HELP OUR HOMELESS

Local front page headlines this last week implored us to help our homeless. It is a plight becoming all too obvious as we go about our daily business within town centres. There but for the grace of God goes each and every one of us.

For 30 years I have been involved in helping the homeless in one way or another. It began when I was living in New York and used to pitch up at the local convent several times a week to make 300 bologna and cheese sandwiches for the queues that would gather outside. Since then, on and off, I have tried to do my bit, including providing a home for a family one Christmas.

I have been homeless myself twice, once as a child and later as an adult, after returning to England when my first marriage failed. It was thankfully a brief blip as I had the good fortune to have friends to fall back on to help me pick up the pieces and move on.

Now in my sixties, in recent decades, with the rapidly increasing pace and complexity of our daily lives, I believe that life has become much more stressful. Whereas in the past vulnerable people would have close family and friends to turn to now there is the tendency to seek out others who are willing to listen and understand their situation; collude with them if you like. Those that can relate to them are often in the same boat, so the vicious cycle continues. Eventually for them the resilience we possess is completely absent.

What worries me is that we all seem to have become so judgmental. There are many reasons why people become homeless; instead of seeing the dishevelled, often half crazed, person in our wake and giving them a wide berth, avoiding eye contact if at all possible, lest they accost us for money, or worse, we must look beyond the outward manifestation of what is a very complex, and socially costly issue.

In the vast majority of cases their situation has been caused by a combination of physical and mental health issues, which in turn can have come about due to a whole range of problems; relationship breakdown, lack of employment, abuse, gambling, alcohol or drug addiction. The list is endless.

No normal healthy person suddenly decides to make themselves homeless, or become addicted to an expensive habit; something that they know will cause them harm.

At the very least we need to attempt to show some compassion for their plight. Rather than show contempt, try to engage with them as human beings. Even something as simple as a smile can make them feel human again, if only briefly. Offering them something to eat, and giving them a choice, reaps huge rewards.

Many of us volunteer at shelters over the Christmas period, but we must remember that there are another 364 days in the year.