Deuteronomy 15:11 NKJV — “For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.’
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Have we forgotten about our fellow man? The unfortunate, the poor and the homeless sleeping in the streets, under bridges or wherever they can find shelter. Why is there a homeless problem, especially in the United States, when the economy is going strong and unemployment is so low? Are the optics telling us something different from what the White House is telling the world? Is this a conspiracy by the left, media and the democrats to undermine the successes of a presidential administration they despise? Whatever the reason for this problem, the homeless problem is also a growing global problem.
Proverbs 14:31 NKJV — He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker,
But he who honors Him has mercy on the needy.
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Homelessness is far from a developing country’s problem. In Europe alone, there are 3 million people on the streets. In Australia and Canada, hundreds of thousands of people are homeless. Of course, the problem is much worse in poorer countries. There are over 9.5 million homeless people in Columbia and 24.4 million in Nigeria. In total, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights estimates that the world has 100 million homeless people. How did the street become their home?
Job losses, foreclosures, unemployment, and lack of affordable housing all play a part. Social factors can also be part of the problem; domestic violence, lack of a supportive family, drug abuse, alcoholism and mental illnesses all contribute to homelessness.Finding a solution to the homelessness problem has been hard for many cities, states and countries. The current New York mayor has a notoriously tough time reducing the number of ‘cluster sites’ in his city. Some cities, like Moscow, have no programs in place to fight the problem. Recently Fox News put together a series of reports showcasing the homeless problem in cities such as Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Coincidentally, these cities are designated as “Sanctuary Cities” and refuse to enforce laws that would deter the vagrancy problem plaguing their cities. San Francisco, California was recently ranked number 13 out of the top 15 homeless problem cities in the world.
San Francisco, California
Courtesy of hdnux.com
San Francisco’s homeless population has swelled by 17% in two years, with most of that growth coming from people living out of their cars. The Coalition on Homelessness reported that 10,373 people were housed in emergency shelters in San Francisco in 2013. This homeless advocacy association had hoped to reduce this number over the next few years but the political climate has made it harder to help alleviate the problem. The increased street count shows how San Francisco’s long-standing homelessness crisis is worsening.
Los Angeles, California
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The streets of Los Angeles are home to over 57,000 destitute people. Some of the poorest people in the city spend their days in the shadow of Los Angeles City Hall, napping on flattened cardboard boxes. 31% of L.A.’s homeless abuse drugs while 18% are disabled physically. Their average age is 40, although the women tend to be younger. 25% are also reported to have a mental illness. On any given night, the city has over 12,934 homeless people seeking refuge in a homeless shelter, or in a motel using emergency vouchers. Los Angeles was ranked number 3 out of the top 15.
New York, New York
Courtesy of analyticfocus.com
There are 60,352 people without a roof over their heads in the Big Apple which ranked number 2 out of the top 15. This number includes 25,640 children. 22,386 are adults and over 12,326 are single. These numbers have continued to rise steadily regardless of the campaign promises that were made by Mayor Bill de Blasio. De Blasio’s plan was to shelter homeless families away from the usual cluster sites. Although Bill’s administration is trying to move them into permanent houses, it is proving hard to fight the stubborn cluster site problem. In fact, he has been forced to increase these sites from 2,918 to 3,143. He plans to remove 4,000 people from cluster sites this year. Still, the numbers rise. A report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development found homelessness was up by 2.8% in 2018. Again, homelessness is not just regulated to the United States.
Manila, Philippines
Courtesy of o.canada.com
Ranked number 1, Manila, Philippines has the highest homelessness rate in the world. The United Nations Commission on Human Rights reports that this city has 70,000 dispossessed people on its streets. The commission also reports that the entire country has a distressing 1,200,000 children living on the streets. These children are faced with numerous problems including the abuse of drugs such as marijuana, shabu and cough syrups, health problems due to the deplorable conditions in which they live in, child prostitution by pedophiles and foreign sex tourists, and the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. Recently, when the Pope was visiting the country, numerous street children were rounded up and locked in cages. Authorities supported the inhumane act arguing that it was done to prevent gangs of beggars from approaching the Pope.
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What can be done to solve this problem?
Psalm 34:9-10 NKJV — Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints!
There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.
We must pray and minister to those who are making the streets and alleyways their home. There is hope in Jesus Christ and we must pray with them and lead them to the Lord, He will give them rest and put them on the path of restoration. The light in their eyes has faded but we can reach out and add oil to their lamps so that they will be ready when the Master returns to take them home.
Let us keep in mind what the Lord says in Matthew 25. A lesson and a consequence if we allow the light to fade on their and our future;
Matthew 25:31-46 NKJV — “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. “All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. “And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. “Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: ‘for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; ‘I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? ‘When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? ‘Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ “And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: ‘for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; ‘I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ “Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ “And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
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