Do you know that out of the 8 billion people in the world, how many people are homeless?
Based on data obtained from the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, it is stated that currently there are 1.6 billion homeless people in the world who live without a place to live.
Even in advanced country like United States, it is recorded that more than half a million Americans are homeless and 36% of them are families with children.
The Right Way To Help The Homeless
On the side of the road, in shops or other places, you may often see homeless people hitching a ride to sleep or just sitting and resting. This will probably look fine. But what about when autumn or winter arrives?
This is a challenge for homeless people. The reason is that when winter arrives, homeless people will be increasingly vulnerable to health risks such as hypothermia, frostbite and even death.
Therefore, it turns out that there are still many people who need our helping hand, even though we ourselves don’t know whether we can have a big impact.
But the point is that even small things can help homeless people who need them. The following are several ways you can help homeless people.
1. Donate Clothes
The first way you can do this is by donating clothes or other equipment, be it cleaning equipment, first aid kits and so on. The items that homeless people need most in shelters are new clothes and used clothes that are still suitable for use.
Clothing is the most needed thing, especially when winter arrives. Most people will need socks to protect themselves from the cold. Apart from socks, there is another type of clothing that is most often requested, namely jeans.
This is because jeans will always be comfortable to wear in any season, be it winter, autumn, spring or summer. Apart from that, jeans can also be worn many times without having to be washed every day.
Even believe it or not, in America owning new jeans is known to increase a person’s self-confidence and self-esteem.
See also : Hotel Vouchers Role for Homeless People
2. Donate Food
Not only clothes, food is also the next important thing that homeless people need every day. As is known, many homeless people often find it difficult to get enough food, especially teenagers who also often have difficulty getting proper nutrition.
One study even stated that one-third of teenagers who do not have a home or have run away from their homes experience food insecurity every month.
Therefore, in this case you can help by building a public kitchen with the community which is used specifically to provide food for the homeless.
3. Donate Money
This third method is also the method most often used by people today, namely raising funds or donating money. This method is also known to be the easiest way to help homeless people.
As is known, social media can now be used well to do everything, including raising funds. So after donating the money, you can donate it to a non-profit organization that focuses on homeless services.
You can also donate the money collected to mosques, churches or temples and other religious institutions to provide assistance to the homeless. This way, social workers and professionals have the resources to carry out their important work.
4. Volunteer Time
One of the good things that exists in modern society today is that there are quite a lot of special shelters for homeless people. So the next thing you can do is to give the time you have to regularly join the community at the shelter.
For example, when the homeless people here are mostly teenagers, you can do some outreach that gives them insight, enthusiasm and motivation to struggle through life. Apart from that, you can also hold training or various activities that will benefit homeless people in the future.
If most of the people in the shelter are married people, then usually there they will be given a job that can fill their free time and provide benefits to the shelter itself. So in this case you can help by taking part in several activities carried out at the shelter.
5. Support Shelters For The Homeless
It’s the same as giving your free time to help the homeless. The next thing you can do is support shelters for the homeless. So, if you are interested in this, you can look for the shelter and contact it, then you can provide donations or other assistance.
6. Sharing Important Resources
It should be noted that to become homeless, no one will of course know. This could be due to losing your job or a tragedy in your family. When this happens you don’t know where to go and where to look for help.
Therefore, the next thing that can be done, especially in special homeless shelters, is to share various important resources. For example, providing each other with information regarding job vacancies or other things that can be important resources for homeless people.
7. Raising Awareness Among Local People To Help The Homeless
The next easy way to do this is to raise awareness among local people to help the homeless. You can do this by making invitations or providing education via social media. That way you will be useful in helping people in need.