Imagine, for a moment, that you have a fairly normal life. You have a job, an apartment that is just a bit too expensive, you have some credit cards you really ought to pay off and a car payment, along with the insurance, tags and so on that come with it and, of course, no real savings.
And then you lose your job. It was outsourced, or your company filed bankruptcy, or your department got shuttered. Whatever. You are out of work. And on your way to becoming quickly out of money. Because you recently moved here for that job, you don’t have any local friends that would let you live in the spare bedroom until things turn around. You have family back home, 800 miles away, but they are struggling too. There is no real money to send you – they are trying their best to just survive. So you keep putting in applications, buy cheaper and cheaper food, start researching the food pantries and the soup kitchens. And at night, you cry.
They repossess the car first, because you chose to pay the rent instead of the car note. Luckily you live near a bus line – not that you have ever ridden the bus before, but you are learning to do lots of things you never did before. The college degree on your wall in the bedroom mocks you when you wake up in the morning to face yet another round of rejections from people who still have jobs.
By now, you have quit being choosy – you are applying for jobs at fast food joints and retail stores. Collection agencies are calling your phone nearly nonstop because you quit paying the bills to hold on to the little cash you have left. Yesterday you tried to charge the groceries and your last credit card was declined. You come home to find the a note on your door, telling you to be in court in seven days. You are being evicted.
You’re an educated, intelligent, normal person. You’re not an alcoholic or drug addict. You’re not a bad person. But you are 27 years old and homeless.
I have personally seen this very scenario at least 5 times in the last three months. People who all say the exact same thing to me – “I am not like this! This is not me!”
This is how homelessness happens. It is not one bad decision you made – it is a process.
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It is worth noting that there are at least five places (I see nine) in the scenario above where the church could have played a role in keeping this from happening. Can you find them?
Photo Credit: tombothetominator
It’s a great post + true. The church has been slow to engage in these situations if not really knowing how to engage at all.
Part of the American Dream is the American struggle. I’m curious what the 9 ways the church could have helped. I do believe the church has a responsibility to feed, cloth, and shelter, but beyond that I’m not sure what the financial part of the commitment needs to be.
As much as I think it’s ridiculous for a church to spend millions of dollars on a building, it’s the whole premise of the church gathering millions of dollars in the first place seems a little un-Jesus-like. With that premise as my premise I’m not the biggest fan of financial solutions.
I honestly don’t know what to do with someone in this scenario. You can get him food, find him a place to crash for a while, maybe help him in his search for work. What bothers me is that I don’t think that’s enough. I can tell that the economy is down by how many smart, clean looking people are hanging out in Moore Square these days.
There’s the old saying, “They don’t need a handout, just a hand up” but I think this scenario might be the opposite. The person is educated and doing everything right, the economy is just failing them.
Anyway, I’m genuinely interested in hearing ideas of how to intervene in situations like this.
I’m left wondering what we can do before things get bad. The part of everyone’s story where “Imagine, for a moment, that you have a fairly normal life…..” Or what we can do when we learn someone is struggling, and if it does not turn around they will be one step closer to homelessness. Do the homeless ask “where were you six months ago, when I just needed a little boost, and encouragement to help me get through”
@SteveS – They ask all the time. Sadly, I do not have any answers for them.
I sure hope you will point out the nine places as I am curious.
I’ll take a crack at the 5. There were potentially more, but I consolidated like things.
1) You are out of work. And on your way to becoming quickly out of money… So you keep putting in applications, buy cheaper and cheaper food, start researching the food pantries and the soup kitchens… Yesterday you tried to charge the groceries and your last credit card was declined.
We are not required to share with each other in the same way the first century believers did by holding everything in common, but at this point the community of believers should be sharing in the need with at least their excess. Sharing meals, helping with bills, groceries on porch, this is not a country where people should be going hungry. Just because something isn’t required doesn’t mean we can’t or shouldn’t do it voluntarily.
2) Because you recently moved here for that job, you don’t have any local friends that would let you live in the spare bedroom until things turn around… You come home to find the a note on your door, telling you to be in court in seven days. You are being evicted.
If there isn’t a church building where you could stay, there are probably church members who have an extra room. Or a couch. Or a couple of blankets and some floor. I know some who have extra houses.
3) You have family back home, 800 miles away, but they are struggling too. There is no real money to send you – they are trying their best to just survive.
Travel expenses to get back there, if that’s feasible or desired, so that the family can be mutually supportive and pool remaining resources.
4) And at night, you cry.
Bearing each others’ burdens, mourning with those who are mourning, walking alongside…all of these are required, even if there is little you can do physically.
5) They repossess the car first, because you chose to pay the rent instead of the car note. Luckily you live near a bus line – not that you have ever ridden the bus before, but you are learning to do lots of things you never did before.
Sorry.
They could buy you a scooter
The community may or may not be able to help with this, but it is likely that between an extra vehicle, a car pooling arrangement, or provision of a bus pass this burden can be made easier, if not mitigated entirely.
I think I was confused because it doesn’t say if the bloke went to church or not and I didn’t want to assume the soup kitchen was run by a church.
I was just wondering if he didn’t believe in Christ would he turn to the church and if the soup kitchen wasn’t run by a church how would the church come to know his story.
#6) How about the church could do more to teach biblical principles for handling money – ie. “A fairly normal life…” of debt, is not how God would like us to steward his resources. Prov 22:7 “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.” (see also vs 26 and Nehemiah 5:4-5 for reasons why lending money was frowned upon). As Christians, we are free (Galations 5:1), and yet in our culture it is “fairly normal” to enslave ourselves to banks and money lenders.
The money we have been given or that we anticipate recieving, is not ours. We are but stewards, not owners. The person in this story is promising to pay money he has not recieved, and so his intergrity, along with his money is now destroyed.
Prov 11:24-25″one man gives freely, yet gains even more, another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. 25 A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.” We can not use money to refresh others when we own it to a bank!
What others are there?