Come together to help our homeless

By DAVID LANIER

Posted: August 2, 2009 at 9:02 a.m.

• Print item
• E-mail
• Share
• Tweet

Head and heart in harmony ring out in unison when aiding a homeless individual.

Last weekend, a group ofcompassionate individuals united their hearts and brainstormed ideas to provide a sense of awareness of the homeless issue in northwest Arkansas.

Following a public forum titled "1,287 Fighting Homelessness in Northwest Arkansas" headlined by Mark Hovarth - a former homeless man from Hollywood - the founding father of Cobblestone, Mike Rusch, askedme what could be done to better the homeless situation. (See www.cobblestoneproject.org.)

Ideally, a homeless shelter for overnight sleeping accommodations would provide shelter from the storms many campers endure during harsh weather. That's a long-range goal.

Short-range goals can add up. Every homeless individual faces a myriad of dilemmas that can be appeased by altruistic hearts seeking to aid and comfort the less fortunate.

Another caring Christian sat down beside me Saturday morning (July 18) and asked me what he could do to help.

Everyone can assist in his or her own way.

Some find satisfaction in donating canned goods, which are distributed to the needy. Others serve meals at churches. And many, many churches in northwest Arkansas provide food through their food pantries.

Those are temporary solutions to one main issue: hunger.

Overall, the Christian spirit engendered by Christ when he said "feed my sheep" can provide food to those who can't afford groceries.

But deep down, there are other gnawing problems that can't be ameliorated so easily.

The downslide in the economic well-being of once thriving northwest Arkansas impacts the homeless the most - people who want to extricate themselves from their houseless situation.

Nevertheless, I firmly believe if all those individuals who desire to help know whom to contact, they can make a difference and touch the lives of those who earnestly desire a better lifestyle.

Last weekend, leaders from Seven Hills, the Northwest Arkansas Women's Shelter and Samaritan House talked about how their charitable agencies address the homeless and the abused and those in need of sustenance and care.

Together we can help the homeless in their daily struggles for survival.

In the near future, organizers of the 1,287 Project plan to meet and mull over what can be done to help make life better for those less fortunate.

I was personally overwhelmed by the attention I received following the publication of my weeklong series of articles in The Benton County Daily Record and the Northwest Arkansas Times in May.

I don't have the magic wand nor the panacea for conquering homelessness.

The answers reside in the hearts and heads of those who desire to make a difference.

Those who want to know what they can do to help should just keep asking their local ministers or service organizations involved in providing assistance.

No one person or organization can resolve the complicated issues a person endures while struggling through a life without the firm foundation of a home.

A harmonic balance of heart and head, in unison with thousands of volunteers, might surprise everyone who desires to see progress and resolution. Each one of us can ease the pain through our participation.

Indeed, as I have been a homeless individual off and on for five years, those people who've just shown an interest in helping me buoyed my spirits and boosted my diminishing self-esteem.

So, short range, if you want to help ease the pain endured by the homeless, make contact with one and ask him how you can help.

You might be surprised how much that means - just showing that you care.

Indeed, what does one hand clapping sound like? Nada.

But two hands create something. Thus, grasping another's hands (figuratively) provides some gain from the pain of doing without the basic necessities.

A thousand pairs of hands pursuing peaceful coexistence amid the trauma dramas one encounters in a struggle to survive houselessness can make a significant difference.

So, search deep within your heart and take a stand.

Together we can make this piece of God's green earth a better place to live.

◊◊ ◊

David Lanier is a homeless man who lives in Fayetteville. He is a former sports editor for this newspaper. He spent more than a year writing about being homeless in northwest Arkansas, an effort that culminated in a week-long series of stories which began May 17. That project remains available online at www.nwanews.com/bcdr/ package/49.

Opinion, Pages 13 on 08/02/2009

Comments

To report abuse or misuse of this area please hit the "Suggest Removal" link in the comment to alert our online managers. Please read our comment policy.

Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.