I was driving my middle school juggling team to a show in Maine's largest city of Portland.  It was about 2:30 in the afternoon, and we stopped at a light in front of the city Post Office, and the kids simultaneously noticed the three homeless men with signs asking for hand outs at the various intersections.  I expected what happened next; It happens every time:

         "That's so sad!"

         I hear they make lots of money that way."

         "Why are they all at the same red lights?"

         "Where do they go to the bathroom?"

          "Where do they go at night?"     

          All the regular curiosity that, well, everyone has when they see these seemingly nameless neighbors.  But I was NOT expecting what came next.  Suddenly, through the chatter of questions came the booming voice of one of the boys on the team; "Go to work, hobo!"

         I did something I rarely do when I'm with my students.  I yelled.  "THAT IS NOT OK!"  Whether contrite or scared, I'm not sure, but the young man apologized and became uncharacteristically quiet.  Fortunately, it was February in Maine, so needless to say, our van windows were closed, and the man did not hear.  But one of my eighth grade girls confided, "My dad says that to the panhandlers all the time."  She was quick to add, "But I get mad at him when he does." 

         But that was just the first surprise.  One of our seventh graders, Abby, announced that she had some leftover food from her after school snack, and she wanted to give it to the man, but didn't know how.  Then my daughter, Rose - an eighth grader - said she'd do the talking.  Rose is, after all, the self appointed big sister to the seventh grade girls, and considers herself rather street wise after spending a week in the Bronx last summer.  Unfortunately, by this point, the man had walked down the line of vehicles, the light turned green, and I had to move on. 

         It occurred to me that in that two minute stop at a city traffic light, I had seen the gamut of society's response to the homeless: curiosity, contempt, compassion.  Thirteen year olds don't come up with, "Go to work, hobo!" on their own.  Like his young female classmate, he may have heard it from a parent, someone else's parent, a TV show...I don't know. 

         But I do know I have heard this type of comment from plenty of adults.  It comes in many variations:  "They should all be locked up!"  "They're a disgrace to the city!"  "If you give them money, they'll just spend it on booze!" One time a friend used this last one on CS Lewis when he gave a beggar all the cash in his wallet.  The friend said to Lewis, "Why did you do that?  He's only going to spend it on ale."  To which Lewis responded, "That's all I was going to spend it on."  It's as if we are more concerned with our 'right' not to be taken advantage of than we are with doing what Jesus spoke of in Matthew 25: "I was hungry and you gave me something to eat."  In what Bible does Jesus, while hanging on a cross, cry out to the Roman guards, "How dare you do this to me.  Wait 'til my Dad hears about this!"  Being taken advantage of was not a big concern to Him.

         Of course, the correlation between addiction and homelessness has been well documented, and I would feel terrible to know that my attempt at charity led someone to further damage their minds, bodies and souls by feeding an addiction.  But what about Abby's idea of giving some food?  When we were in Paraguay in 2013, for example, our hosts always had packages of crackers with them for when they were stopped at traffic lights. 

          Homelessness in the emerging world is, admittedly, a very different issue than here in the states.  With 40% unemployment, corrupt governments, and a direct correlate between poverty and tribal heritage, it is an even more complex problem to attack.  The truth is, though, that here in Maine, "Go to work" is not only more attainable, it is probably what can help the homeless the most.  But shouting "Go to work" at them as you drive through a intersection (or muttering it loud enough for your 13 year old daughter to hear, like the father of my student mentioned above) is about as effective as yelling, "Go to church" to  picnickers as you drive by the park on Sunday morning.  If it does anything, it does more harm than good.   In reality, the poor often need both the immediate help of food or clothing hand outs as well as the long range help of 'getting their lives on track.'  Depending on one's background, they might not have the experience or mental stability to even know how to 'go to work'.  Writing resumes, interviewing, even basic social interactions are skills that need to be taught. There's not a lot we can do about that if we just drive into the city every so often (although there's more we can do than we know), but those who literally have the poor on their front steps are able to.  In fact, many Christians -from local individuals and congregations to international ministries like Teen Challenge and the Salvation Army -ARE taking on the bigger task of helping street people move toward a more meaningful and productive life.

          So if the sight of beggars panhandling on the city streets makes you uncomfortable, consider doing more than yelling at them.  For example:

Make sure you have healthy snacks to give out if you're travelling into the city

donate to the Salvation Army

Teach a free course on basic job skills through your local church or community center

Introduce yourself to a homeless person and treat them with dignity

Give out gift cards to fast food places that do not sell alcohol

Baby sit for a single parent so they can go to work or take classes

Welcome at risk people into your home (Make sure you KNOW God is calling you to do this one)

See what local charities or congregations are doing and join in

         In other words, go to work!