Homeless Polls Close on the Crushed and Broken

Recently, two six-month polls closed here at Homeless In America.

The first poll asked the question: “When the subject of the homeless is brought up casually among my family or friends, it has been my experience that most people react by saying something like” …

55% believed that family and friends normally say something like, “Why can’t homeless work like the rest of us?”

8% felt they would say, “We’re immigrants who made it, they can too!”

35% said family and friends would respond with something like … “It’s too complex, they need love & understanding.”

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The second poll asked the question: “On the night He was betrayed, when Jesus instituted the sacrament of Holy Communion, one of the reasons he may have chosen the humble elements of bread and wine is because?”

85% said the humble elements of bread and wine signify: "Ingredients crushed & broken unite all the lost & forgotten."

6% believe that … [Communion elements] once upgraded with gold vessels will attract the rich & powerful.

8% felt that if Jesus came today, “It’d be croissants & lattes to pull in yuppies.”

Thank you for participating in HIA polls! Please scroll to the bottom of this page to participate in new survey questions.

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More Rad Guide to Living out of your Porsche

By High-tech Hobo

Cell phones make it easy for today's hobo to stay in touch with family & friends. Many people are terminating their home-phone accounts, to save money, and relying solely on their cell. With a credit card (or debit card) you're ready to begin your new life living out of your car.

ESSENTIALS:
• Old VW Van, preferably from the 60's (bonus points for living out of your Porsche)
• Tent & sleeping bag
• Health club membership (for showers)
• Cell phone
• Wireless Laptop
• PO Box (mail)
• Library card (for free wireless access)
• Quarters (for laundry)
• Credit card (so you don't have to carry cash)
• Storage facility (for your stuff, preferably one you can access 24x7)

EXTRAS
• Register at local Community College (for more wireless access, don't have to actually take a class to register)
• Locations of all coffee shops with free wireless access
• AT&T WiFi wireless account (for even more wireless access, available at most Starbucks.)

In closing, I'd like to say I try to limit my comments to things for which I have first-hand experience .. and, living out of my car .. (unfortunately) is something I know a bit about. (We do what we have to.)

Looks like somebody actually wrote a “book” on the subject. Check out Car Living Your Way: Stories and Practical Tips From Those Who Have Been Down the Road. Here's another: Car Living: How to Make It a Successful, Sane, Safe Experience.

I wouldn't recommend mobile homelessness of course, but sometimes life throws you a curve. And if it does, you'll have more insight than I had, and will be able to roll with it. I'm convinced we're far more resilient than we know.

More on the Internet:
http://radified.com/blog/archives/000359.html

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Santa Paula, CA's - Our Lady of Guadalupe Teens Team up with Servants of the Father of Mercy to Serve Jesus without Words ...

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Why Love the Unlovely? Jesus, in His own Words …

"Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned. " The Beatitudes, Luke, Chapter 6

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What would you do if you were suddenly homeless?

What If?

You come home from work, put your key in the lock and—what the? It won’t go. You realize the locks have been changed. Peering through a window, you see your belongings are gone. So you pull out your cell phone, and start making phone calls. No one in your entire address book answers. It’s winter, and it’s bitter cold. You head back to your car. It’s mysteriously gone. This is weird. Really weird. But you can puzzle over that later. Right now, you’re freezing, and you haven’t eaten since that coffee and bagel you had at 10:30. You should have packed a lunch. Damn. You walk to a corner store and try your ATM card. Nothing. Credit card. Nothing. Backup credit card. Nothing. You scrounge up some pocket change and get some Doritos. I bet you can guess what’s going to happen when you try to go to work in the morning, if you can even get there. The whole building has been vacated. What do you do? Where do you go? Where do you sleep? How do you eat? You start to smell funny and people avoid you. How do you start over completely from scratch with no help from any family or friends?

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Has there ever been a soul as abandoned as you were on the Cross, Jesus?

When I was by myself, I began to reflect on the spirit of poverty. I clearly saw that Jesus, although He is Lord of all things, possessed nothing. From a borrowed manager He went through life doing good to all, but Himself having no place to lay His head. And on the Cross, I see the summit of His poverty, for He does not even have a garment on Himself. O Jesus, through a solemn vow of poverty I desire to become like you; poverty will be my mother. As exteriorly we should possess nothing to dispose of as our own; so interiorly we should desire nothing. And in the Most Blessed Sacrament, how great is Your poverty! Has there ever been a soul as abandoned as you were on the Cross, Jesus?

