i will add that now is a GREAT time to donate food or volunteer time to your local homeless shelter because (from what I understand) they tend to have less food and volunteers in the summer months because there are fewer occasions like Thanksgiving/Christmas/etc. that get people all excited about volunteering (another situation that I think sort of falls into what abbyjean is talking about - great, but not quite as effective as people may think).katoleary:yoginiinthehood:withoutmelissa:
A fellow blogger and friend Julie, posted the most heart wrenching story about a young mother with three children who was begging and living on the streets of San Francisco in order to escape an abusive relationship. Some small steps have been taken to ensure that this family has a warm, safe place to stay and opportunities to improve their situation, but only temporarily.Please consider donating, even if it is $5. If you can’t commit money, please give your time and either reblog or send Julie a letter of encouragement for them at the link above.
on one hand, yes, yes, a thousand times yes. stopping to talk to that family, recognizing that they are worthy of shelter and protection from abuse, treating them like humans instead of invisible bums, all of that has infinite value. going further to try to get them services and funds for stability is amazing.
BUT. i don’t care if all of tumblr bands together to help this family and can buy them a house - i do not think that donating to this individual is necessarily the most effective approach to the overall problem. tonight, about 248,500 people in families will sleep on the street. tonight in san francisco, about 500 kids under the age of 17 will sleep in an emergency shelter. about 13% of these families and children are homeless due to domestic violence. so while taking this family off the streets will mean the world to them, it’s not going to make even a tiny dent in the overall issue.
i was especially frustrated by the comments on the original blog from people in indiana, or canada, who wanted to help and so were sending money. THERE ARE HOMELESS PEOPLE IN THOSE PLACES TOO, and i’m sure there’s some wherever you are. so what can you do to help them?
- donate money, volunteer time, or supplies to local homeless and/or domestic violence shelters.
- advocate for stronger safety net programs in your state - TANF (welfare), food stamps, and general relief (welfare for single adults) should be giving people the money to get shelter and food, as well as DV and mental health services, housing locator assistance, and pathways to education and training with the goal of getting a living wage job.
- advocate for permanent housing and permanent supportive housing that’s affordable. don’t oppose it being built in your neighborhood. agree to higher taxes to help support it.
- encourage your employer to hire people in welfare work programs to help participants get actual and valuable employment experience.
i guess i got the same feeling from the post that i do from seeing people wearing livestrong bracelets. they made a minor financial contribution to a cause and now feel like they’ve discharged their responsibility for working on or actively caring about that issue. but giving this family $5 or even $50 is simply not enough. it’s a great thing to do and i encourage people to do it, but please don’t fool yourself into thinking it’s enough.
