On Homelessness

At church this morning, a young lady talked to us about her work at a homeless shelter.

She said that working there has changed her view on service.  Many people serve because of how it can help them.  “I feel so good and fulfilled when I serve,” many of us say.  “You want to cure your depression—-help somebody else.”

There may be merit to that, on some level, but, as the young lady this morning was saying, we should also serve because there are people out there who need help.

The young lady was also saying that her attitude on homelessness has changed.  Before working at the shelter, she thought that people became homeless as a result of drug abuse and bad decisions.  That does happen, but there are many people who become homeless as a result of hard times.  Considering how medical bills can be, I can see how families can easily become impoverished.

In addition, the young lady said that children who are homeless did nothing to deserve homelessness.  She said that they deserve the same things that many of us got growing up.

I thought that she made important points this morning.