How should one treat the homeless?

  • Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.

    If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!

    To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.

Lynx

Folksy yet erudite
Aug 13, 2014
27,110
9,211
113
#41
Ahem... So, SalomePortman, this thread sure has gone faaaaaaaar afield. Sorry about that.

About the initial post, yeah I think giving him your phone would have been a bad idea. It's a shame we have to be cautious sometimes, but it is necessary.

I'm just glad this life is the short part. Someday we will have an eternity where we WON'T have to be cautious.
 
Sep 15, 2021
119
59
28
#42
At my local Walmart, we met a family asking for help that claimed to be from Romania. According to them they flew to Mexico and entered the border there. I don't know really what a Romanian looks like, but they were heavily accented and looked Mediterranean. I figure they may have been Muslims because they were all for us helping them until mom mentioned that our church would get them a hotel room and food if they needed it.
Romanians are Orthodox, and typically they look kind of like Italians.
 
Sep 15, 2021
119
59
28
#43
Not moslems....just scammers using their children to help them scam.
Because the children had already learned how to scam their parents.

Oh yes, lots of people use children to beg for money. Who doesn't want to help out a hungry child looking pitiful? They usually rake in the big bucks.
That sounds like the Roma. I remember being approached by a Roma woman in my small hometown. She saw I had cash on me and was like "you can give me that if you like...we need to buy...bread?" She tried to act like her child was starving.

He was wearing newly bought clothes and wearing jewelry.
 

Mission21

Pathfinder
Mar 12, 2019
913
805
93
#44
On a completely different facet of the topic, I have occasionally thought about the feasibility of living in a minivan. An engine with a small displacement could idle for a surprisingly long time on not much gas, which would keep the alternator spinning to generate electricity and provide heat or air conditioning. Remove the middle seats, put a TV tray in front of the back seat for your laptop and voila!

You could hang out in the Walmart parking lot for bathroom access (you'd be buying a lot at Walmart anyway because you're already right there, so nothing unethical about using their restroom) and Pilot or Love's truck stop has showers.

If you want to get innovative you could fill the front right side with car batteries (connected in parallel, not in sequence) drill a hole through the front dash and charge them off the car electrical system, then disconnect them when you turn the car off. Then you have power that doesn't depend on the car idling all the time, with no risk of running down the battery that starts the car.

The downsides would be annoying... No pets, no cooking, no fridge and you'd have to cross the parking lot to pee no matter what the weather is. Sure you could get a hot plate and a micro fridge, but that would take up precious space in a small area. There would be little space for stocking reserves of food and water. Your main reserve would have to be money, and that continually depreciates with inflation.

Also most vehicles don't last as long as most houses, and if your car broke down it would be a major inconvenience instead of a minor annoyance. It's almost impossible to find a mechanic who is both good and available to fix your car at a moment's notice.
I met a fellow who lived in his minivan..some years ago.
- He parked the minivan..at the Walmart (parking area).
---
I have been driving the minivan..many years.
- On road trips..for work.
 

Mission21

Pathfinder
Mar 12, 2019
913
805
93
#45
I used to give 'Burgers & Pizza'..to homeless.
- I got into a conversation..
- To find out 'why & how'..they became homeless.
 

JohnDB

Well-known member
Jan 16, 2021
6,176
2,478
113
#46
I met a fellow who lived in his minivan..some years ago.
- He parked the minivan..at the Walmart (parking area).
---
I have been driving the minivan..many years.
- On road trips..for work.
One of the guys from church likes to think of himself as homeless...he works on the road a lot... except he flies everywhere...and yes, he often wakes up and doesn't remember what city he is in until he looks at his electronic calendar. He has a very nice house in the nice part of town. Too bad he doesn't see much of it.
 

Bizzibro

New member
Nov 2, 2021
3
3
3
Houston
#47
Leave them alone. You are placing yourself in possible jeopardy. They are probably mentally ill to begin with and are actually part of a "Home group" that drops them off in the morning and picks then up at night for a piece of the cut. Usually 30% if whatever they take in. I have even seen them go to lunch and and pretty much mock who they fooled that day. Then it was off to their chosen corner to scam again. I know this sounds harsh but I have seen a lot. Also, most cities are trying to cut down in this by instructing citizens not to give but direct them to agencies. This is actually working where I live.
 

Lanolin

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2018
23,460
7,188
113
#48
If someone asks to use your phone (homeless or not) ask what number they want to call and dial it for them.

Wait for it to pick up and then they can talk. But you might want to limit it to a few minutes because you are paying for the call, unless its a free call. If its an emergency number of course its free.
 

Lanolin

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2018
23,460
7,188
113
#49
Consider donating to a charity (time, goods, money) that helps the homeless eg salvation army, habitat for humanity. womens refuge, church community meal etc

They have teams of people that help rather than you just doing it on your own. Homelessness is too big a problem for one person to handle alone. some churches are invlved with sleeping rough nights where you experience what its like to be homeless (kind of like the 40 hour famine) because its hard there are so many things that a home can give you and we who live in homes thatbare warm and dry tend to take it for granted.

in some cities, like London, they can sell magazines as well as busk so they dont need to beg. So you can give to them legitimately.
 

Lanolin

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2018
23,460
7,188
113
#50
SPCA is also one (people sometimes forget about homeless animals)
 
Oct 31, 2021
34
4
8
#52
there isn't many homeless people where i live but it breaks my heart seeing them, i just would recommend you give what you can.
 

