I've commented a few times on the serious problem of homelessness in British cities. If you have ever been in Oxford or London in winter, you will, without a doubt, have noticed the sheer numbers of street-dwellers, huddled forlornly in blankets on pavements and in porchways, asking you for spare change.
It is nothing short of a tragedy that, in a country which is neither especially poor nor renowned for its hospitable climate, we cannot house all of our citizens in winter. And we are all morally responsible for doing something about this.
Unfortunately, we should also bear in mind the unhappy fact that the Salvation Army, one of the largest providers of charitable services to the homeless on both sides of the Atlantic, is a conservative evangelical Christian organization with explicit anti-gay beliefs, and a history of lobbying against gay rights laws that protect employees from discrimination. I don't doubt that the Salvation Army has done, and is doing, much commendable work: but as a member of the LGBT community, and a close friend to many others, I can't, in good conscience, advocate donating to a group which explicitly holds us, our identities and our relationships in contempt.
Instead, for those so inclined, I would urge you to donate to a secular local homelessness charity this winter. I realize that most people reading this are penniless students (and I also realize that my readers are not terribly numerous), but even a small donation may make a difference. For UK readers, Shelter is a charity which provides aid, advice and support to those who are homeless or facing eviction.
(As an addendum, I should add that I am not, of course, seeking to direct attention away from other worthy causes: Oxfam and other development charities urgently need your help too, and I certainly do not subscribe to the tribalist view that we should prioritize the needs of those on our doorstep over the rest of the world. But we should seek to do good where we can: and, for those of us who come face-to-face with the suffering of the homeless in Oxford every time we go outdoors, I would suggest that human empathy, if nothing else, compels us to do something about it.)
In the short term, volunteering at, or donating to, an actual shelter is the best solution.
ReplyDeleteIn the long term, figuring out how to change society so that homelessness becomes less prevalent is more important than helping here or there. Charity like that has never been able to solve a systemic problem, as it merely treat the symptom, not the disease.
True. And in the long run, as a society, we certainly need to build substantially more housing in order to have any hope of housing everyone. (Many British cities suffer from major housing shortages and inflated property prices.) Since a lot of homeless people in Britain also have substance abuse problems, investing more in providing rehabilitation and counselling services (in both the public and non-profit sectors) would be a good move as well. (At the moment, it's very difficult to get access to a drug treatment programme, or to get help finding employment and accommodation after being treated for an addiction.)
ReplyDeleteBut donating to, or volunteering for, homelessness charities is probably the best we, as individuals, can do immediately in the short term. And it does make a difference, even if it doesn't solve the underlying problem.