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The Crisis

  • Over 14,000 homeless people in Oregon

  • Over 550,000 homeless people in the United States

  • Approximately 1.6 billion homeless people in the world

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Why should we care

The problem is all around us, and it's getting worse.  If each of us gets involved, in a small or big way, we can make a huge difference.  Here is one of my favorite quotes:

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"We cannot deny the existence of the helpless as their presence grows.  It is impossible to insulate ourselves against what is at our very doorstep.  I don’t believe that one is born compassionate.  Compassion is not a character trait like a sunny disposition.  It must be learned, and it is learned by having adversity at our windows, coming through the gates of our yards, the walls of our towns, adversity that becomes so familiar that we begin to identify and empathize with it.”    ~ Barbara Lazear Ascher, in her essay On Compassion

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Hands-on food of the hungry is the hope

Ways to get involved

There are a lot of things that each of us can do to make a difference. Here are a few of my favorite ideas:

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1.  Organize a clothing or food drive with your school, church, sports club, or neighborhood.

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2.  Volunteer at a food bank.  Even young children can help with boxing up food.

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3.  Give out "blessing bags."  You can put these together with your family or friends.  Good things to include are protein bars, socks, toiletries, water, and gloves.  Keep a bag or two in your car and hand them out to homeless people.

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4.  Ask your school to add an after-school service learning club so that students can talk about the problem, and discuss ways that they can get involved and help.  

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Organizations making a difference

A lot of organizations are trying to help with the homeless problem. You can search for nonprofits near your city.  Here are some amazing ones around Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington:

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1.  New Avenues for Youth

https://newavenues.org

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2.  Transition Projects

https://www.tprojects.org

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3.  Portland Rescue Mission

https://www.portlandrescuemission.org

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4.  Oregon Harbor of Hope

https://oregonharborofhope.org

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5.  Share

https://sharevancouver.org

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6.  Clark County Food Bank

https://clarkcountyfoodbank.org

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7.  Oregon Food Bank

https://oregonfoodbank.org

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