Lizzy

Junior Member
Jan 18, 2018
171
139
43
#54
I do not give cash to homeless people. I do drive thru and drop off a meal and a drink. I always pray for them that God will keep them safe and meet their needs. My daughters work in behavioral health and with social services. I ask them what the families that they are serving need. What the clients need. I'll drop that stuff off at their offices where the families go for resources. I also volunteer in the youth and family clothes closet downtown. All the items are free including clothes, shoes, boots , toiletries and school supplies. On another note, you cannot ever put yourself in any danger if possible. I box and have taught self defense to women. Please stay safe.
 

MatthewWestfieldUK

Well-known member
May 13, 2021
871
498
63
#55
I do not give cash to homeless people. I do drive thru and drop off a meal and a drink. I always pray for them that God will keep them safe and meet their needs. My daughters work in behavioral health and with social services. I ask them what the families that they are serving need. What the clients need. I'll drop that stuff off at their offices where the families go for resources. I also volunteer in the youth and family clothes closet downtown. All the items are free including clothes, shoes, boots , toiletries and school supplies. On another note, you cannot ever put yourself in any danger if possible. I box and have taught self defense to women. Please stay safe.
Sounds good. Im always surprised by how many homeless people had successful lives before things got difficult.
 

Lizzy

Junior Member
Jan 18, 2018
171
139
43
#56
Sounds good. Im always surprised by how many homeless people had successful lives before things got difficult.
You never know what happened before they became homeless. I'm sure there are many they didn't make the choice to be on the streets. It's also very sad that many are probably mentally challenged and can't get their medication. We don't know what happened. It's just a sad part of our world. I think there are probably many more people on the streets because of the pandemic. Wow, so many people have been through so much the part 2 years. I don't know what the solution is except to pray and help those who sincerely look for resources to get back on their feet.
 

Lanolin

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2018
23,460
7,188
113
#57
some people sleep in their cars, that is their home.
I think ppl just do what they have to do. There are lots of different reasons why ppl are homeless, although a big one that almost all on the street say is because of broken homes...family dysfunction. It is actually not safe for them to stay with their families.

Jesus experienced homelessness in ways many people do. First he was born in a stable in Bethlehem Judaea far from his eventual 'home town' ...then he was a refugee in Egypt...run out of Israel by crazy King Herod.
Then he settled in Nazareth which was Mary's village. However when he came to claim his Judaean birthright his brethren rejected him. His Fathers house (the temple) was overrun by money lenders. Eventually even that was destroyed, and when he was doing his minsitry he had nowhere to lay his head...he stayed in other peoples homes, or the disciples fishing boats, and even slept under Olive trees in the garden as he had nowhere to stay.

so, I think its quite common to experience homelessness. And of course the Jews were even exiled from their homeland and not made to feel welcome in all the lands they travelled to, where they were forced to live in ghettos and even concentration camps.
 

TheLearner

Well-known member
Jan 14, 2019
8,172
1,571
113
68
Brighton, MI
#58
I usually spare some change if I'm approached by a homeless person. I have a home, a job, savings. I'm always warm and I always have food, as well as money for leisure items. However tonight I was approached in a backlane (alley) very close to my home by a homeless person asking me if he could use my phone. I declined by way of an excuse. It prompted me to think about how best to deal with homeless people. Any thoughts would be most welcome. Also, apologies if this isn't the right place to post.
I keep food, clothing, motel and meal cards in my wallet.
 

Lynx

Folksy yet erudite
Aug 13, 2014
27,110
9,211
113
#59
Jesus experienced homelessness in ways many people do. First he was born in a stable in Bethlehem Judaea far from his eventual 'home town' ...then he was a refugee in Egypt...run out of Israel by crazy King Herod.
Then he settled in Nazareth which was Mary's village. However when he came to claim his Judaean birthright his brethren rejected him. His Fathers house (the temple) was overrun by money lenders. Eventually even that was destroyed, and when he was doing his minsitry he had nowhere to lay his head...he stayed in other peoples homes, or the disciples fishing boats, and even slept under Olive trees in the garden as he had nowhere to stay.
Oh You did not have a home
There were places You visited frequently
You took off Your shoes and scratched Your feet
'Cause you knew that the whole world belongs to the meek
But You did not have a home
No You did not have a home

Birds have nests
Foxes have dens
But the hope of the whole world rests
On the shoulders of a homeless man

- Rich Mullins
 
G

Gojira

Guest
#60
I usually spare some change if I'm approached by a homeless person. I have a home, a job, savings. I'm always warm and I always have food, as well as money for leisure items. However tonight I was approached in a backlane (alley) very close to my home by a homeless person asking me if he could use my phone. I declined by way of an excuse. It prompted me to think about how best to deal with homeless people. Any thoughts would be most welcome. Also, apologies if this isn't the right place to post.
You know, I understand this 100%. I would not have given him my phone. God knows where his hands have been or if he'd decide to run off with it.

Many homeless are not so because life pooped on them, but because of schizophrenia or some form of substance abuse (I was homeless for 21 months not long ago, but it was because life HAD pooped on me, and I never once asked anyone for their phones or for a handout).

Personally, I think it's a case-by-case kind of thing. If in one particular instance you feel a prodding to give money, phone or food, then it might be the thing to do. Otherwise, as for me anyway, I just give to organized charities as they have the personnel to figure this stuff out.