Blog Post Seven

What To Do If You Would Like To Work With Us

If you would like to work with us, please contact us at Gearforthehomeless@yahoo.com. We have a contact form we will email you to help us figure out how you can best use your gifts and talents to serve the homeless alongside us.

What are some things I can do on my own to make a difference?

First of all, realize that homelessness and poverty are very big issues, none of us can solve or eliminate on our own. Our goal is to bring kindness, comfort and hope to the people we meet. Every person matters, every interaction is important and could be significant in that person’s life.

Make and distribute food/hygiene bags.

Don’t give money. Instead offer a gift card to a nearby fast food restaurant.

Keep inexpensive hats/gloves/ or hand warmers in your car in the winter.

Offer a bottle of water on a hot day. Buy extra food when you stop at a fast food restaurant, then offer it to someone who is hungry.

Realize that EVERY city has homeless and needy people that you can help. They are not usually in the tourist areas, so as tourists they can seem invisible to us, especially on our first visit to a city. But if you go looking, you will quickly be able to find the right people that need your help.

Be careful of networks of people begging in the most high end and visible parts of town. We are still learning about these networks, but feel these may be trafficked individuals, or part of a simple scam network. A great test is to simply say “Hi, are you hungry?” If they are truly hungry, they will say yes, and it’s appropriate to offer them a food/ hygiene bag. If they say “What do you have?” I’ll usually mention a piece of fruit or snack bar. If they decline that, move on knowing you made a wise decision with your resources. If they say “Yes please” or “okay” I’ll give them just that one item and move on. The idea is to find people that truly need our help, not people that are just looking for a lucrative way to support themselves or scam others.

For more on the difference between sheltered and unsheltered people, and their different needs, please read our blog post on Sheltered Vs. Unsheltered, and why it matters.

Consider the things you are giving to Goodwill. Would they be appropriate to offer to someone homeless?

An old backpack/ hiking pack… yes!

Throw blanket… yes!

Gloves, Hats, Scarves … Yes! (Please clean them first)

Simple Watch… Maybe? (No fancy brands fake or real.)

Down clothing or sleeping bag! Definitely!

Small Flashlight…. Yes!

Small 1-2 person tent… Yes, if made in the last 5-8 years. Older tents will be very heavy, and could have poor waterproofing. As a true blessing waterproof and repair your tent before giving it away. A shelter is incredibly important for safety, and security.

Umbrella/ Rain coat… maybe? Depends on the quality and size. An pocket umbrella would be preferable to a golf umbrella.

Warm, wool or technical clothing; Patagonia, North Face, Arc’teryx, REI, Mountain Hardwear, Outdoor Research, Columbia, Athleta, LuLulemon, Smartwool, Darn Tough…. for goodness sake YES!!!!! Please give these away to people in need not Goodwill! This clothing is made for outdoor use and is very valuable!

Basic, clothing like a clean dry t-shirt or nice sweatshirt in Large or x-large will fit the most number of people and be very appreciated in MOST situations. Be selective, about what you keep in your car and know what you have so you can offer it if the need arises. Just yesterday we gave one of our coats away to a gentleman with a huge tear in his coat. I asked if he was homeless, he said “no” but I gave him a new coat anyway. What he was wearing was obviously the best he had, so he still had a significant need and was very grateful. In both summer and winter new socks are often overlooked as a practical hygiene item that is very appreciated.

Be polite and gentle. Some people are horrified at asking someone if they are homeless. If this is you, take a deep breath and with kindness and gentleness just ask “Are you hungry?” or “Are you homeless?”. If they aren’t homeless, ask “Can you tell me where I might find the local homeless shelter or people that are homeless in this area ?” Once you meet people that are homeless you will be able to easily identify them walking down the street and with some experience you will be surprised you never noticed them before. Some characteristics may be worn shoes, a backpack, sloped head, tattered clothes or outerwear. In one recent trip around our local city we were able to identify over 10 people that were homeless walking down the street in the middle of the day.

If you aren’t comfortable approaching or interacting with homeless people, consider supporting a homeless shelter, and at the same time, try figuring out your hesitancy. Maybe it’s a safety concern. Safety can be a valid concern, and you should, in every situation, trust your gut. We will talk more about this in a different post. Most people we’ve interacted with are friendly and grateful, and I would challenge you not to overlay stereotypes on people that are homeless. They are not all lazy, dangerous, strung out, violent, or drunk. Some are victims of their own choices, others are truly victims of circumstance, abuse or more. We try not to decide who is worthy and who isn’t. If you are human and breathing and in need of a food, warmth, compassion and dignity…. you qualify. If you are scamming people or in a situation beyond where we can safely help, we might enlist the help of a police officer, another agency or pray from afar.

In one situation, we encountered a man living on a dock inside a tall fenced area. Obviously unsheltered, I noticed his movements were frenetic and wild. This wasn’t necessarily a man to be afraid of, but he was someone that we chose to keep our distance from. I called through the fence to him and asked him if he was homeless and if he needed a coat to help him stay warm. He answered “yes” along with a few profanities, not aimed at me but at his things that he was busily cleaning up. I asked him how I should give it to him. He told me to throw it over the fence. In this situation this dock was his home. It’s important to always respect the space someone occupies. It may be a bench, corner, store front or tent, but it’s still their home. I would never want to infringe on someone’s space or go where I’m not invited. In this case the fence was a barrier of mutual respect and comfort. I was most comfortable interacting with him across the fence and he advised me that was most comfortable for him too. I happily tossed the coat over the fence to him and said “God Bless you!” and we were on our way. I’m pretty sure the profanities continued even after the coat landed on the ground. This gentleman, was not capable of a face to face encounter but he still benefitted from the help we offered. We never go into a situation we aren’t comfortable with and we always have the choice to engage or not. If things don’t look or feel right we pass it by, if it looks like something we can do comfortably and safely we try to offer help.

Ask their name. I’m always amazed at how surprised people look when I ask their name. I always ask their name and ask them how I can be praying for them. If they seem comfortable I will ask If they want to pray together. More often than not, these hurting people are happy to accept prayers and kindness and want to pray along.

I hope this serves as a quick start guide on how you can start making a difference today. If we all do something, compassion will bloom.

-Gear For The Homeless