How To Help The Homeless In Your Own Way
Not everyone is blessed to have a home of their own. At times, the homeless need the help of others in order to survive the daily challenges that they face. That’s why we at Kids4Community have a heart to help the homeless.
A lot of people who are homeless have experienced staying inside their own houses, but for some reason have lost their properties. Some are victims of typhoons and other calamities, while others were affected by economic troubles.
Helping the homeless is a great opportunity to care for the unfortunate. Being able to share some of our blessings does not only help them with their immediate needs – it also gives them a glimpse of hope that everything turn out better in the future.
Causes of Homelessness
Homelessness may be caused by the following situations:
- Calamities and natural disasters
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol abuse
- Family and relationship breakdown
- Gambling
- Lack of affordable housing
- Physical and/or sexual abuse
- Poor physical or mental health
- Poverty
- Unemployment
Ways To Help The Homeless
Having a roof over their heads is not the only concern of people who don’t have homes. Having said that, they need some form of help that can them get by.
Listed below are some ways on how we can help a homeless person:
Support a non-profit organization
Some individuals form a group wherein their main mission is to provide for homeless people. These people could not do this on their own, and they may need sponsors to help the homeless with their basic needs. You can donate money, food, clothing, medicines and your time in taking care of them.
Educate yourself and others about the homeless
As stated earlier, there are various reasons why people become homeless. What these people need is not pity, but just a little support that can somehow help them with their needs.
Children should also be taught how to treat these people right and not to make fun of them. Instead of ridiculing how they look, let them know why homeless people ended up this way. Allow your children to develop a sense of responsibility to help the homeless in any way they can.
Spread awareness on homelessness
You may post ads about how to help homeless people via newspaper or social media sites. Create an event wherein people may be able to extend their help by providing for the homeless. You may start a food or clothing drive, and let the general public become aware of where and how to send their help.
Advocate against criminalizing homelessness
Take an action by opposing laws that make homelessness a crime. It is unfortunate enough for these people to be living in such predicament, and putting them behind bars just because they are homeless is simply inhuman.
Create jobs for the homeless
Teach them how they can push themselves to become productive people so that they can be able to sustain their needs. This would eventually get them out of their present situation.
Some homeless people sustain their daily needs by taking away recyclable materials found in garbage bins and exchanging these for a sum of money. You can help by giving your recyclable materials to them.
Direct the homeless to a shelter
Some of these people may not know where to seek help. If you happen to see a homeless person, ask if he needs help. If so, send him to a shelter or a non-profit organization that can help him with his needs.
There are homeless people that show signs of deteriorating physical and mental health. Do your share by informing a local community or non-profit organization so that medical care can be given.
Charity Groups in San Diego
Fortunately, there are several charitable institutions in San Diego that have dedicated their time and effort in extending help for the homeless. Some of these organizations have been helping the homeless for so many years, and some of their volunteers and members continue with the mission even after retirement.
Some of the local groups in San Diego include the following:
- Alpha Project for the Homeless
- Cortez Hill Family Center
- Father Joe’s Villages
- HomeAid San Diego
- Interfaith Shelter Network
- Kids4Community
- Motiv San Diego
- Regional Task Force on the Homeless
- San Diego Rescue Mission
- San Diego Youth & Community Services
- Urban Street Angels
- YWCA San Diego County
These local non-profit organizations make time to help the homeless meet their daily needs. If these people can do it, so can you. Start extending a helping hand to these homeless people.
Help The Homeless Through Kids4Community
We at Kids4Community want homeless people to be given the care that they need, where they can be treated the same way as any other person in the community. It’s our way of giving back to the community.
We have developed programs meant for children as young as five years who are taught to become compassionate and good citizens of the community by taking part in serving the homeless. When children grow up with such values, the same values can be passed on to the next generation, which we hope can make the world a better place for everyone.
Final Word
Our goal in life should be focused not only on how we can make our own lives better but also on how to take up the responsibility of helping people who are in need. That way, we can be an instrument of hope for people who seem to be losing it.
No one dreams of becoming homeless. But due to certain circumstances, life has not become better for them. By extending assistance to them, we can all bring opportunities for the homeless to rebuild their lives and hopefully have a home of their own in the future.