Feeding Homeless 'Immoral' and 'Degrading'
Have you been following the headlines about the homeless feeding law in Las Vegas? Have you been reading what folks are doing in response to those headlines?
Don't feed homeless, Las Vegas statute says
I must be missing something; I don’t understand why any organization would want to feed huge groups of poor and homeless in city parks. I think the headlines along with the resulting protests, increased feeding efforts and law suits are misdirected and will not help the homeless. I think the story is being ‘spun funny’, and will only end up encouraging organizations that rely on publicity to raise money to keep them in ‘the business’ of serving the poor and the needy.
I serve the homeless on the streets of Minneapolis for a non-profit. Much of the food people want to donate is day-old or ‘garbage’; most of the donated clothing is ripped, torn or missing zippers or buttons; just about everything donated is offered in ignorance and indifference. Most people don’t really care about the homeless unless there’s something in it for them.
When I talk to homed people about helping the homeless, I often hear comments, such as: “They’re not like us, are they. Well, it’s better than nothing! If it doesn’t hurt, they’ll never change.” When someone asks, ‘What do the homeless need?’ I respond, ‘The same things that you need, everyday.’
Have you ever stood in line with 30, 40, 100 people waiting to eat? It doesn’t matter if that line is in a church, a fast-food joint or a city park; it’s a nightmare. When you’re stranded in a horde of a line waiting for ‘poor services’, all the people in line look and smell the same; desperate.
If you think eating ‘church food’ from a line with a hundred other desperate people in a city park is a picnic (or a blessing), you must be smokin’ the funny stuff. I've even heard it called 'immoral' and 'degrading.'
One reason that homelessness will always be with us is because we forget to ‘treat our neighbors as we treat oursevles.'
Don't feed homeless, Las Vegas statute says
I must be missing something; I don’t understand why any organization would want to feed huge groups of poor and homeless in city parks. I think the headlines along with the resulting protests, increased feeding efforts and law suits are misdirected and will not help the homeless. I think the story is being ‘spun funny’, and will only end up encouraging organizations that rely on publicity to raise money to keep them in ‘the business’ of serving the poor and the needy.
I serve the homeless on the streets of Minneapolis for a non-profit. Much of the food people want to donate is day-old or ‘garbage’; most of the donated clothing is ripped, torn or missing zippers or buttons; just about everything donated is offered in ignorance and indifference. Most people don’t really care about the homeless unless there’s something in it for them.
When I talk to homed people about helping the homeless, I often hear comments, such as: “They’re not like us, are they. Well, it’s better than nothing! If it doesn’t hurt, they’ll never change.” When someone asks, ‘What do the homeless need?’ I respond, ‘The same things that you need, everyday.’
Have you ever stood in line with 30, 40, 100 people waiting to eat? It doesn’t matter if that line is in a church, a fast-food joint or a city park; it’s a nightmare. When you’re stranded in a horde of a line waiting for ‘poor services’, all the people in line look and smell the same; desperate.
If you think eating ‘church food’ from a line with a hundred other desperate people in a city park is a picnic (or a blessing), you must be smokin’ the funny stuff. I've even heard it called 'immoral' and 'degrading.'
One reason that homelessness will always be with us is because we forget to ‘treat our neighbors as we treat oursevles.'
posted by Kelly at 4:00 PM
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