Volunteer To Be Homeless

by Steve Wardrip

I don’t care who you are. Now, with that established, please allow me to explain.

Homelessness does not choose it’s victims. People don’t decide to be homeless. Homelessness happens to it’s victims and it does not care who they are.

In support of homeless people everywhere, I call to duty everywhere for people to help. As an act of mercy and compassion, I call upon all of you to make yourselves aware of the plight of the homeless.

I am asking that you volunteer to be homeless for one day, one week, one month, even a year. I want to drive a point home, to make it real, to make you understand a tiny fraction of what these people go through daily.

I want you, with the knowledge of the group we have formed, to get up early in the morning on any given day of the week and ask to be dropped off in a part of town that is foreign to you. I want you to pretend that this is your only life, being homeless. You have no money or friends, you have no means of support and nowhere to go. I want you to walk down the street, hungry, in the weather and elements with bare minimum clothing and no accessories, essentially empty pockets. I want you to think about where your next meal is going to come from. I want you to think about where you will spend the night. I want you to think about safety and shelter and where you might find it. I want you to be aware of the dangers of living on the street. I want you to go begging, asking for spare change, or enough to buy a meal. I want you to go up to strangers and ask for money. I want you to dress and act the part. I want you to know how homeless feels. When it starts getting cold and the sun goes down, I want you to know the fear. I want you to feel the desperation. I want you to know what it’s like to go looking for a place to lie down. I want you to know loneliness, despair, fear and hopelessness. Cold, dark, broke, hungry, afraid, downtrodden and worthless, that’s what I want you to get a sample of.

Why? How’s that going to help anyone? Okay, here’s why. To amplify the situation is to bring clarity and with clarity, we can make strides with solutions. When we focus on the problem and it’s solutions, we can find answers. We can eliminate or at least curtail homelessness.

These people, these homeless need help. For whatever reason, they have fallen between the cracks of society. The have done things differently and gotten lousy results. That result is being without a home.

What does it feel like waking up on a sidewalk, with only cardboard for shelter, knowing you have no money, food or place to go to bath and change clothes? What does that feel like thinking it will only get worse today? How does it feel to be looked down upon? How does it feel to be feared for just walking down the street? How does it feel knowing you look like a criminal by just your appearance? How does it feel to be dirty, cold, hungry and scared of what might happen to you? This is why I want you to volunteer to be homeless. I want you to know how they feel. They feel this every hour of every day of the week all month long, all year long, sometimes until they die.

Will you get out of your comfort zone for at least one day to see how the homeless live? I doubt it. You have a choice. Do you think homeless people have a choice? Are you going to blame the victim for being homeless? Do you actually think a sane and capable person such as yourself could be homeless? This may shock you, but the answer is, yes, you could become homeless too, due to any numbers of situations.

If you want to help homeless people, get involved and find ways to help. They are not all tricksters trying to get money for drugs or booze as many think. The vast majority of homeless go unseen, looking like normal people by day, but the truth is, they have nowhere to go at night because they don’t have a place to go. Many “crash” at friends houses, families let them stay there, many sleep in public facilities like hospital waiting rooms, airports, bus stations, libraries, museums, and stores. Some go to homeless shelters as the fortunate ones. In Chicago, many homeless people sleep on the front lawns of the police department for a little safety and security. Some churches take people in and help them with basic needs. Some charities help some. Some private individuals help and there is government help available to those who can meet the guidelines and regulations. If you want to help, you must get involved. We must come up with new solutions to defeat homelessness.

There is no better way to familiarize yourself with homelessness than to become homeless yourself to see what it feels like, even if just for one day. The homeless don’t do it just for one day… without help, they may be homeless for the rest of their life.

Be that help. Volunteer to be homeless. Then do something about it.