Young, Old, and In Between

Published January 09, 2009 @ 06:05AM PT

When you picture a homeless person in America, what do you see?

Probably something like this... right?

If everything you know about homelessness is based on the people you see on the streets, then you're not getting the complete picture.

Like this:

This:

And this:

So here's a challenge: spend a few hours of your day volunteering at a drop-in soup kitchen (make sure it's not just a gender- or population-specific organization). Spend a few hours serving food, chatting with guests, and getting a real feeling for the face of homelessness in your community.

You'll see all types of faces. Young. Old. In between. People from all walks of life.

You might wonder how these people wound up in a soup line. You might make judgments, which you'll later question. Their faces will stay with you. You'll wonder what becomes of each person you see: do they become housed? Or does being homeless on the streets or in a shelter prove too tough to overcome?

Carrie Cuppernoll of the Oklahoma News wrote a great little piece about her revelations while serving food at a soup kitchen. Here's an excerpt:

Serving food at the City Rescue Mission homeless shelter, I didn't think of children. But one of the first people through the line was a grade-schooler peeking at me through the foggy serving line glass. I waved at him and he ducked inside his puffy coat. He peered out, grinning and giggling.

Give it a try. Volunteer. Go beyond the streets and into shelters, soup kitchens, counseling centers, and other organizations serving homeless people in your community. Chances are, you'll be surprised by what you see and hear.

And once that happens, share your thoughts with me at shannon@change.org.

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Comments (13)

For thirty-five years, I have worked in the trenches in the "war" against the homeless in America.

Ayn Rand and Ronnie Raygun sold this nation on the virtue of selfishness. They couched their antipathy in words of self-reliance and shining mansions on a hill, and more, that Christ Himself was an ultraconservative reactionary who blessed their actions.

These individuals, staunch believers in Corporate Socialism and bailouts, did not believe that one breadwinner was enough. They wanted the same wage per household but wanted two adults to achieve it.

They wanted mothers to abandon their children and work or attempt to work rather than care for their young. The " welfare queen urban legend" was expanded. Children, latch keyed and sociopathic, started killing other children. Still, these right wing ideologues wanted to destroy the safety net established by FDR.

The next hinge to be dismantled was the institutional care for the psychotic and severely neurotic patients. Words like "normalization and socialization" were used to conceal those crowding the streets and viaducts.

Christ had His followers and disciples. The Lone Ranger had Tonto. The homeless had Ronald Reagan and the Bush clan.

This nation, in my lifetime of 63 years, has transformed itself from a caring democratic nation to a kleptocratic theocracy, of and for and by the Corporate elites and Right Wing Religionists.

Our Churches - especially those old and abandoned physical inner city plants - have become shelters and food banks and kitchens for the homeless and the sick. Of course, the majority of these Christian venues are from the " mainline liberal groups" so maligned by the megachurches who teach that Christ loves the wealthy and blames the poor for their distress.

I find nothing of the Christ I love and serve in any of their words or actions. This old rector knows this......Dr. Raymond Sawyer.

Posted by A B on 01/09/2009 @ 06:56AM PT
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Thanks for this great post! I think I have a lot of stereotypes about homeless people based on the people I see on the streets, asking for money. I had heard that homeless families made up a large percentage, but hadn't really put my perception together with that reality.

Posted by Amanda Kloer on 01/09/2009 @ 08:10AM PT
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Thanks for this great post! I think I have a lot of stereotypes about homeless people based on the people I see on the streets, asking for money. I had heard that homeless families made up a large percentage, but hadn't really put my perception together with that reality.

Posted by Amanda Kloer on 01/09/2009 @ 08:10AM PT
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The INVISIBLE HOMELESS live family or friends and their numbers are increasing. No one ever talks about this population but they're out there.

Posted by leatrice brantley on 01/09/2009 @ 09:15AM PT
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It's sad, but I think most people do stereotype a homeless person as that, but in this day and age, it's more just average, everyday people. It's really sad. I want to volunteer at a soup kitchen, so I'm going to talk to my mom about starting that next week. I think it would be an awesome experience, and I'll make sure to post here about it. =D
@ Leatrice, I love those videos. I've gotten addicted to watching them after reading a post on here about it. If anyone hasn't seem them, I highly reccommend watching them. They're only about five minutes a piece, so it's quick to watch as well if you dont' have a lot of time.

