(This is a sub-page of Big Ideas)
There are lots of programs and services to help the homeless. Here are some ideas that are maybe a little outside the box. If you’re not a religious person, these ideas require uncommon faith in the honesty of man (not a ridiculous concept, btw) – there are many ways these ideas could be abused. I am a religous man, however, and while I do believe there is inherent good in just about everyone, it’s my faith in Jesus that makes me think these ideas could work, albeit with prudent measures and due diligence. Homeless people are refered to as “HPs” b/c, honestly, I’d rather not use the term “homeless people” any more than I already have – I don’t like the stigma it carries. I framed these ideas around the absurd statement “Why don’t they just get a job?”:
It’s tough to get/keep a job without…
- …a phone number. Dedicate two phone lines for this – one for women and one for men. Attach the lines to old-fashioned answering machines. Record messages, using the appropriate gender, that say “Sorry, you’ve reached ###-####, but none of us are in right now – please leave your name, number, and who you’re calling for, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.” Give the number to HPs to leave with interviewers, and keep a log of calls for when HPs check back in. It might be wise to invest in a caller-ID call blocker, so that known bad numbers can be blocked.
- …a home address. Two options I thought of. 1) Allow HPs to use your street address as a home address to give to employers (duh). 2) Allow HPs to use your street address as their alternate address when registering a PO Box, and have a list of good, affordable merchants of PO Boxes. Send a representative with the HP when he’s signing up for the box. By the way, you also need an address to open a bank account.
- …cleanliness. This one is kind of obvious, but I thought I’d include it anyway. There must be some way to provide free showers to people. There just must. It shouldn’t take the YMCA to provice free showers, not in a country where water costs less than $2 for 1000 gallons. Commit to the idea, and you’ll figure out a way to make it work.
- …identification. Most homeless people don’t have drivers licenses, birth certificates, or social security cards. That means…no obtaining a new drivers license, no normal bank account, not even a library card in many cases. There are services that assist people in reobtaining identification so that they can reclaim their life. This is an awesome Big Idea, and I wonder if more people can’t do it?
- …recovery. A large number of HPs suffer from alcohol or drug addiction, making it impossible to maintain a steady life. You are probably not qualified to treat addiction, but how about offering rides to treatment centers, accountability programs, support groups, etc? Maybe?
There are lots of other ideas out there. These were just some things I was thinking about while driving today. These ideas require a group – I had a church in mind when I was thinking, but there are other organizations that could organize. These would only work with people capable of working, which is definitely not all people on the street. Built into any kind of effective program is some mechanism for getting to know the people – learning their stories and gaining their trust (and vise versa). Of course, I believe that improving someone’s life – feeding and clothing – is fruitless without the Living Water. Fishing vs fish, right? Still, even if you’re not a religious person, that shouldn’t stop you from having Big Ideas and doing something about them too. But realize that even the strongest men have limits, while the weakest are just one miracle away from changing the world.
