How we can help the homeless

The home is the center of our world. Our day to day life, energy and business revolve around making homes feel welcoming and beautiful. Given that, it feels like it is also our responsibility to help those who are without homes.

Getting started

The National Coalition for the Homeless is committed to a single mission: To end and prevent homelessness while ensuring the immediate needs of those experiencing homelessness are met and their civil rights are respected and protected. They are a great resource and a good place to start. The NCH says it all starts with CARE

C – Contribute
A – Advocate
R – Reach out
E – Educate

contribute

While the concern and support demonstrated by volunteer work and advocacy are essential, material assistance is also a necessity. Needed items and services change seasonally but may include; clothing, books, computer use, personal care items and weather protection, phone use and transitional support.

advocate

Advocacy is critical to creating the systemic changes needed to end homelessness. Advocacy means working with people experiencing homelessness to bring about positive changes in policies and programs on the local, state, and federal levels. It means working with various sectors of the community (e.g. city/county officials, members of Congress, direct service providers, and the business community) to develop workable strategies for responding to homelessness.  It also means changing your language and behaviors in small ways that may contribute to larger changes in the way people experiencing homelessness are seen and treated in our society.

Reach Out

Reaching out by volunteering your time to work directly with people experiencing homelessness is one of the best ways to learn about homelessness and help to meet immediate needs at the same time.  There is a lot of “behind the scenes” work (filing, sorting clothes, cutting vegetables, etc.) to be done at shelters and other direct service agencies. Think about what you do best and the kind of setting in which you work most effectively—with individuals or groups, with men, women, or children, and so on. Then, call a few places, ask what help they need, and arrange for a visit. You can find a partial listing of service providers on NCH’s Directory of Local Homeless Service Organizations.

Educate

Learn about the root causes of homelessness and teach others.  NCH maintains updated Facts Sheets on many aspects of homelessness including causes, numbers, and special issues.  Read the Fact Sheets to familiarize yourself with the latest information, and then share what you learn with your community—your place of worship, school, colleagues, friends, neighbors, media, and elected officials.

Helping Boston’s Homeless

Friends of Boston’s Homeless supports solutions-oriented programs with proven track records that help people transition from the streets and shelters into safe, dignified housing and reclaim their lives.

Helping Maine’s Homeless

We have been made aware of a grass-roots effort being run by a friend of JF in Portland, Maine that we’re happy to share. Conrad Dundorf is starting a “Free Store” project in Portland, Maine, loosely based on efforts by NH groups which have had great success, over the last some years.

For anyone curious, the free store model is an act of mutual aid, that relies on volunteers, donations and help from the community, in order to support the community. Conrad’s project in Maine will be run out of the back of his truck with some folding tables and he will be distributing clothes, hot food, survival gear to the houseless community.

If you would like to help Conrad by donating money or goods we will put you in touch with him and help to coordinate your donation, just reach out to us or send an email to JF sales team member Chris Dempsey, cdempsey@jewettfarms.com and he’ll make sure your help is put to use.