Posted by M N on 01/09/2009 @ 11:04AM PT
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What videos? sroden@embarqmail.com Have you found a place to volunteer yet? I love it, but health keeps me from doing much, other than trying to maintain breathing, but this too shall pass.

Posted by SusanE Tisdale on 01/31/2009 @ 12:56PM PT
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There is a Homeless count to be conducted on January 29th in the 5 boroughs of NYC on January 29th, 2009. Counting the homeless is vital to providing services to them. This is especially important because during the pass year the city has seen a huge rise in the number of homeless families.

Posted by K M on 01/09/2009 @ 01:31PM PT
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New York City Needs YOU! SHADOWCOUNT 2009 Is seeking "decoys" for the NYC homeless count On the night of January 26, the NYC Department of Homeless Services (DHS) will send hundreds of volunteers all across the city to count the homeless. On that same night, decoys will be sent to designated locations throughout the city to see how many of them get counted. Information on the number of decoys that are counted will be used to adjust the official NYC homeless count figures. ShadowCount is funded by DHS but conducted independently by Hunter College School of Social Work researchers. Date: Night of January 26 - 27, 12:00 midnight to 4:00 am (Check-in time 2 hours earlier) To sign up to participate as a paid decoy, request a registration packet by sending an email to ShadowCount2009@hunter.cuny.edu or visit www.hunter.cuny.edu/socwork and click on "Shadow Count 2009". If you do not have access to the internet you can call our registration hotline at (212) 452-7021 to request a packet

Posted by K M on 01/09/2009 @ 01:51PM PT
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You may like these sad stories from the UK http://www.bbc.co.uk/kent/content/articles/2009/01/07/homeless_2009_video_feature.shtml

Posted by Michael Hart on 01/09/2009 @ 04:19PM PT
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We are our brother's keeper. We can share existing jobs right now spreading enobling work around. The homeless are displaced workers, not mentally disabled people. A typical American works over 43 hours per week, millions of them at the precise same job on site. If ten workers "donated" 3+ "hours" to one more worker, such good jobs would reduce under employment & dispair, building up involvement & empowerment of locals everywhere to solve problems with our own resources at had. Peace, love, Larry 843-926-1750

Posted by Larry CarterCenter on 01/11/2009 @ 06:31AM PT
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When I was younger I used to only give money to homeless men that had dogs with them. I thought that there dogs could not help themselves but that the homeless man could. I finally realized that I had know idea what happened to this poor man to put him on the street. Many homeless are mentally ill or they lost their job and were in debt. They could have been runaways from an abusive home etc.. Now if I see a homeless man I give him whatever change or cash I have on me and when they are so greatful it makes me cry. It is very sad that many mentally ill people are turned away from hospitals due to not having insurance. They end up walking the streets just trying to survive through the cold or an attack.

Posted by Sarah Steiner on 01/18/2009 @ 09:08AM PT
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We should look into this and we should act on it:

Since the passage of the McKinney Act in 1987, the McKinney Act programs have been expanded, and funding has significantly increased. However, McKinney programs have suffered setbacks in recent years. These programs now face new challenges as homelessness persists unabated across the country.
Title V of the McKinney Act imposes requirements on federal agencies to identify and make available surplus federal property, such as buildings and land, for use by states, local governments, and nonprofit agencies to assist homeless people.

