I honestly don’t know if I have all of the answers. The more research and thinking I do around this topic of poverty the questions that I have. What does compassion look like? How can we help those who refuse to help themselves? How can we tell who really is helpless?
What I do know is that what we have been doing for over a century now is simply not working. Look at the numbers. The numbers of people living in poverty in this nation of opportunity are increasing. The desperation is increasing. More people are hungry while at the same time more people are growing obese. How does that happen? Morals and values have been thrown out the window. We must try something different.
Poverty and homelessness is much more complicated than just give someone a job or a home. We must get to know individuals and empower them to experience a new life. We must quit treating these men and women as animals to be herded and treated as a group. Each person and each family is unique. What got one person into homelessness will be different than another person’s cause.
Handouts simply will never work. We must transition to a hand up. It will take strong leadership and compassionate people to make a difference and change the direction of the rate of poverty. Together though we can do this. Let me know how I can help. Email me at rich.schaus@grmmuskogee.org.
