February 4, 2025
Seeing someone on the street can be a very puzzling experience. You may drive by with the heart to help, but without the awareness of how to best do so. You may lack empathy or understanding of the experience of homelessness. You may be eagerly attempting to help without seeing great results. In all of these circumstances, the question glaring within you is “What do I do?” In this post we’ll share some tips on how to be proactive in answering this question ahead of time, so that in the moment we feel equipped and ready.
There is no one right answer but there are some guidelines and approaches that can help shape our behavior so we can do our best in the moment. Let’s get started!
Guideline #1: Giving $ is not always the greatest. You may have heard before not to give money to the homeless because “they will just go spend it on drugs.” While this might be true in some cases, it is judgmental in spirit. A better “why” for not giving financially is that it may develop unhealthy patterns of dependency that end up being more harmful than helpful to our friends in need. Dependency strips our neighbors of their dignity and often makes their situations harder to get out of. Mission Waco chooses to approach homelessness/poverty through an empowerment model, recognizing that all people, despite their circumstances, are image bearers of God and have something to contribute when seeking the solutions to their problems. Financial generosity is most effective when given straight to the nonprofit organization that provides resources and services to those experiencing homelessness.
Guideline #2: Be relational. People who are experiencing homelessness are frequently misunderstood and isolated from the community. The first step to combat this is to demonstrate love. Asking their name and taking interest goes a long way. Take the time to stop and build relationships, or find opportunities through non-profits to get connected and serve on a regular basis. A one-off interaction may make someone’s day, but a friendship can change their life, and yours along with it. A big way to help, with discretion of course, is to buy an unhoused person a meal and eat with them. This is best done in the context of community. Grab a friend and invite someone on the streets into your community. Build healthy, balanced friendships with mutual respect. Something to be cautious of in this endeavor is establishing a relationship in which there is an unhealthy power dynamic due to differences in financial or living situations. You are not their saving grace; you are just a friend. If you are a ‘super friend’, there isn’t room in the relationship for the other person to give. Humble yourself to receive God’s abundance through people who materially have very little.
Guideline #3: Ask the Spirit for direction! Each circumstance will look different, and you may be prompted in the moment to give something or ask a certain question. It is important to be prayerful and in-tune with the Spirit in order to operate out of grace in these moments. Which leads us to our first approach……
Approach #1: Have grace. There is no formula for relationships! You may not know what to do, and that is ok. By loving people experiencing homelessness, you are committing to see them for who they are. A friendship requires mutual trust which allows them to see you in whole too. That can look like honestly saying: “I want to know your story but I don’t know the questions to ask and I don’t want to make assumptions.” You will probably mess up. That is real. That is relational! Have grace with yourself and the people around you.
Approach #2: Love! I love the term “give dignity.” You can actually gift your respect to someone. Look them in the eye. Show kindness! The main thing to do is love. Love is the “why.” It all flows from here. As God is love (1 John 4:16), so this has to be rooted in him. A prayerful heart is crucial to love, because prayer is how we align our heart with God’s.
Approach #3: Be a learner! Be vulnerable! Try to drop your assumptions and come in with humility to really learn about the person you're talking to.
And last but certainly not least….
Approach #4: Know your limits! I touched on this earlier, but sometimes it is necessary to draw boundaries. There are still loving ways to do so. Be honest, letting your boundaries be spoken and gracious. That might look like saying "no" or "not now". You need to be attentive to yourself and know what you can/can’t give. Harming yourself is not helping others.
Ultimately, just love and be yourself! Trying is better than apathy. Hopefully this has brought some inspiration to get out and love your neighbor well, as well as some clarification on how to do so. Remember: you are equipped! There is no need to panic. Mission Waco has lots of resources to continue your education on our website: https://missionwaco.org/ and the Christian Community Development Association website: https://ccda.org. There are also several books that dive deeper into this topic, including When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert and Generous Justice by Timothy Keller. Let this article be the starting point of learning about what to do to see someone on the street!