Ministering Effectively To The Homeless - How to Help Without Harming Them

Here is an article I wrote this morning concerning the way we try to help homeless people, but we end up harming them instead. Let me give you a story of an incident that happened to the man who taught us the class at a seminar.

   Brian Fikkert* was telling the time when a homeless man knocked on his door wanting money. It had not happened to Brian yet, but apparently it happened to many in the neighborhood. Brian actually gave the man a little job in which he could earn some money with. This is very helpful to a person who is homeless, because it helps establish their dignity. Many homeless people were taught that they are a piece of trash or that they should not have ever been born, and they end up believing these lies and live like trash instead of living the way God intended them to. Many homeless people do not understand that they were created in God's image, and have been given the mandate to 'take dominion' over the things in the world. They simply have no idea of this, and many of them have not been trained to function in society. They have learned a way of living that is easy for them and helps fulfill our desires to show compassion to people, but in the end it keeps them in a perpetual state of homelessness.

   Back to Brian's story. Brian hires the man to rake his yard. As it gets dark, the homeless man stops and says he can't finish raking the lawn. Brian pays him for his work for that day, and tells him to come back tomorrow and finish the job.
Around midnight, there is a knock on the door, and it is the homeless man asking for money. Brian did not give him any money but told him to come back tomorrow and finish raking the yard, and he will pay him for that work. Brian goes on the internet and somehow is able to research this particular man and his activities in this subdivision. Apparently the man had been going to different houses in that neighborhood asking for money. Some gave the homeless man money. Others wouldn't. This man knew the homes where he would get the handouts. He made regular visits there. But when he visited Brian's house, he was not going to get a handout. He would be put to work and would earn his money. That is the way God intended for men and women to live. Anything less than this brings down our dignity as a human being.
This man will continue to go to those houses where he was given a handout. They feel sorry for the homeless man and are treating his situation as if it were a 'relief' situation rather than seeing a need for this man to become rehabilitated and to learn skills for job placement or a career. They are keeping this man from developing as a person.
This man will go to Brian's house for work. But he will also go to the homes where he is given a handout. We need to stop this trend and help this man to find his skills so he can function in society.

* Brian Fikkert is the co author of the book 'When Helping Hurts' and was the man who taught at the seminar by the same name.


Here is the article I wrote a little while ago. Hopefully, it will provide insight into helping people without harming them. The question I have, in the end, is how do we get homeless people from point A to point B?

Should we give money to homeless people? I often hear of my friends giving some money to a guy standing in the middle of an intersection with a bucket. I have also heard that many homeless people use money to buy drugs with. They may even take a gift card and sell it for money to buy drugs with. So, how can we help them with what they need? What exactly do they need?
The condition of many homeless people would be considered 'chronic' meaning that it is an ongoing condition. When there is an immediate need, like when a natural disaster happens, we send immediate aid to help with immediate needs that require attention. This is called, 'relief' and is necessary for people to help out with money, skills, and manpower at that moment. But this is not the case with homeless people (most of the time). There are different reasons for being homeless, and the homeless people do not need 'relief'. They do not need your $5 for a hamburger at McDonald's. Many of them did not have a mom or dad who taught them the basic principles in life and they do not know how to fit into society as a result. They don't know how to write a check or look for a house, or even if they were to receive a home, they would not know how to take care of it. They need rehabilitation and development.
If you get to talk to a homeless person, ask them this question: "If I could take you to a homeless shelter, would you go?" Most of them will say 'no' and will give you some kind of plausible reason. One woman tried to tell me that the particular homeless shelter I recommended was closed down. But since I have a friend who works there, I know it isn't closed. Most of them know that if they were to go to a homeless shelter, they would be required to do something, like take a class, or learn some responsibilities. Many homeless shelters have training for jobs and careers. That is what these people need. But, most of them will never go there, and one reason is simply because they know they can stand in the middle of an intersection with a bucket and they will make enough money to live on, because people will show them compassion. Our compassion will keep them from ever seeing their need for being trained to do work. It will keep them in a perpetual state of begging. 

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