Current Mood: Sad

Winter is upon us. We start preparing for driveway clearing, we make sure our cars have enough antifreeze, and we pull out the winter wear. However, not everyone has a driveway to clear, a car to maintain, or winter wear. Some people are homeless and need warm clothing to survive the winter. It’s so easy to judge the raggedy person on the side of the road with their cardboard sign as being a shiftless stewbum, to yell out the window “Get a job!” But you don’t know what they have been through in their lives. You don’t know their situation. Do you think they LIKE standing there begging? As humans, we do have a bit of dignity. These people, the poorest of the poor, must swallow that last bit of dignity to ask for help. It is not for us to judge a person’s life and the choices they have made to be where they are at this moment. They are here, now, and need help. And yes, homeless people have children. I met a man at Citygarden in St. Louis a few weeks ago. He was playing a trombone and had a license displayed, saying that the city approves him as a street performer. He had a US Marine symbol in his open trombone case. I talked to him, as I would talk to any other person. I didn’t ask his resume. I didn’t question why he was there. We talked for 20 minutes or so, and over the course of the conversation he did tell me that he was a Vietnam vet, had a room for rent by the week, and that his wife was ill and required meds that Medicare didn’t cover. Maybe he did. Maybe he didn’t. I don’t know; it’s not my job to decide whether that man was lying about his living situation. I had nothing to give him but my thanks for serving his country and well wishes. He thanked me as kindly as if I had given him a $100 bill. If I had given him money, what would he have done with it? Made sure that he and his wife have some food to eat? Gotten a bottle of cheap wine? What is it to me what he would do with it? Only once have I given money to a beggar. My family and I had gotten off of the BART train in downtown San Francisco, and we must have had the look of “tourist” (even though my husband is a Frisco native), because a man came up to us and talked to us. He saw that we had children, so he handed us a city guide (which were available for free nearby) and marked places that were kid-friendly and interesting. He even went as far as to draw out our best route, including trolley lines! Yes, that man got money. He provided a very nice service. Granted in SF there are a LOT more homeless people, thus they are more likely to do something for money, but they are still homeless. Usually what I like to do for the people who are on the side of the road is give them food. I will occasionally have a package of food, such as pretzels, and I will gladly hand that over. I can get a new bag of pretzels. And then I know that what I give will be used as intended. So now I offer a challenge to you. What do you have that you don’t need or use anymore? Why not give that to someone who needs it? There are many charities that help homeless and underprivileged families. Have any coats, gloves, or blankets that you and your family just don’t use anymore? I bet there’s someone out there that will use them. How about mismatched gloves? When someone is very cold, they don’t care if their gloves match. Give your excess to these people who are in so much need. I will list a few charities that I know of here, feel free to add to the list in the comments section. New Life Evangelistic Center – Helps homeless people and job training. Offers homeless shelters. St. Louis Catholic Charities – Helps families in need and rehabilitation. Offers rehabilitation shelters and child services. Salvation Army – Well, they are huge in all kinds of charity. They also have the largest collection army with their Christmastime bell-ringers. Did you know they will come pick up your unwanted large items? Offers homeless shelters, food, financial aid. Angel’s Arms – Children’s shelter, if you prefer to help only children. The yellow sheds in school parking lots… Ever wonder about those? They are maintained by Value Village. Not only do they fund charities, they also give money to the schools that they collect from. Now, what exactly am I doing in all of this, you may ask? Not only am I asking you to help, but I am also wishing to organize some crafters to make warm things to help people. Can you knit, crochet, sew, or do other crafty things to create clothing? I knit and crochet. I am going to make hats, scarves, and mittens out of reclaimed yarn to give to New Life. Not only am I going to give them to New Life, I plan on giving them to people personally as well. It’s not difficult to take a stroll downtown and see people sleeping on benches, or to find someone standing on an exit with a sign. If you’d like to help people directly, why not seek them out? But if you do give to them, please don’t patronize them and expect them to kiss your feet for your generosity. They may also not be mentally stable, so may react inappropriately. One more challenge for you: Give up your daily coffee purchase or fast food. For a week, a month, or one day a week, however you choose. Give that money instead to a charity. There are people in the world that can’t afford coffee that they can’t pronounce. And would it really kill you to make your own pot of coffee or brown-bag your lunch? If you would like to get involved in the clothes making and donation, feel free to contact me via Twitter or Facebook (or in comments). From Lazyboy – Underwear Goes Inside the Pants:

We’re in one of the richest countries in the world, but the minimum wage is lower than it was thirty five years ago. There are homeless people everywhere. This homeless guy asked me for money the other day. I was about to give it to him and then I thought he was going to use it on drugs or alcohol. And then I thought, that’s what I’m going to use it on. Why am I judging this poor bastard. People love to judge homeless guys. Like if you give them money they’re just going to waste it. Well, he lives in a box, what do you want him to do? Save it up and buy a wall unit? Take a little run to the store for a throw rug and a CD rack? He’s homeless. I walked behind this guy the other day. A homeless guy asked him for money. He looks right at the homeless guy and says why don’t you go get a job you bum. People always say that to homeless guys like it is so easy. This homeless guy was wearing his underwear outside his pants. Outside his pants. I’m guessing his resume isn’t all up to date. I’m predicting some problems during the interview process. I’m pretty sure even McDonalds has a “underwear goes inside the pants” policy. Not that they enforce it really strictly, but technically I’m sure it is on the books.