As anyone who has continued to pick up our paper this summer will likely already know, we’ve talked a lot about the issues of homelessness and housing insecurity. Most of the discussion has taken place in a six-part series of articles that I recently wrote on these topics, but I have also given some of my personal views in the form of columns as well.
I really hadn’t planned on approaching the subject again so soon, but something happened last week that left me feeling like I should address one more side of this problem. Long story short, I attended a meeting where First Baptist Church of Corbin’s Pastor, Alex Lockridge, served as the guest speaker. He talked about White Flag Ministry, and how many folks in the local community are coming together to do what they can to help those who are in need of basic necessities like food, clothing and shelter.
During the course of conversation, a question came up that I think is very fair. In essence, the question was, “By doing TOO MUCH to accommodate homeless individuals, are we running the risk of inviting problems into our community that we are not well-enough equipped to handle?”
This is sort of an open-ended question, because the concerns are many. Is it simply a matter of not having enough available space to put everyone? Is it about the possibility for increased crime as people get more desperate? Is it worrying that transportation isn’t available to get people back on their way? How about there just not being enough money to keep people fed, clothed and housed for extended periods of time?
My guess is “all of the above” would be a common answer here, and hey, these are all valid concerns as far as I’m concerned. But allow me to offer some additional thoughts that may cause you to think a little differently about this situation.
You see, I too am concerned about the idea of an organization existing ONLY to provide free handouts to folks, whether that be clothes, food, shelter, or whatever else. That may sound heartless on the surface, but hear me out…
There needs to be something else offered that goes beyond just the free stuff. If all you’re doing is giving stuff to people and sending them on their way, then nothing is really going to get better. In fact, it’ll probably only get worse in the long term. On the other hand, when you offer free resources to those in need, if you are also offering them a chance at receiving true help, well, that can be transformative.
So, what do I mean when I say “true help?” I appreciate the fact that White Flag Ministry is now offering folks in need a chance to take advantage of additional nights in a motel room, but only if they agree to speak with a counselor and begin mapping out a strategy for eventually being able to obtain self-sustainability. I think that is truly helpful.
Does providing a hungry person a meal make a positive difference? Does providing a homeless person with four walls and a roof over their head make a positive difference? Sure it does, but maybe only in that moment. In many cases, if you provide these things to a person and then just walk away with no follow-up or options for continued support, the chances of long-term success decrease pretty drastically.
What I’m trying to say is, if the concern is that our area will become a magnet for desperate individuals because word is getting out that this town is full of handouts, then let’s focus on doing more than just handing out. Instead, how about doing things in a way that encourages desperate people to come forward because they know that they are going to get the true help that they need?
I am personally okay with the idea of going the extra mile in order to support folks who are willing to work hard at rehabilitating their lives, and will take the steps necessary to get back on their feet and back to being a productive member of society. We need more folks like that quite frankly, and I think that the best way to get them there is by asking them to take personal responsibility for their own success, or lack thereof. This is what White Flag Ministry has been doing in recent years, and from what I’ve heard it has really been paying off.
By incorporating counseling services and focusing on guiding people toward programs and organizations that can help them to fundamentally transform their lives in positive ways, the idea won’t be, “I need to go there because they’re just going to give me whatever I need.”
Instead, it’ll be, “If I go there, I better be ready to do some work, because I am going to get hooked up with the tools and resources that I need to eventually get housed, get fed, and find employment ON MY OWN.”
The end goal has to be about the person, not just the situation. You can better a situation in a hurry, but it can just as quickly go back downhill once you move on to something else. To better a person, to truly better a person, will typically take time. It could take weeks, months, or even years, and it needs to go beyond just giving somebody something and saying, “good luck.”
So, I will conclude this column by asking folks to think differently about how we approach homelessness. The homelessness condition itself is usually just the result of something else that has gone horribly wrong in a person’s life. It may be their fault, or it may not. It may be a bit of both. Whatever the case, let’s do what we can, as a community, to offer help to those who need it. If they accept that help, that’s fantastic. If they don’t, then we move on to the one(s) who will. It won’t take long to weed out those who are just looking for a handout.
