Coming June 28: A Day for the Homeless [CityLab.com]

Rebekah Couch posted:

Thought provoking for sure! Such a delicate topic, whoever determines solutions should always keep in the forefront of their mind that if not, for even one,  grace within our life journey there is nothing that prevents "us" from being "them".

I couldn't agree more Rebekah: Some of us have more that protects "us" from being "them" from the start and some of us don't. Some of us have been "us" and "them" or lots of us have families with "us" and "them." For some, homelessness is personal and for some, I think it's entirely abstract.

I think this idea of a text instead of cash or food or kindness can only work if homelessness is seen only as an abstract issue and there's not a person right now who is homeless or hungry. 

I also give money to artists and musicians on the street and I bet they'd be pretty offended if instead there was a "text to support arts" programs city wide instead of helping them.

Wouldn't a text to match campaign have been effective? For me, it's the idea of not giving money to individuals who can then decide what they need most to manage and asking for the funds to be redirected in a way that assumes the city will help in a better way or that the city can be trusted more than an individual.  There's something in that that rubs me the wrong way. 

All that said, my father was homeless and I often avoided homeless men on the streets in my state for fear I'd bump into him that way. And I don't like when any men approach me on the street when I'm alone. That's a fear and safety issue for me. It's not easy and it's not comfortable, and sometimes I avoid issues that are hard and uncomfortable, like lots of people. So I'm glad we have a place to think, confront and grow ourselves and with each other.

Cis

Thought provoking for sure! Such a delicate topic, whoever determines solutions should always keep in the forefront of their mind that if not, for even one,  grace within our life journey there is nothing that prevents "us" from being "them".