If a person doesn't have dental floss, toothpaste and a toothbrush then they are going to get cavities because they may very well have limited resources to brush their teeth.

                          A woman was at the grocery store for days asking everyone if they could give her something to eat and I was thinking about it for a couple of days so I bought her a bag of apples, a bunch of bananas and a bottle of water. I don't know if people have bad teeth so the bananas are something that are relatively soft. All the foods are natural and have no added ingredients.

                          I have high blood pressure and my doctor said I need to lower my sodium intake and exercise. Here is the problem and you have to really hear me out because I've been trying to figure this out. Unless you read the ingredients in food, you don't really know what you are ingesting.

                          Fast food is the worst because they load the foods up with salt so that the products can last on the shelf or in the refrigerator. So unless you actively read the labels, you do not know what is in the individual products. On top of this, fast food restaurants add sugar and salt to make their foods taste good.

                          If a person is diabetic, do you know what kinds of foods they can have? If a person cannot have acidic foods, what foods are acidic? I just learned that Feta cheese is acidic and I had no idea. Unless you thoroughly research it, are you caring for another human being more than you would care for yourself?

                          If a person is living on the streets and they don't have adequate water, how will their body flush out the sodium or the sugar or waste?

                          Another issue is that some outreaches also deal in mental health issues. I don't know how ordinary people can prepare for that without taking a course.

                          Starting September 14, expect to see sodium warnings on popular menu items at chain restaurants in Philadelphia. Chain restaurants with more than 15 locations must post warning labels on menu items and combination meals with 2,300 mg of sodium or more. Now Philadelphians will have the information they need to make healthier choices.
                          http://foodfitphilly.org/sodiumwarning/


                          I've actually seen warning labels on the menu board at the drive through of several fast food restaurants and before I had no idea they are poisoning me with sodium to keep their products fresh and to make them taste good for you to buy them.

                          I was eating a Grilled Chicken Southwest Salad from a fast food restaurant and I really really enjoyed it and I thought I was being healthy by eating salad. Wrong. The salad was filled with sodium. According to unverified sources on the web, the salad has 1380 miligrams of sodium and just one of the salad dressings has 490 miligrams of sodium. That is 1,870 miligrams of sodium in a salad. I think reports of my dressing had more sodium.

                          You can also buy other food combinations that have acceptable sodium apart but together it all adds up. I saw jars of pasta sauce in the grocery store with 800 mg of sodium.

                          There are things like steel cut Quaker Oats that have nothing added and you can add fresh blueberries to them.

                          What do I do? I make my own salads. I make my own vinaigrette dressing with olive oil because it has no cholesterol and no sodium. I use red wine vinegar with garlic. Doing this for the homeless becomes more complicated. But even the salad bags in the grocery store go bad in two days if they are opened or have low sodium.

                          What do I do? I read the labels. I buy fish and I buy chicken after reading the labels.


                          How much sodium should I eat per day?

                          https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-liv...-i-eat-per-day

                          I've been stabbed at the gas station for not giving people money. If you go to the gas station and people are hanging around, it is always safer to leave. Some people are treating begging as a business. Some of them live near the gas station.

                          I drove up to another gas station and a man came out from around the corner of the gas station and I've always thought that they can be collecting welfare and not working at the same time. If someone can beg for a living, they can hold a desk job. But he came out from around the corner so I didn't get out but I turned the engine back on and he left. I waited a while and other people arrived at the gas station so I got gas. I left the gas station and went through some blocks and saw someone who looked like the man begging for money. He lives in the area and he was walking with people who were probably friends or his neighbors who could take care of him.

                          I saw a woman begging and holding a sign. I saw her weeks later dressed up on a Friday night with a cell phone, talking to people. She lives there.

                          I was in another city and I saw a woman who looked like she had a clean face and she was on the street looking for money at all the cars passing by. Later I saw her walking with other people and wasn't begging. If people have friends and if they have time to also fool around and do other things then I start to become suspicious.

                          And there are people on youtube sending their children out to beg which makes it harder for the homeless or people who are really homeless.

                          To help the poor, you really need to have several families take on one homeless person because it is hard to do it yourself. Begging should not be a business. Feedings should be handled by a church or an organization and we wonder why people are coming to us instead of all the organizations or the church. I realize the church can't be everywhere and we are the church but I don't have unlimited funds and if I walk around long enough, everyone seems to need money or help and they aren't working.

                          So now you have a little information. Why not talk to people who actually know about what's going on instead of just me?

                          Unfortunately, some people you might have to ask to pee in a cup and get a drug test. They are homeless maybe because they have emotional issues and can't get along with some people because they were thrown out.

                          Other people are homeless because they don't have affordable housing, lost their jobs or got sick. I've seen them on the news and they speak eloquently and some are educated.


                          Last edited by Chuckz; 03-05-2021, 09:00 PM.

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Originally posted by Paula View Post
                            I have a question for my fellow Christians:
                            Do you mind very much if a Deist takes interest?

                            What do you see as the appropriate response to the homeless?
                            Support them.

                            I occasionally, mostly when I go to a nearby big city but sometimes I run into it in my hometown, encounter homeless people begging for money (or sleeping out in the open). I sometimes give them money.
                            That's fine.

                            When talking with my family about the homeless, I heard safety concerns and a bit of skepticism about what they would do with my money (i.e. might spend it on drugs or alcohol). That is very true. It is also true that bad things can happen to anyone. So I am a little reluctant to judge people I've never met. At the same time, I am a little hesitant to talk to people I don't know and there is a bit of a safety concern (especially in the big city).
                            Does your family question a tradesman who has worked at their homes? I mean, anybody can go and waste money that they have.

                            Jesus loved his meat and drink. He certainly loved his wine, and so I never think about such things when I give, but what I DO think about when I see appeals for charities is 'how much does the charity's CEO earn per annum'. An appeal to give £3 each month to a charity when the CEO earns £150,000 pa........ nah... I'd give that £3 to a person sitting on a street corner.

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Originally posted by YHWH RULES View Post

                              The government which we all contribute to and fund with our taxes, should provide food, housing, healthcare and vocational/job training to the homeless, to help them get back on their feet. The notion that people are homeless due to their own bad decisions, isn't necessarily true and even when it is, society should still get such people off the street into their own housing. Homeless shelters/warehouses, don't qualify as appropriate housing for wild animals, much less human beings. I know, I was homeless for several years and I remember the conditions I experienced in the shelter system in NYC and in other parts of the country. The Bible is clear that the poor and homeless, have rights, that have to be respected by the community, to do otherwise is a sin.
                              Well said!
                              Over 50 years ago I decided that I had to try street subsistence for one week (in summer! easier!) and on my first night I nearly froze! An old man saw my discomfort (I was about to go home to bed and give up) and he showed me where to get free cardboard to wrap around myself. (Ahhhh! The warmth!) We chatted, he then told me how he got his food, warmth, drink, tobacco etc..... etc, all simply by knowing where companies chucked things away, or where people were most likely to give. And he offered to tell short amusing tales for coins! He was very funny. He had become a street dweller after the war....... he had no interest in normal life anymore, and the life of a gatherer, searcher, seeker suited him best.

                              So will put down what I can.

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