Last night we got a group of mainly high school kids, but also upper elementary kids and adults, to sleep outside in order to raise awareness of homelessness and also as a fundraiser for an organization providing housing for families. This was our first year participating, and I decided to keep things low key, we watched a video and did a couple activities to try and better understand what things can lead to a person being homeless as well as what it is actually like to be homeless. Of course, the biggest part of the experience was sleeping outside in the cold and on the hard ground and gaining a better understanding of what it is like to have to do that night after night, day after day. I also was nice and left a part of the building open so people could use a real bathroom if they needed it.
We had about 20 people participate for some or all of it. 4 people only stayed for part of the time, the rest spent the night. While the majority of the people did what you were supposed to do- sleep outside- 4 kids decided to sit inside the building and not sleep. They waited until everyone had gone to bed before moving inside, and at 4:30 when I got up and saw them I was too out of it to argue. So 4 kids spent the night warm and awake. Not really the point of the exercise, but hopefully they got something from it anyway.
In the morning we had breakfast and talked a bit about the experience. I asked everyone if spending the night like that had changed how they would treat homeless people they encountered. One of the boys said “no, they made the choice to be homeless they can help themselves”. I was shocked, first of all, why would you choose to spend the night outside like that if you didn’t think homeless people deserve assistance? But more than that, I couldn’t believe that after the stories we had heard to start the night and the activities we did throughout he honestly believed this. In response I tried to remind him of some of the stories we had heard- a woman and her husband with only high school diplomas ended up homeless two months after her husband lost his job and couldn’t find another one, they had two kids and didn’t do anything wrong really. We also saw how non-skilled labor jobs don’t pay enough to afford a home, or else you can barely afford someplace to live, but if you get sick you’re going to have to choose between a doctor or your home. He didn’t budge and I didn’t want it to turn into an argument, so I let it go. But then I got to thinking about how I should have responded.
Regardless of why a person is homeless or struggling, we are called to help them. This might not mean giving them money, but it does mean that as Christians we are expected to reach out to them. I should happily give my extra coat, or buy a sandwich for the guy on the corner, or provide a ride for someone who needs it, regardless of what their choices have been that brought them to their place of need. We aren’t told to serve people because they deserve it, we are told to serve people to show them Christ’s love. And Christ’s love is above everything else an act of totally undeserved mercy and love. Why a person is living on the street or traveling from shelter to shelter doesn’t matter. The fact that they need something I can provide does. What can I do this week to help someone in need? What can you do?