Posted by Walter Stewart on 02/02/2009 @ 10:09AM PT
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1العاب طريفة |

التحدي والسيارات |

العاب رياضة وتمرينات |

العاب متميزه مختارة |

العاب مرنة وسهلة وسريعة |

العاب مسلية للكبار والصغار |

العاب منوعه عشوائية |

العاب مضحكة فيديو وكارتوني |

العاب الاثارة والمتعة |

العاب التركيز والسرعة |

العاب البنات باربي والطبخ |

العاب الغاز وحلول واسئلة |

العاب الفضاء والعالم الاخر |

العاب النطق الصوتي |

العاب اكشن مغامرات |

العاب ذكاء |

العاب تعليم اللغة الانكليزية |

العاب تغير وتركيب الصور |

العاب رماية والتنشيل والتركيز |

العاب رشيقة ممتعة |

العاب سباق السيارات |

العاب صرقعة روشة |

العاب كارتون عربية وتوم اند جيري

شجون الهاجري |
صور مرعبة |
قصة مرعبة |
صور رومنسية |
فضيحة الخميتي |

زينب العسكري |

صور حزن |
الجزيرة  

عيادة الدكتور وليد الزهراني الالكترونية 
الخوف والقلق
والخجل مشاكل مؤثرة هاهي حلولها

خاص ماركة ( Diesel
) للرجال

صور تسريحات
وماكياج العروس في ليلة العمر

 موسوعة
كاملة للعروس  

 
فساتين زفاف لعام 2009

صور النجم
السويدي الاشقر ..ويلهامسون

 صور
اياد...احد ابطال المسلسل التركي الجديد لحظة وداع

 صور
زفاف أسيل عمران مع زوجها خالد الشاعر

 

مسلسلات |

مقاطع رياضية |

المكتبة التعليمية |

اسلاميات |

افلام وثائقية |

افلام كارتون |

حيوانات |

عالم المرأة |

عجائب وغرائب |

قصائد و شعر

مسلسل سنوات
الضياع 
مسلسل نور 
باب الحارة 
طاش ما طاش

 ملاكمة 
مصارعة
رياضات اخرى . 
كرة قدم

ماركو الصغيرة

 ميمي
الصغيرة

 المحقق
كونان

 الاميرة
ياقوت

 البطل

 السنافر

 النحلة زينة

 افتح يا
سمسم

 بيل
وسبستيان

 بشار

 توم وجيري

 داي الشجاع

 رحلة
العجائب

 صاحب الظل
الطويل

 شارلك هولمز

 ساندي بل

 سبانك

 سهم الفضاء

 سندباد

 غرندايزر

 عقلة الاصبع

 فلونة

 هايدي

 نيلز

 كابتن ماجد

سكس

سكس عربي

    مركز التحميل

    ارشيف المواقع

    الاسلام والحياة

    فتيات مياسه

    مكتبة البرامج

    العاب

    فيديو

    معاني الاسماء

    مكتبة القصص والروايات

    الدروس

    خدمة الرسائل sms

    عالم الحياة الزوجية

    مكتبة الصور

    مكتبة الجوال
نيك
 نكته على الطاير

ابو شهاب ،
سنوات الضياع

دردشة ،

شات ،
الوليد بن طلال ،
حزينه ، قصيده ،

تحميل ، prorat
،اليوم الوطني
، صور افلام
الكرتون ، صور
اطفال ،
المكياج والتسريحات ،
تركي الدخيل ،
لعبة فيفا ،
ملحم زين ،
خواطر حب ،
جلابيات ،
اهداف الهلال
، دراريع سهرة 
اكسسوارات ،

تحميل ، جلابيات
،

العاب ، جمس ،

الحياة الزوجيه ،

فتيات ، مجلة
الجرس ،

فيديو ،

ارشيف
امل العوضي ،
شجون الهاجري
، باب الحارة ،

سنوات الضياع ،

نور ،

باب الحارة ،

مصارعة ،

ملاكمة ، صور
اطفال

ببني وبينك
gamezer ،

مدونة ، شاعر
المليون ، ناصر القطامي

 
لحظة وداع

توبيكات /
دردشة / شات /
العاب

منتديات

توبيكات ماسنجر

خلفيات ماسنجر

طريقة تصوير التوبيك + تنسيقه بالفوتوشوب

صور شتويه للـ Msn

Posted by m d on 03/19/2009 @ 01:06AM PT
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Author

Shannon has worked in homeless shelters and service organizations in San Francisco, the Triangle region of North Carolina, and currently in the greater Boston area. She is a graduate student studying housing and urban policy at Tufts University.