Why Homelessness?

Every year at Tirzah, we pick a new “social justice” topic to discuss. For me, this is something I’m extremely passionate about. We are called to share the “good news” or Gospel with everyone we meet. That is our biggest mission as Christians. After that, I would say how we treat and focus on our family would be next. Then, I would say it is out of the ABUNDANCE of being a part of a family, you are able to help those in need.

Over the years, we have discussed many different social justice topics - women’s rights in the Middle East, human trafficking, and foster care. This year I wanted to focus on “homelessness”. Did you know that, in the United States, we now called homeless people “unhoused”? One of the things people tend to focus on is laws, legislation, and terminology for helping individuals. These are all important.

I agree with helping in every area you can to allow someone to have a better life. The most simple thing we can do is share Christ’s love and do what we are capable of at any moment. Maybe we can’t buy a house, create a new law, or give a ride to an unhoused person. Over the course of this year, I’m going to provide different ways that are available to help the unhoused.

Why would I choose the unhoused for my topic this year? I think this past week is a great example of why helping the unhoused person. There were ice storms, freezing temperatures, and snow storms across the United States. Look up your city and see how many unhoused people died during those storms. Unfortunately, this is a reality in America.

I’ve had the unique experience of visiting Skid Row in Los Angeles and talking with unhoused people there. In the city of Milwaukee, I helped assist a variety of women in finding both short and long - term housing. This is a very real problem across the United States. I would love to help every person with the capacity to help to do their part to assist the unhoused.

For this month, I want to define what it means to be unhoused. In order to know the definition of “unhoused” or “homeless”, you actually have to go to your state’s legislation or homeless shelter rules to get a definition. Some of the definitions I’ve heard are: 

• Someone who does not have a permanent location to sleep

• A person who has been sleeping on the streets for a certain amount of days

• An individual that has to couch surf with friends

• Someone who has been temporarily displaced from their permanent location.

Next month, we’ll discuss why there are so many different definitions. We’ll also discuss homeless shelters and how the process differs - based on your gender, family, time of homelessness, etc. It’s crazy how different rules affect your ability to find a place to sleep. This has been a topic that I’ve had an interesting time navigating over the years as someone who has worked in social work.