I say help those who trully need it. Theres alot of homeless people out there who chose not to get educations, or people who prefered to do drugs and drink alcohol and still do. Alot of them chose not to get jobs. Now the people who are homeless because of finacial reasons cause the economy or something bad happened, then I think you should help them out cause they couldnt control that situation.
But if we helped all the homeless all the time constantly give them money, food and clothes all for free then why doesnt everyone just become homeless? You'd get everything for free, and no one would learn to fix there own problems, because people would be fixing their problems for them.
A couple can go out to the theaters and easily spend $30.00 or more. I say rent the dvd, and buy your popcorn all in one stop. The money you save can help the homeless.
Submitted by Jacquelyn s. on Thu, 08/14/2008 - 21:26
Joe Jonas Lover i am all for helping the homeless, but, like in my report that i did in sixth grade, even though if everyone pitched in to save the homeless, and succeeded, there will always be more.....unfortunately....
i was once a caseworker at the salvation army, working with many "homeless" people in the mt. pleasant area/isabella county michigan. there is such a stereotype out there when it comes to this topic. what most people don't know is that there are people on the streets, camping in tents, "couch-surfing" from place to place...people out there without a home...ie. homeless. these people are just like us. these people are not lazy. there have been hardships, extenuating circumstances keeping them from posessing a place of their own: medical circumstances, job lay-off or job loss, felonies and misdemeanors....be they intentional or not, that is not the issue. the issue is humanity and the golden rule. do unto others as you would like to be treated. we will never know if that could be us one day, right? make your mark...show kindness and generosity...it doesn't matter if we live in an urban setting or suburban or rural...people are everywhere. you, me, us, them, we.
Besides contributing to a local shelter or taking a homeless person to dinner, YouChoose.Net has created a way to expand the number of people you reach when you post your concerns about the homeless. Also don't forget about the YouChoose.Net Widget which is just above where it says "Share this Link" or "Get Widget". You can post it in your Blog. I saw the Demo 08 film and the widget is a wonderful thing. When someone posts about the the plight of the homeless anywhere on the web, it brings that post to you and you can respond. The widget increases your outreach to dozens perhaps even hundred of other websites! It cuts across the walls of the internet. Take a look at the Demo 08 film and see an example of how it works for yourself.
I used to see the homeless on my job, I don't know about the United States, but in Canada you would be surprised how short a distance it is between a safe secure life and homelessness, it can happen to anybody, even me, even you. Some of the homeless you see are Doctors and Lawyers. So many of the homeless are mentally ill that you realize that there is no way they can pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Even to get basic welfare they have to have lived at one address for a year. There are organizations that help people who aren't mentally ill or who are but are stabalized by medication and can manage to get along with others. They are provided a room in a group home for a year by volunteer organizations -- not the government -- and these ones have a chance. But the mentally ill, with our climate, they usually don't last more than a year, two years at most. There was one exception who lasted 11 years, but then one day on a particularly cold night he died because the heating vent for an office building where he slept over was turned off for one hour to make repairs. But even so there are a small army of people who make a special effort to get as many volunteers on the streets as they can on what they call the cold advisory nights and give them food and clothes and the offer to get out of the cold. Some of the volunteers are physically attacked, most offers are turned down, but most of the homeless will take a pair a gloves, a toque, a sweater or a coat and some food. These volunteers keep going out on these nights anyways, because out of ten, one will come in for shelter. There have been large improvements in psychotropic medications that stablize the mentally ill very effectively, you wouldn't believe it's the same person. Anything you do for the homeless, you may not know it but the old sweater or the money to buy someone a meal, you give may save someone's life long enough for them keep them alive until they get to a point where they will let themselves be treated. The problem is that the volunteers often don't have enough on any of the things they use, clothes, food, money, medicine to meet the need. It sounds like a panacea, but when it comes to the homeless the smallest donation really can save a life.
