I live in one of the richest counties in the US - according to some surveys and magazine articles. While I understand this to be true I also know this means there is an ever deepening gap of disparity between those who have abundantly and those who have nothing. And I mean nothing. I work with men and women who are homeless. I sit down with the very people who are living in their cars, living in tents, renting extended stay hotel rooms when they can get some money together, living in shelters when there is room for them, living less than one paycheck from being evicted, living in the throes of foreclosure and having no utilities for the past 6 months.
The face of homelessness has changed. The face of homelessness is children, it is families. I was watching the news the last 2 evenings, 41% of Americans are living at or below the national poverty level - which is UNDER $22,000 for a family of four per year. And the statistic is believed to be higher because there are many areas in our country where the cost of living is higher than this amount of money can support. Honestly when I heard this I thought where are these people living on $22,000/year for a family of 4? In my county you couldn't even rent an apartment for that for a year. Much less turn on the lights, have a phone for emergencies, provide food and clothing and transportation needs. Let's not even talk about school supplies, medications for illness.
In a local paper about a week ago there was an editorial note written by someone who was bemoaning the fact that they could not walk down a certain street in one of our downtown areas without having to pass by day laborers on the sidewalk. When I read that all I could think about was the fact that the writer could be a person who hires day laborers without even knowing it and instead of bemoaning the fact that they are hoping for a days work so they can hopefully provide for their family, she bemoans she has to share the sidewalk with them.
A majority of the homeless I work with have jobs. You try working for minimum wage and supporting yourself - much less a family. Many of them are degreed professionals who have recently lost their job and haven't been able to find a new one. Every person I have met wants to work and is actively searching and trying to work.
I think what has happened is we have labeled homeless people as "HOMELESS" people - instead of labeling them "PEOPLE" who find themselves homeless. Ponder that. If we think about and talk about a label for a group, it is much easier to walk away, not participate in actively loving our neighbor as ourselves and looking the other way and in the deepest part of our hearts praying it will never be us or in the shallowest part of our hearts "knowing" that will never happen to us, we wouldn't let that happen. But what if every homeless person has a story? What if every homeless person was once a small child with a dream? What if every homeless person was just you and just me, the only difference being shelter for tonight?
I have met women with children who were married for more than 15 years. They made life choices with their husbands to stay at home with the kids. They live in a nice house that they are renting because they haven't decided which neighborhood they want to settle into as they are new to the area for about a year. One day their husband comes home and says "I have been meaning to tell you - I don't love you, I am not sure I ever have, I met someone else, I do love her. I am leaving you, tonight. I am living with her. By the way she doesn't like kids and well you do fine with our kids, so they can't come and live with me, nor can they visit. I will stop by when I can to see them. Oh and she and I want to spend more time together, we are going to travel a bit. I am quitting my job, so I can no longer provide financially for you or the kids. Bye." Can you say shock and devastation. But imagine then being this woman and receiving a certified letter from the bank informing her of eviction because her landlord to whom she has been paying rent every month - has not been paying the mortgage on the house and it is being foreclosed. Can you imagine?
Maybe I should start a blog series just on the real face of homelessness, because this is only one story. Over 600 people were turned away from shelter last year alone, in my county alone. Those are 600 more stories to share. There are soldiers coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan, there are families who are intact but find out there are no operational family shelters and so they must separate to be allowed in the shelters, there are those who find employment but can't get back to the shelter in time for lock-up at night and so can't come into the shelter or have to quit their job to be allowed in the shelter. There are those who are suffering life threatening illnesses who can't get adequate medication or the proper food to sustain their health. And did you know that around 50% of the children who age out of foster care (meaning they have not been adopted by age 18 and the state cuts off any support at age 18) end up homeless?
I dream of an apartment building. I pray to God for an apartment building. It needs to be in the heart of things - walking distance to jobs, walking distance to grocery stores, walking distance to bus transportation. I would have a computer center, a job skills center, a bank and financial planner, a daycare, a small free clinic, an open kitchen and dining room for communal meals, a chapel, education rooms for ESL classes and life-skills and parenting classes. I would have AA, NA and Al-anon meeting rooms. I would have a set of apartments for homeless: singles, family, elderly. I would have transitional apartments for those who are ready to move into their own place but still need some time to establish their address, their credit, to sustain the good work they have begun rebuilding their life. I would then have graduate apartments that are affordable as people build up a savings account and work towards renting or buying their own home. I keep praying. It is a big prayer, it is overwhelming and exciting to think of the answered prayer.
I have met people who are homeless who only meet me because they are finally ready to ask for help. I have found that is the hardest part for many people. Asking for help. Some people try to keep up appearances of being "just fine". The man who doesn't tell his wife he lost his job until the sheriff shows up at the door with the eviction notice. The woman who doesn't tell her kids her hours were cut back and she lost her benefits because she is no longer full-time until they are so sick and they want to go to the doctor and she can't take them.
I could go on and on. I am just beginning to shed light on why I am so passionate and I am beginning to understand why God is calling me to minister with my homeless friends. They are me and I am them. We are the same. From dust we came and to dust we shall return and in the journey of this life we should all be afforded an opportunity for a decent wage for decent work, shelter to keep us safe, food to sustain our bodies, access to health care when needed, access to education, dignity and respect and opportunity to worship God, coming to Him as we are, where we are so that He might love us. We all deserve to be seen. No one deserves to be the invisible among us.
"I have written your name on my hand." Isaiah 49:16
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