By St. Faustina (+1938), from her Diary, Notebook II, #533

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Dumpster-diving for Jesus

by Brandt Russo

As I walked into Barnes and Noble last summer, I knew what book I was looking for. In and out was my plan. It was a Christian book that had something to do with revolution. How many Christian-themed books could possibly have the word "revolution" in their title? About every other one, in case you were curious!

I still don't remember which book I was supposed to buy, but The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne was the one I stuck with. As I sat at work for the next couple of weeks, my spirit was more alive then I felt it had ever been…

I opened up to Matthew [and was lead to] countless references to Jesus spending time with the poor, the outcasts, the "least of these." He said that if you do anything to the least of these, that you do it unto Him. If you feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned, minister to the needs of the sick - heck, minister to the needs of anyone in need, true need, that it's really him you are ministering to.

Could this be possible? Could we have missed it? I have heard countless sermons before but nothing this ridiculous...

Jesus requires 100% devotion from His disciples, and for some reason, despite the horrible things that continue to happen to them throughout the New Testament, they remain so full of joy. Naturally, they seemed to lack everything but gain eternity in the process.

I wanted that. I wanted to find out if this Jesus is practical. If Jesus still challenges His "disciples" to give up everything... If the church of Acts ended poverty... Is it possible that we, too, can end poverty? It didn't matter how much money I was making; I was miserable. I saw a church in ruins, and a world in even worse ruin. I felt God calling me, just like the rich young ruler, to sell everything, give to the poor, and to follow... and I did without trying to look back.

I bought the wrong book that got me interested in the right book (yes, that was a cheesy Bible joke), that changed my life forever. Jesus wrecked me, and six months later, I'm still trying to pick up all the pieces. I know this isn't the popular doctrine, but Jesus really meant what He said, about all of it. About preferring others above ourselves, about us being provided for so that we could provide for others, the widows, the orphans, all of that.

Brandt Russo is 23 and a native of southern Louisiana. He lives on the streets dumpstering food, feeding the homeless and shares with local church people how to help the homeless.

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He Rescued Us From Our Poverty

Although He was in the form of God, He did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped at. Philippians 2:6

Lord Jesus, in the mystery of your coming here - your suffering and death, you revealed that true power is humility. You taught us to lower ourselves and to enter the world of the lost, the lonely and the suffering. Even while we were yet sinners you came to rescue each from homelessness and our own bankrupt spiritual and mental poverty.

R O Lord, come make us humble.

You did not think equality with God something to be grasped at:
- free us from selfish desires, power and prestige. R

You emptied yourself and took on being a slave:
- free us from the fear and disdain of lowly tasks and serving the unlovely.

You became obedient, even to death on a cross:
- free us to take up our own crosses and follow you. R

You taught the disciples that the greatest of all is the servant of all.
- bless all those servants who selflessly give their lives to the poor and the abandoned. R
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What will you do with your Homeless in America?

Airport Space-age Homeless

Dionne Walker, an AP writer recently reported about homeless living in the nation’s airport terminals. Mixed with the sound of jet blast and the smell of Jet-A fuel, clusters of homeless have long settled in terminals from Philadelphia to Chicago, ideal round-the-clock shelters for men and women displaced by cities trying to clean up their downtowns. However, Federal authorities labeled this population a security threat in 2005, warning that terrorists might disguise themselves as homeless to do surveillance on their targets.

For instance, homeless arrive at Atlanta’s Hartsfield Airport on the last subway trains of the evening, which almost ensures they can't be forced to leave until the trains start running again in the morning. Throughout the night they often blend in with stranded fliers, a shoeless foot or tattered clothes some of the only signs they're not ordinary travelers. Some roam the terminal. Others find a comfy resting spot among business types and families sitting in the atrium.

All of them frequent the eating areas and bathrooms. The airport setting is ideal: A 24-hour public setting with food and water, where nobody looks twice if you snooze for hours.

In Atlanta, a police sweep will take the homeless to the train station, or either take them on the other side to wait for the train to come, but one night-shift janitorial worker said. "The next morning, they come right back."

