Chapter 78
Jim shares…
In the fall of 2009 our family participated in the Mississippi gulf Coast Homeless Veterans stand-Down, an event where a community of volunteers comprising individuals and businesses, with 6 months of organization, held a one day event to clothe, feed, shower, and offer provisions and limited medical care to over 400 Homeless Veterans and non-veterans. It was at this event that our friend named Carol spent the day asking the homeless one question. “Would you like help getting affordable housing?” The vast majority strongly affirmed that “YES” they would like help getting back into some form of housing. This statistic stops the argument that people who are homeless want it that way. One of the saddest realities is that, although invited to participate, none of the community organizations that actually help people receive affordable housing participated in this event. Should this not be a wake-up call?
Some may remember that many years ago the government closed what they called “insane Asylums,” leaving out on the streets thousands of individuals with significant mental illnesses. I recently read an old book at the library about America’s homeless, and basically it blamed this action for causing the majority of homeless to be living on America’s streets. Well, this scenario, although believed by many, is just not true today. Ask the organizations and ministries that work daily to help provide these people with the basic necessities of life. Today, America has a new homeless! 
A tragedy is occurring in America the Beautiful, where individuals and families are finding themselves homeless with nowhere to turn to for help. This new homeless population comprises average American families, and their numbers are growing.
Pastors, businessmen, teachers, mothers, bankers, and everyone, we should all take note! “Homeless” means what it says “without a home.” Why do people end up living on the streets, in their cars, under bridges, in tents, on park benches, in the woods, or, if they are fortunate, with friends or family? They have lost their ability to afford housing. We must all realize that no one is exempt from the possibility of being homeless. Rising costs of housing and rentals, difficulty in securing loans, exorbitant insurance costs, inflationary taxes on homes, serious weather, unpredictable disasters, and outsourcing of our factories and jobs are just a few of the reasons Americans can find themselves without housing for themselves and their families.