A few years
ago I spoke of and promoted this particular idea. The idea was to “adopt” or
mentor a homeless person. In my case I was very lucky. During the 10 years of
my own personal homelessness there were 3 or 4 people who did just that along
with several others who touched my life in many ways. In my early years of
homelessness I ran into a Christian Men’s group who met every week. The 2
leaders of the group not only helped me to recover my faith, helped me through
my addictions, made sure that I had what I needed and most important, listened
to me. In this case they helped me with basic equipment for my camp such as a
tent, a cot and other assorted items. After some time of getting to know each
other they even helped me with cash and supplies. They encouraged me to find
something to do with myself. If I couldn’t find a good job I at least could do
some day work or failing that I could go to some of the places where the
homeless people in my area went during the day. This is how I discovered the BeautifulFeet Ministries. For
a time I talked to my peers there at the Beautiful Feet and towards the end of
my homelessness I was actively working and advising other homeless people.
Now back to
the people who helped me. With the men’s group I would be picked up on the
night of the meeting and while in the beginning we trod very carefully
developing the trust needed to be successful in good communications. They did
more than help me with my lack of knowledge regarding my faith but let me talk
about myself. In other words, they listened to me. Over time as our mutual
level of trust grew I became more honest and forthcoming with them as they did
with me.
The other
two people I have to mention arrived in my life about the time I started this
blog almost 5 years ago. They are a simple family with the usual family issues.
They started simply by emailing me and we started a conversation. This went on
for a couple of months. Because I had developed a cautious but honest method of
talking to people and the fact that they were very easy to talk to we went to
the next stage. They came to my camp one Christmas day. From that point on we
developed a relationship that just grew. They saw to it I had food, stove fuel
and other items to make life easier if I needed them. I was even invited to
their home on a regular basis for a meal and companionship. I met the rest of
their family and became an unofficial member of their household, welcome at any
time. I still, to this day, get together with these people and their family.
So far I
have discussed how these 4 people and assorted others provided material goods,
food, tents, fuel, and other things to make my camping lifestyle more
comfortable. Many people think this is all that is needed to help homeless
people to recover from homelessness. But the truth is it wasn’t the material
goods but the honest and open conversations I had with all of them over the
years. In every case I talked to them about the barriers that homeless people
run into. They helped me become a real person again with real appreciation of
me as an individual. This is not something that happens overnight. As I’ve said
in past posts, homelessness is a lifestyle. As with all lifestyles there are
specific thoughts and ways of functioning that are part of the lifestyle.
Homelessness in some of its forms are not appropriate in other settings. Even
myself after 10 years of living in a camp I had a difficult time readjusting to
something more “normal”.
On a daily
basis a homeless person is in a mad scramble of survival. As many as 60% of
homeless people have a mental health issue, some more severe than others. As
many as 50% of homeless people have a substance abuse problem usually because
they are self-medicating themselves to survive or ignore their problems. A
fairly large number of homeless people have a criminal record or are hiding
from the legal system. Some have been rejected by family and have no place to
go. There are all kinds of reasons that people become homeless.
The topic
here is to “adopt” or mentor a homeless person. To do this is not going to be
easy and depending on the homeless individual and the mentor, can be easy or
difficult. One thing to remember is never disparage or talk down to a homeless
person. But most importantly, in order to learn what a homeless person really
needs is to get to know him or her. That is not going to be easy either and may
take several visits before they even begin opening up to you. Trust is a big
issue here.
There is an
organization I discovered that is based in Dallas. They are called Sponsor the Lost. Their purpose is to mentor homeless people and assist them
as needed. Take a look. They have some good ideas. There are other
organizations around as well who do similar things.
With that
being said there is no reason a church group or a small group of concerned
people can’t do this sort of work here in Ft. Worth. Of course sponsoring a
homeless person is more than just providing them with material goods or
counselling them. In almost every case you will run into a homeless individual
who needs something that you can’t help with. This is where you develop a list
of local resources who can do some of the things you or your group can’t. This
is something I developed while I was working as a homeless outreach worker.
Even my resource book is not complete but knowing others in the homeless
service or mentoring field can be a great help in solving those issues every
homeless person faces. Just relying on the homeless services community, most of
whom are located in the homeless shelters or nearby the shelters, to help
homeless people is unrealistic as they are overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of
homeless people and a lack of resources. Small local groups can help.
Especially with the homeless person who does not wish to have anything to do
with the homeless district along East Lancaster.
Got some
homeless people in your neighborhood or nearby? Stop by, say hello and maybe you can really
help. It just takes patience and the desire to help.
Lastly, I’m
going to sort of stick my neck out. If you have any questions or need
information on some of the resources I spoke about, send me an email. My
address is Homelessinftw@live.com