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The Day that Mother Teresa Protected a NYC Taxi Cab Driver

The world today is hungry not only for bread but hungry for love; hungry to be wanted, to be loved. They’re hungry to feel that presence of Christ. In many countries, people have everything except that presence, that understanding. That’s why the life of prayer and sacrifice comes to give that love. Through your dedication, you are to be that presence, that bread of God to break. People are hungry for the Word of God that will give peace, that will give unity, that will give joy. But you cannot give what you don’t have. That’s why it is necessary to deepen your life of prayer. Allow Jesus to take you, pray with you and through you…We are called to love the world. And God loved the world so much that he gave Jesus. Today he loves the world so much that he gives you and he gives me to be his love, his compassion, and that presence, that life of prayer, of sacrifice, of surrender to God…

We have a contemplative house in the South Bronx. A taxi driver refused to take me there. The Sisters did not know I was coming so I had to take a taxi – but he refused to take me there. I said, “But we are living there; our young Sisters are living there.” He said no. I said, “All right, I will sit near you and you will see that nothing will happen to either you or me.” So I got in the taxi and we went. His mouth was open when he saw the young Sisters jumping and laughing, and the people bowing, those who recognized me speaking to me (they were drunk), taking off their hats, and so on. He couldn’t get over it, seeing that presence. This is something very beautiful. - By Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

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Absolute Power Absolutely Corrupts

The Priests, the Scribes and the Pharisees who conspired to put Jesus to death became intoxicated with the gift of their power, so much so that they used their muscle to test, try and persecute others in order to obtain their own selfish ends. Are we the “New Pharisees” today? Do we selfishly use the gifts God has given to each one of us for our own personal gain? Do we look down upon our weaker brothers in sisters in our church or wider community, wishing them harm, trampling over them, trying and testing them? In so doing, we are rejecting God and thus, God rejects us. “Therefore it is said; 'God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.'” James 4:6

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A Homeless Prayer

by -M, living on the streets of Jackson, Mississippi

Dear God ... Grant me your peace in the dark of the street,

reflecting the bitter along with the sweet.

Show me Your ways and bury my own,

shining Your light into the great unknown.

Bless me O, God and fill me with Your grace,

so that even one such as I, You consider no waste.

Cleanse me my Savior from this world broken and pained,

and may others see Your love in the Lamb risen and stained.

I count my life but a vapor on eternity’s trail,

and look past these streets finding a joy without fail.

No, fail me You’ve never, no matter what I encounter,

and I count all my blessings in conversation we banter.

For I am your child no matter my folly,

and in your presence I bask as You cease melancholy

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Pimp this Bum

On Saturday, March 7, 2009, AP writer Monica Rhor reported that just a few weeks ago, Tim Edwards was just another bum begging for change at a busy Houston underpass, ignored by most drivers who sped on past without a glance.

Now, thanks to an Internet marketing campaign and unlikely allies, Edwards has become the human face of homelessness to thousands of online viewers drawn to his Web site by its deliberately controversial name — Pimp This Bum.

During regular Webcasts, dozens of visitors to http://www.pimpthisbum.com/ ask questions about Edwards' life and his slow fall from office manager with a home, a car, and a future to an outcast short of hope and with little prospect of help. The Web site also is a venue where visitors can donate money, services and goods to help Edwards yank himself out of homelessness.

Some homeless advocates say it makes Edwards a victim of exploitation, but the organizers say that edgy tone is what makes the project succeed. "We wanted to insult people's sensitivities so that they would go to the site and see Tim, and people seem to have fallen in love with him. He's funny and doesn't blame the world for his situation," said Kevin Dolan, 55, a marketing specialist from the Houston suburb of Katy who started the Web site with his 24-year-old son, Sean.

"If the site had been called 'Help the Homeless,' many Web surfers might just have clicked on past," says Sean.

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The Mystery of Christ's Presence in the Homeless, the Poor, the Prisoner and the Outcast

A little over six months ago, Homeless In America set out to poll our readers and visitors about their personal understanding of how Christ may be truly present in the homeless, the poor, the prisoner and the outcast. Specifically, they were asked the following question: “Do you believe that you have a relatively good understanding as to why and how Christ is present in the outcast/homeless and could articulate it to others?”

There were 57 participants in the poll over the half-year time-period. Here is how they responded to the question …

* About 50% felt as though they had a good understanding of this mystery and believe they could articulate it to others.

