We hear about homelessness occasionally but for most of us it pretty much flies under the radar. Some of our parishioners are actively involved with Family Promise, and for that we are grateful, for we know it is meeting an important need. But what about the people we see with a cardboard sign by a grocery store or panhandling by an intersection? When we travel to a larger city, we comment on the tents hugging the sides of the grassy slopes along the Interstate. Sometimes we see a cluster of beat-up campers and a few tents. It’s kind of a problem we wish would go away and we are relieved to hear that there are governmental agencies and organizations that are attempting to deal with it.
But are there ways with which we can engage with this problem more directly? As Catholics are we not called to practice the Corporal Works of Mercy which direct us to “shelter the homeless?” Doesn’t Catholic social teaching expect us to embrace the tennet that each person is sacred, made in God’s image and equal in dignity? The question may be: where do we begin?
Perhaps a simple but straightforward way would be to begin educating ourselves more about homelessness, realizing that it is a deeply complex issue and there is not one lens but many through which the problem may be viewed. As we learn about the issue, we should keep in mind how the varying perspectives interplay with one other reflecting only a piece of the puzzle.
We might begin by learning that the National Alliance to End Homelessness identifies these target populations:*
- Single adults – the majority of homeless people
- Children and families – causing serious emotional and psychological implications
- Veterans – the ravages of war may make some veterans more susceptible
- The most vulnerable – whether because of physical or mental challenges
- Youth – teens and young adults lacking the support and safety of family
As we look at homelessness through the varying lenses. Let us remember them in all the different circumstances in our prayers.
*https://endhomelessness.org/homelessness-in-america/who-experiences-homelessness/
