Street Living

Alcohol breath

Urine smells

Musty odors

Bug bites

 

These are the things seen, smelled, and felt out on the streets.

 

Meals provided

Money given

Gentlemen

Protected

 

These are the things seen, felt, and appreciated out on the streets.

 

The day to day life of someone who is homeless is something to take to heart. Although I could never fully understand just exactly what they go through on a daily basis, living out there for a weekend opened my eyes.

 

For the past six months I have faithfully in obedience gone to the streets of Orlando by Lake Eola and have passed out care packages to the homeless community. I have been able to meet a variety of people who all have a different story. People who will pour their hearts out and people who will have a wall so thick you can only chip at it. People who want to be seen and heard, people who want to belong, people who are searching for a solution to their problem, people searching, and people lost. 

 

I have thankfully gotten the chance to get to know most of these people and the Lord has so kindly given me the opportunities to hear some of their stories. Unfortunately we live in a very judgmental world where we will look someone up and down and pinpoint what’s wrong with them before we take the time to ask them their name. We have made assumptions or accusations before we even know their story and since doing this ministry I have realized the stereotypes among the homeless population. 

 

Mental illness is a factor in the homeless community. There are times when I try to have a conversation and I can tell immediately that it won’t go very far because the mental capacity isn’t there to fully understand what is going on. However despite what most people think, mental illness is not the only reason why people are homeless.

 

People are fresh out of prison, some were already homeless in another state and decided to come to Florida, maybe some do choose to be out there, some lost their jobs due to Covid, some have their personal items stolen and then have to find resources for the social security office, and some made the wrong life choices and ended up on the streets. So you see that there are a variety of reasons why people end up on the streets and we cannot continue to group them all into a category and then dismiss and carry on. There are shelters around but when the shelter is filled with drama and doesn’t feel like a safe place, the streets are the better option. Maybe we make the judgement that because they have a phone or laptop, we ask are they really struggling? Well I can tell you that they are. Most I have met, have a job and a cheap phone that only works with Wifi. The cost of living is expensive and you need to live with about twenty other people just to make cheap rent. All I am saying is to re-think your thoughts before placing judgement on what we see. 

 

One of the main takeaways from living out there for the weekend is just how exposed and vulnerable you are. While sleeping on the church bench there were people walking in and through to go to the clubs. I remember waking up at one point and seeing more homeless people sleeping around the church, and then waking up again and seeing people walk through to get downtown or to get to their cars. I realized at that moment that I am fully exposed and vulnerable to anyone walking through. Living in the unknown of what could happen and what someone could do if they really wanted to. I knew in that moment fear could easily take over but then I think, as it is written multiple times in the Psalms, what can man do to me? Kill my flesh, sure, but my soul longs to be with the Lord. That’s the confidence I choose to walk in each and everyday. Now it was hot and my leg did get completely covered with mosquito bites, but each one was worth it for the glory of the Gospel.

 

Sure the streets are covered with alcohol, drugs, and urine smells, but it’s also covered with the sweetest people you will meet. People with beautiful smiles and stories that open your eyes. Each time I go out I am amazed at the care given to me; each person I have come across takes me in as a daughter or friend and they are just as happy to see me as I am to see them. It’s a community out there and I love being a part of it. 

 

I would encourage you to break the norm and take time to talk to someone. Live as Christ lives and be active in your faith. It doesn’t have to be the homeless population, it can start with a neighbor, but start somewhere. We go to church, we are taught, we attend small groups, and we essentially are hopefully filled with a fire. But then what do we do with that fire? Let it sit? No! Let that fire burn and radiate and do something with it. Be active with your faith and rise up. 

 

If the homeless are on your heart then I would encourage you to join me on Tuesday nights, or be bold and find homeless people in your own community and stop and talk to them. Have a conversation, take them out for a meal, tell them about Jesus, and be a listening ear. 

 

“And if one of you says to them, go in peace, be warmed and filled, without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” James 2:16-17