Homelessness is a “we" problem and it requires a “we" solution. You are participating in part of the solution right now! Good Works stands as a testimony of what a community can do to help its poorest and must vulnerable citizens. And for this I give thanks! But we as a community can do more. Much more (and I’m not talking about money). Homelessness (in my view) results from a collision course between things that happen to people (systems) that they don’t know about and don’t have any control over...and personal choices (indeed some bad choices people make).
In Proverbs we read:
- “the poor man’s field may produce abundant harvest but injustice sweeps it away”
- But we also read in the same chapter “He who ignores discipline comes to poverty and shame….”
Many of you have read the story of Moses in Exodus where he “crossed the line” (so to speak) and killed the Egyptian and ran from God to the land of Midian where he eventually ran smack dab into God again in the form of a burning bush. But have you considered that the reason Moses killed the Egyptian who was beating the Israelite is that Moses could not control the deep sense of anger at the injustice he saw? There is no excuse for what Moses did but I do understand how he could not control himself against the injustice of his day. I too see injustice and become angry and often say things that could have been said differently. How about you? When you see injustice in your community, does it bother you? What do you do with this sense of outrage? I often wonder why we are not more angry and outraged at the deep injustices going on around us in the world. And if we learn about or see injustice against the poor, the weak or the vulnerable and it doesn’t bother us, there is something wrong with us.
When we first started THE WALK FOR THE HOMELESS, we intentionally selected Martin Luther King Day weekend because we believed that Good Works is truly attempting to live the values that Dr. King prescribed to our world. If Dr King was alive today, we believe he would be speaking about for the needs and the rights of the homeless, for the rights of the minimum wage worker, for the right of every citizen to decent, safe and affordable housing and against not just racism but also classism.We are in a time of challenge and controversy. This nation is at a time of challenge and controversy.
Homelessness is increasing in America because of a growing shortage of affordable rental housing and increasing poverty. Homelessness and poverty are inextricably linked. Poverty rates have risen because of eroding employment opportunities, lower wages, and declining public assistance programs. A whopping 37 percent of the homeless in America had their welfare benefits cut or reduced ( Institute of Children and Poverty, 2001). In 2004, people are working more to make the same money. In most U.S. States, a minimum wage worker will have to work 80 to 90 hours a week to afford a two bedroom apartment at 30 percent of their total income (as per the federal definition of affordable housing. National Council for Homeless, 2002, Fact Sheet 1.
“Ohio is in the embarrassing position of being only one of two states that has a minimum wage below the federal minimum wage of $5.15 per hour. Ohio’s minimum wage for more than 92,000 workers of only $4.25 per hour. These individuals working full-time earn only $8840.00 a year which, even for a single person with no family is $1000.00 below the poverty level.”
“Appalachia is one of the poorest regions in the United States and is a label for a 200,000 square mile area running along the spine of Appalachian Mountains from southern New York to northern Mississippi. It includes all of West Virginia and parts of 12 other states: Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. Among these, Appalachian Ohio, where Good Works is based, has a population of 1.4 million and is one of the poorest regions in the United States. In 2005, nearly one-fifth of the families in Appalachian Ohio lived in poverty, earning $15,000 or less per year for a family of three. Despite the local presence of Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, the college-going rate for Appalachian Ohio is 30 percent, compared to 62 percent for the US.” Organizing for Social Change, A Dialectic Journey of Theory and Praxis by Michael J. Papa, Arvind Singhal (of Ohio University) and Wendy H. Papa. Published in 2006. Page 208
“Ironically, the largest federal housing program in the United States is the entitlement to deduct mortgage interest from one’s income tax. For every dollar the U.S. spends on low income housing programs, the Federal treasury loses $4 to lost revenues from tax breaks. Over 75% of this tax benefit is reaped by the top 20% of wealth Americans in the U.S. In essence, Federal housing policy disproportionately benefits wealthy Americans” Page 230
In 2004, some 38 million Americans live in poverty, up from 25 million in 1980. Of these 13 million are children. Some 31 million Americans are "food insecure", not knowing where their next meal will come from (Borger, 2003). Of these, 10 million Americans experience real hunger, defined as the uneasy or painful sensation caused by lack of food. Organizing for Social Change, A Dialectic Journey of Theory and Praxis by Michael J. Papa, Arvind Singhal (of Ohio University) and Wendy H. Papa. Published in 2006.
“For 5 straight years, the number of Americans unable to afford sufficient food has gone up, and now food prices are climbing faster and faster because of increased energy costs.” Hunger Network in Ohio, 2005 (614.424.6203), Bob Erickson, Director
What will we do to end homelessness? One thing we must do is get out of the middle, die to our “neutrality” about the poor and stop making the avoidance of controversy an idol. We as a community must take a stand on behalf of the poor, the weak, the powerless and voiceless in our community. We must as the Proverbs says “speak for those who can not speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are oppressed” (Proverbs 31:8-9). We must take a stand FOR the rights and needs of the poor.
We must be intentional about being in community with the poor. As learners, we must at least attempt to see the world through their eyes. And to do this, we must extend our hand of friendship to ONE person. (that is one of the things Good Works attempts to do— create a place where the two “classes” —the rich and the poor—can come together and form friendships.What WE do sets the pace for the whole of society. In her book Making Room, Christine Pohl explains that it was the church, beginning in the 4th century, that established monasteries, hostels, hospices, hospitals and homes to care for the poor. And today, we can see that institutions such as World Vision, the Salvation Army, The Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, and Volunteers of America were derived from the church. How will the Church and the community work together to meet the needs of the poor in the 21st century? Will you take the position of ADVOCATE for those who have little or no voice in your community? When you see injustice and it bothers you, will you look the other way or will you do something next time? For we must all begin to care where we live, in our own communities.
One thing I believe we all can do now is to challenge anyone running for elected office to increase their credibility by spending time with the hungry and the homeless (not as a media event but incognito). Why? Because 'they don’t know what they don't know.' I’m not saying that our hopes must be in government but we must recognize that “we the people” have a role to play in a land that subscribes to the values of a government “of the people.”
In order for those who make the laws regarding programs which affect the poor to be most informed, they must choose to be less insulated and more in touch with the common man and woman who struggles with too much month left over at the end of the paycheck. Our elected officials must inform themselves not just by reading and listening but by personally experiencing what the poor face. I believe we all want elected officials who understand the situation the poor face before they make laws to govern them. Shouldn’t those running for office experience trying to live for a time on minimum wage, staying in a homeless shelter and going hungry for day or have to ‘wade through’ the system they have created as a prerequisite to qualify them for office? I believe so and I hope you will join me in this challenge.Conclusion :
Rick Warren, author of the popular book The Purpose Driven Life says “I found those 2,000 verses on the poor. How did I miss that? I went to Bible College, two seminaries, and I got a doctorate. How did I miss God's compassion for the poor? I was not seeing all the purposes of God. The church is the body of Christ. The hands and feet have been amputated and we're just a big mouth, known more for what we're against."
I have seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters; I know their sufferings and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey . (Exodus 3:7-8)
Jean Vanier, founder of L'Arche Internationale made this statement in his book Community and Growth and it is with this statement I conclude:
“And he sent Moses to liberate them. Today, as yesterday, the covenant between God and the poor remains; he calls people to community to respond to the cry of the poor and the oppressed.” -Jean Vanier, Community and Growth
WHAT WILL WE DO WITH WHAT WE NOW KNOW?
All quotes of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr are from: The Quotations Page
