Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, if you peer out of your car window in bustling downtown Atlanta, I am almost positive that you can spot a homeless person, or their belongings.
You might have to look for a second, but they are there — in the bushes, under bridges, or in homeless camps. Their presence has become a growing “issue” in our capital city for quite some time. It appears to have no plans for slowing down anytime soon.
One main aspect that people consider to be an “issue” when it comes to these souls is that other people come to feed them. All I want to know is, why is that an issue? Maybe due to the fact that the homeless “make us look bad as a city” or that they leave trash once they are finished eating. I might be mistaken, but any human leaves trash once they have eaten.
You see, food lines on Joseph E. Boone Boulevard or in Hurt Park are these people’s restaurants. The street corners and park benches are their homes.
One main reason that people find wrong the reality of churches and organizations crusading downtown to feed the homeless is because of the established groups already there. Many of these refuge places provide food, medical care, classes, and more.
Now do not get me wrong, I am a strong supporter of these organizations. But as I mentioned earlier, we have an estimated 21,000 homeless people in Atlanta. There is simply not enough capacity built yet to take care of every single one.
Even if there was, how should we expect all of the hopeless to be capable of getting there? The homeless are spread all over — from The Bluff to Turner Field. Some are wheelchair-bound, or lack even the few cents it would take to travel on the bus to these locations. Until we have enough facilities built, traveling churches and organizations are their only hope.
Did you know that over 55 percent of the 21,000 homeless people here in the Atlanta limits alone are veterans? We as a city have failed them. They may have risked their life for you and me overseas, and they come back to living in a box. Do you not think they deserve better? They, the people we may belittle, are the reason we are free.
Lord knows I am not asking you to maybe do the things my family and I do, or buy them a house, or anything extraordinary. However, if you do not do these things, you have no place to complain. You are not making a positive difference.
Here is my challenge for some: Do not just sit and read this while thinking of all the negative things that come from the homeless. Stop being selfish, and treat them how you would want to be treated.
As a Christian, feeding them is part of my life. I am God’s hands and feet. As a human, degrading them is something we should never do. These people have names, talents, dreams, and emotions just like you and me.
Feeding them is a way for us to let them know they are loved, which is something they do not receive a lot.
Just remember this world is cold. Most of our homeless never experience a handshake or a hug; all they usually see are harsh looks and hatred.
Spend a year in their shoes, a month, or even a week. And then let me know how it feels.
I love them, and I am proud to say I will fight for them until the end.
