What do you do to help the homeless in your area?

[Lou_C]

I was coming out of the grocery store several days ago and I had a few items in my bag and a homeless man came up to me and asked me for food. He didn't ask for cash he asked for food so I gave him my loaf of bread that I had just bought because the rest of the stuff in the bag was pet food.

Anytime a homeless person asks me for help I will give them something even if it is some small change.

My best friend who has a heart of gold gave me some money to hand to a homeless teenager and her dog. She was being harassed by the police while she was trying to get some water for her dog. I felt so sorry for her because she didn't look old enough to be out of Jr High School.

What do you do to help the homeless in your area?

[Mikimouse]

1. Since I have been where they are, everything I can...

I can't help everyone, but I try to volunteer at the local shelter on holidays and donate money and foodstuffs when I can afford to do so. Otherwise, I have no problem giving people money or food when I am approached. The accumulation of 'wealth' is meaningless to me, because to me, if it isn't shared, it is worthless. I owe more to the community then I can ever repay.

[gratuitous]

2. Quite a number of things

Our teeny-tiny congregation, money poor but building rich, provides the office space and day shelter for Daybreak Shelter Network, a consortium of churches in our area that provides temporary housing to homeless families, and helps them reintegrate into the housing market. Average stay in the shelter network is 30-35 days. The value of the office space, if the network had to pay for it on the market, is about $40,000 per year.

Our congregation also routinely donates money, food and clothing to Snow-Cap, the neighbors-helping-neighbors agency. We also hold an annual Souper Bowl Party, putting together ready-to-prepare soup packets for Snow-Cap. Our first year, we assembled 300 packets. This last year we put together over 700 packets, which are given away free to families who use Snow-Cap's services. Also, we put together 100 health kits for distribution to Iraqi refugees by Church World Service.

Personally, I give away about 40% of my pre-tax earnings for charitable causes. But the multiplying effect of working through my church makes my personal impact all the greater.

[Lou_C]

4. How do you make the soup packets?

I would like to do something like that in my area.

Do they add hot water to them?

[HFishbine]

6. "40% of my pre-tax earnings for charitable causes."

Man! Three cheers for you! That's beyond generous, that's saintly.

[noiretextatique]

3. i give food and money too

whenever i go to a party, i always take any extra food and pass it out to people on the street. unfortunately, in my area, it's not hard to find hungry people on the street...there are so many of them.
my chruch doesn't any any direct action program for the homeless, so i stopped giving to the church, and starting giving more directly to people on the street.

[HFishbine]

5. I'll help

When I'm approached for money, it is usually acommpanied by a explaination, such as "my car ran out of gas," "I need a bus ticket," or "I haven't eaten in days."

I respond by offering to procure whatever it is the person is asking for. So I've ended up buying gas and food (on several occasions) -- the guy who needed $19 for a bus ticket declined my offer to drive him to the station and buy the ticket.

[Lou_C]

7. The bus ticket was a scam if he didn't want it

The scamers make it bad for the people in need.

[doni_georgia]

8. I do what I can

I volunteer at the shelter, donate food and money to the food bank which provides food for homeless as well as working poor.

When I worked downtown, I used to do the KFC run a couple of times a week and deliver buckets of chicken to the homeless shanty town under the interstate overpass near my office. Still a couple of times a year my brother and I take clothes and blankets to this same location and we always take food (I fried homemade fried chicken last time).

[Vickers]

9. Vote Democrat

:)

I'm usually pretty generous with my change, unless they are being aggressive about it.