Homelessness Facelift
Helping you to change your image about them…..
I am here to give you an inside view of the life in the homeless community. I have had the honor of getting to know hundreds to thousands of new friends over the last year. Their is one thing that is common and they are so appreciative of everything I have done for them. Whether I was just spending minutes sitting down to talk or it was giving them my ear to listen. Others were just glad to see me on a regular basis and that I not only remembered them but I knew their name as well.
I have had some incredible conversations that I will never forget for as long as I live and they have changed my life forever. One of the biggest things I have taken out of each conversation is that these people really want to get off the streets and want a fresh new start. They wished people didn’t treat them like a criminal or a circus freak. The biggest problem is that most of the media and public believe that these people have created their own problems and they don’t want to change. I believe the worlds view of homelessness is not even close to what I have seen since investing my time with them over the last year. A lot of people believe that these people are trying to beat the system. Well, I will be honest with you to say that I am very confused with this one minded view. What system are they trying to beat? It’s not like they are getting money, food stamps or anything.
Let me get REAL with you. Maybe in the past people figured out that they could live off the government food stamps or section 8 vouchers but these days are almost over. Today their isn’t a typical view of a homeless person anymore. Their is a difference between people that choose to live on the streets verse the people that have become homeless. We are in a economy that doesn’t show any signs of getting better anytime soon, so your next door neighbor could be the next person I could be feeding. Unless this economy changes I could be the next family living on the streets just like anyone of the people I feed every week. So I will give you a moment to get your composure back.
Before I starting investing time and feeding the homeless community I wasn’t clear on why people stayed on the streets. Well, I have realized a couple of things and one of them was they wanted to get off the streets but they didn’t have the means to do it. Secondly, I realized that these people our God’s children and my brothers and sisters in Christ. I have been able to be part of 60+ people giving their lives to Christ and getting baptized at Buckhead Community Church. I am also part of a morning devotion where I get to hang with these brothers through their growth with our heavenly father.
The reason I have created this post is to give you the ability to explore my findings for yourself. I am not saying that everyone is going to be friendly or open to you assisting them, but don’t let that stop you. If you are interesting in investing time hanging with the homeless community then I would be happy to hook you up with an organization were you could serve.
We are not only investing in just the male gender. We are also investing time with battered feeding women and abused children. We are investing time and feeding them on a regular basis as well. The next group of people are going to be imprisoned youth. If these kids don’t figure it out about life they will be part of our homeless community in the near future.
I am trying to be obedient to where God is wanting us to go next. I am so blessed that God has orchestrated the creation of Hals Drive Thru so that we can make a small investment in so many different going though so many circumstances.
If you are wanting to get involved with the organization I am involved in, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me either through our website or contact me via email at smoltzy@me.com
Stay tuned to updated information on what is going on next in my journey.
Website: http://www.halsdrivethru.org
Blog: http://halsdrivethru.wordpress.com
