Homeless: help or pass by

Last year, on December 31, a homeless man of indeterminate age settled in the entrance, overgrown, shoes «asking for porridge.» He broke the lock on the entrance, laid out his belongings near the elevator, near the battery, laid a blanket. The new neighbor caused mixed feelings. On the one hand, it’s a pity, it’s cold outside and it’s soulless to kick a person out. On the other hand, irritation and disgust: an unpleasant smell, problems with access to the elevator.

A neighbor found out that the shelter for homeless people was closed and it will open in a new place after the holidays. In fact, he left after a week. All this time he went somewhere during the day and returned with food. I hesitated to bring him food. What if he likes it and he stays, what if he behaves inappropriately or infects my children? He left, the questions remained: how to behave correctly, help, but at the same time not harm yourself and your loved ones? The best way to resolve doubts is to ask others how they feel about the problem. Some are aggressive, some cannot decide, but there are those who help the homeless every day.

Need help?

“People without a fixed place of residence need to be helped with food, warm clothes. I do this from time to time, but not as often as I should. I just never give money. I don’t trust organizations, although I’ve taken clothes and blankets there a couple of times. I see a man on the street whom I feel sorry for, and I buy food for him. These are unfortunate people, and although many of them are in this situation through their own fault, they deserve help. Many have problems with drugs and alcohol, serious mental problems. They are cornered and need to be treated kindly,” says Sydney-based project manager Dmitry.

Tatyana, a consultant psychologist from Moscow, believes that the best help is to provide a job, help to adapt in society, to give the opportunity to live a normal life: “Free food is like a fish instead of a fishing rod.” Yulia, a journalist from Moscow, says that she has a difficult attitude to the problem: “You need to help in any case, especially in winter, but I don’t do anything myself, except that I took warm clothes somewhere a couple of times. Those who take personal part are supermen for me. I am simply afraid of those whom I meet on the street, although everyone ends up on the street for different reasons. It is very scary one day to be in their place. I try to read personal stories on the Internet in order to somehow reconfigure.

There are those who need more

“We don’t owe them anything,” say programmer Maria from New York and nurse Irina from Volgograd. “The problem of vagrants should be dealt with by the state. The rest of the people have enough worries of their own,” Irina believes. — My husband and I are raising two daughters, we work, earn extra money and barely make ends meet. Let them also work, but don’t drink and don’t be homeless.”

“Everything has always been hard work for me. And I help people, but only those whom I really feel sorry for: orphans, the sick, my retired parents with meager pensions, ”says Maria. “In Moscow, everything is spoiled by entrepreneurs who put the business on vagrants on stream, and the influx of marginalized false homeless people from neighboring regions. Therefore, between helping people without housing and people with illnesses (children and adults), I still choose the latter, ”says Ivan, an editor from Moscow.

“First of all, they need to be given housing and work”

Emilian Sosinskiy, Founder and Director of the network of shelters for the homeless «House of Diligence Noy»

Even people who do not believe in God are more profitable to help than not to help. People living on the street threaten with their way of life not only themselves, but also those around them and the locality in which they live. With the right help, they become absolutely normal people, benefiting not only themselves, but also others. In our community, for example, able-bodied homeless people work and provide dependents for the elderly, the disabled, women and children, who also work daily. All 860 people live without help from the state. It is important for these people to help organize a workplace and provide them with orders so that they can earn their living by honest work. Without an order, they will not win the competition from cheaper and better quality Chinese goods.

Today in Moscow there are no people without a fixed place of residence who need food. Rather, they are overfed at the expense of organizations and a huge number of citizens who believe that they are obliged to feed them and give them money. But the problem is deeper. In 90% of cases, the cause is alcoholism. Based on the experience of the House of Diligence of St. John of Kronstadt at the end of the XNUMXth century and on our own experience, I can say that the most effective help to these people is living in labor adaptation communities until the end of their lives.

John of Kronstadt, back in the XNUMXth century, said that it was not necessary to give to the poor at the temples, but that an organization should be created that would really help them. And you need to donate money to this organization, because without outside help it will not survive. He said that the vagabonds should first of all be given housing and work, so that they could support themselves by doing what they could. And those who, being healthy, refuse to work, must be expelled from the city as parasites and breeding grounds for infection.

“We naively believe that this will never happen to us”

Maria Vinokur, entrepreneur, co-founder of the project «Strange People» and the documentary series of the same name, volunteer of the network of shelters for the homeless «House of Diligence Noah»

Once I just decided for myself that I would not close my eyes and pass by if injustice is outraged and the weak are offended. I saw a video about how they are expelled from the homeless shelter “House of Diligence Noah” and went to help. Over time, I understood why the authorities and ordinary people are indifferent to the problem. This is due to a lack of understanding and knowledge, due to the delusion that this will not happen to them. Thus was born the documentary series «Strange People». It got its name because the majority of homeless people and benefactors seem strange people. But who is strange, another question. There are many stories in the series about people who rose from the slag, corrected themselves and began to save people.

Sadly, people take pleasure in the suffering of others, otherwise the most successful thrillers would not start with a murder, but not everyone realizes this. To realize this and begin to correct it in oneself, to remove it from the darkest corners of the soul — this is spiritual work. Spiritual education is not popular in society, but there is great interest or just curiosity among the younger generation (20-35 years old). Therefore, I believe in a happy future.

“You can help only with products, things and deeds”

Tatiana Shcheglova, psychologist

Persons without a fixed place of residence can cause different feelings. Some pass by with disgust on their faces. Others stop, give money and run on about their business. There is a third option, when with a kind word or deed they try to help a person rise from the bottom, it is this that works in both directions. Giving a piece of goodness to another person, you get back the blessing in double size. It cannot be measured financially and cannot be seen in reality. Helping such people is called charitable activity. There are two moments in it: the “good” itself and the action that needs to be “created” with it.

By helping, we create a blessing for a particular person, we grow spiritually ourselves. Often, when advising clients on the topic of self-love, I give the task: walking down the street, look at everyone with love. Send this feeling from the heart. First of all, people without a fixed place of residence, wandering and dressed in dirty clothes. After this practice, clients share their difficulties. They talk about the feeling of disgust, anger, contempt for such people. It is possible to complete the exercise only through inner acceptance. People note that it becomes easier to breathe, the shackles in the chest area go away. There is even a desire to provide real help to such people.

I always remind you that you can not give money! They will send direct financial assistance to alcohol. So your good intentions will turn into a stone that will pull them to the bottom even more strongly. You can help only with products, things and deeds. The most correct way is to offer help to shelters and make donations to foundations.