I say help those who trully need it. Theres alot of homeless people out there who chose not to get educations, or people who prefered to do drugs and drink alcohol and still do. Alot of them chose not to get jobs. Now the people who are homeless because of finacial reasons cause the economy or something bad happened, then I think you should help them out cause they couldnt control that situation.
But if we helped all the homeless all the time constantly give them money, food and clothes all for free then why doesnt everyone just become homeless? You'd get everything for free, and no one would learn to fix there own problems, because people would be fixing their problems for them.
A couple can go out to the theaters and easily spend $30.00 or more. I say rent the dvd, and buy your popcorn all in one stop. The money you save can help the homeless.
Joe Jonas Lover i am all for helping the homeless, but, like in my report that i did in sixth grade, even though if everyone pitched in to save the homeless, and succeeded, there will always be more.....unfortunately....
Joe Jonas Lover I SAY HELP THE HOMELESS
i was once a caseworker at the salvation army, working with many "homeless" people in the mt. pleasant area/isabella county michigan. there is such a stereotype out there when it comes to this topic. what most people don't know is that there are people on the streets, camping in tents, "couch-surfing" from place to place...people out there without a home...ie. homeless. these people are just like us. these people are not lazy. there have been hardships, extenuating circumstances keeping them from posessing a place of their own: medical circumstances, job lay-off or job loss, felonies and misdemeanors....be they intentional or not, that is not the issue. the issue is humanity and the golden rule. do unto others as you would like to be treated. we will never know if that could be us one day, right? make your mark...show kindness and generosity...it doesn't matter if we live in an urban setting or suburban or rural...people are everywhere. you, me, us, them, we.
Besides contributing to a local shelter or taking a homeless person to dinner, YouChoose.Net has created a way to expand the number of people you reach when you post your concerns about the homeless. Also don't forget about the YouChoose.Net Widget which is just above where it says "Share this Link" or "Get Widget". You can post it in your Blog. I saw the Demo 08 film and the widget is a wonderful thing. When someone posts about the the plight of the homeless anywhere on the web, it brings that post to you and you can respond. The widget increases your outreach to dozens perhaps even hundred of other websites! It cuts across the walls of the internet. Take a look at the Demo 08 film and see an example of how it works for yourself.
I used to see the homeless on my job, I don't know about the United States, but in Canada you would be surprised how short a distance it is between a safe secure life and homelessness, it can happen to anybody, even me, even you. Some of the homeless you see are Doctors and Lawyers. So many of the homeless are mentally ill that you realize that there is no way they can pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Even to get basic welfare they have to have lived at one address for a year. There are organizations that help people who aren't mentally ill or who are but are stabalized by medication and can manage to get along with others. They are provided a room in a group home for a year by volunteer organizations -- not the government -- and these ones have a chance. But the mentally ill, with our climate, they usually don't last more than a year, two years at most. There was one exception who lasted 11 years, but then one day on a particularly cold night he died because the heating vent for an office building where he slept over was turned off for one hour to make repairs. But even so there are a small army of people who make a special effort to get as many volunteers on the streets as they can on what they call the cold advisory nights and give them food and clothes and the offer to get out of the cold. Some of the volunteers are physically attacked, most offers are turned down, but most of the homeless will take a pair a gloves, a toque, a sweater or a coat and some food. These volunteers keep going out on these nights anyways, because out of ten, one will come in for shelter. There have been large improvements in psychotropic medications that stablize the mentally ill very effectively, you wouldn't believe it's the same person. Anything you do for the homeless, you may not know it but the old sweater or the money to buy someone a meal, you give may save someone's life long enough for them keep them alive until they get to a point where they will let themselves be treated. The problem is that the volunteers often don't have enough on any of the things they use, clothes, food, money, medicine to meet the need. It sounds like a panacea, but when it comes to the homeless the smallest donation really can save a life.
Awesome idea, John, re: dining with a homeless person - an action that will probably be transformational for both people!