As I write this, it's 9 degrees outside with a wind chill of 15 below. The highs over the weekend will be 0-2 degrees. Welcome to February in northern Missouri. I have lived through colder weather in my area. I clearly remember a morning in 1989 and having to go to work when it was 23 below, and that wasn't the wind chill temperature. Winters are rough around here when arctic blasts come down our way.
The city has opened extra shelters for overnights and non-profits as well as some churches are doing their best to offer warm places for the homeless. That population includes women and children. There are fewer shelters for them. Individuals and families are living in cars. Then there are the unfortunate addicts and the mentally ill who don't have the capacity to seek available shelter from the extreme weather. The city has already recorded one death due to freezing. I have no doubt there will be others.
I don't assign fault to those who cannot work due to disabilities, even the addicts. I know what is to be under the control of substances. If you hold the mistaken idea it's just a matter of saying no, then you need a wake-up call. Walk in the shoes of the addicted and experience the horrors.
Homelessness is a societal illness. Some have been evicted due to lost jobs through no fault. Others are so mentally ill they are unable to make rational decisions. Again, I know what it is like to lose all connection to reality. Many aren't even able to realize their dire straits. I know there have been a few times I have been totally incapable of caring for myself due to Bipolar Disorder.
There used to be taxpayer-funded treatment shelters, but the government decided churches, non-profits and local communities could take care of the need. Unfortunately, the money hasn't been there to replace tax dollars, so the severely mentally ill have fallen off the radar, living in the shadows of overpasses and makeshift camps, and yes, freezing to death.
I support the Salvation Army as well as a Native American school for children who need basic life-saving items, like coats. The Pine Ridge Reservation is in South Dakota, where it gets desperately cold. It is one of the poorest communities in the U.S. My church has also has a "Brown Bag" ministry, assembling items a homeless person could use living on the streets. We have them for men and women. I keep some in my car to give to those I see on street corners. And if I have cash on me I give some. I don't think it's for me to decide how it will be spent. I am not a mind reader. I answer to the Lord and he said what you do to the least of people you have done to him. That little bit of cash might buy a sandwich in a warm diner, a cup of hot coffee. And this is not about tooting my horn.
All this to say, we are called out from being Cain. We are our brothers and sisters keepers. God holds the blood of those we ignore or harm accountable. In scripture, it says if we know what is right and do not do it, it is a sin. Jesus said the poor will always be with us. They cannot be ignored. We cannot close our eyes and stop our ears to their cries and wish them away. They are uncomfortable. They are inconvenient. And they can be scary. But we who are the haves are to help the have nots. Yes, we pay taxes, but the hurdles and hoops to jump through for public assistance are difficult.
If you don't think you can afford to give, you can decide to sacrifice something for Lent, then keep on after Easter. Make it a lifestyle of sacrifice to give to the poor and downcast. Then you will hear, "Well done good and faithful servant."