* The remaining 50% felt as though they had somewhat of an understanding (29%) or believe they are completely unable (21%) to articulate this mystery to others.

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' … I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'" Matthew 25:37-40

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Why we do not Judge others in their Poverty …

by
Saint Maria Faustina

"I must never judge anyone, but look at others with leniency and at myself with severity. I must refer everything to God and, in my own eyes, recognize myself for what I am; utter misery and nothingness. In suffering, I must be patient and quiet, knowing that everything passes in time."

Be merciful even has your heavenly Father is merciful. Stop judging, and you will never be judged. Stop condemning, and you will never be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Luke 6:36-37, from the Sermon on the Mount

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I Dwell on High & I Dwell with the Lowly

I dwell on a high and a holy place, and also with the contrite and lowly of spirit, in order to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. Isaiah 57:15-16

God dwells with the crushed, the dejected, the lost and the abandoned. For them, let us pray …

R Lord, hear the cry of the poor!

For those who suffer from a terminal illness:
- grant them your peace and presence. R

For those who suffer from loss of job, career, life and home:
- grant them your shelter, protection and intervention. R

For those who suffer from rejection, hatred, persecution and violence:
- grant them light, life and hope. R

For all who love and care for the infected, the rejected and abandoned:
- grant them the reward of your mercy, grace and compassion. R

We pray … May the God of peace himself watch over us and perfect us in holiness. May he preserve us in entire spirit, soul and body and present us blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

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Transients, Bridge People & Campers - Which one are you?

There seems to be three different categories of homeless people living on the streets. Possibly this is one way to classify them:

TRANSIENT PEOPLE
These are individuals that sleep in the alleys, the doorways, the park benches and any place they can feel somewhat safe for the night. For the most part, all they have is what they can carry with them.

BRIDGE PEOPLE
These are people that have acquired a mattress and a few other belongings and they take shelter under bridges and overpasses.

CAMPERS
These individuals have tents or make shelters from wooden pallets or tarpaulins. They often establish their camp site along railroad tracks, riverbeds or small wooded areas not far from the inner city. Quite often, they are in clusters and are basically a small community.

Similarly, all humans can be classified along these three lines whether they are homeless or not:

TRANSIENT PEOPLE
These are individuals who are completely aware that this life is transient. They make no mistake about who we are. They know that we are here today, gone tomorrow. Our life is but a breath, clothed like the grass of the field, by night it withers and fades. As a result, they store up treasures in heaven and do not try to store up riches in this life.

BRIDGE PEOPLE
These are people that are somewhat aware of the transiency of life, however they try very hard to live with a foot on each side of the fence. Part of them tries to seek the Kingdom of God, the other part of them tries to flirt with the things of the world. They try to live on or under a bridge between two worlds, the temporal and the eternal. As a result they live a frustrating life filled with angst between two worlds.

CAMPERS
These individuals set down roots in this life. They work hard at obtaining the things of the world; cars, money, leisure, homes, clothing and luxury. They have little regard for their death or the transiency of life. Just when they cry out “peace and safety” their whole world is blown away by accidents, illness and other sudden misfortunes. As a result, they live a life of temporal happiness at best; completely dependent upon strokes of luck in life and health.

Which one are you?

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Jesus is Sitting Next to us in the Movie Theater of our Lives

by Fr. Richard Veras

There is a scene in an episode of a popular cartoon in which two women are in a movie theater watching a documentary about a homeless man. The documentary is apparently very beautiful and, as the women well up with tears, one tells the other how wonderful the man on the movie screen is. It turns out that the homeless man himself is sitting right next to them in the movie theater and, as he nudges one of the women to express his appreciation, both women shudder with disgust at this smelly, crass homeless man that they have had the misfortune to encounter.

This scene impresses me as a paradigm of the way we can relate, or fail to relate, to the real Jesus … The Jesus of art, hymn, poetry and spiritual reflection can be beautiful and attractive, but powerless to effect real conversion ...

The Word has become flesh and has pitched his tent among us. He has moved next door to us, he sits next to us in the theater. In fact, he wants to marry us! Do we welcome him in all his otherness or do we shudder in disgust? The real Jesus, relentlessly challenging and disturbing, is seeking a home in our hearts; let us not reject him in favor of fleeting images on the small screens of our minds.

Richard Veras is the author of Jesus of Israel: Finding Christ in the Old Testament published by Servant Books

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