Quote
“We
think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The
poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest
poverty.” Mother Teresa
News
Just before Christmas researchers at Sheffield University reported
that homeless men in Britain have an average life expectancy of 47, and women
just 43. Although drug and alcohol abuse is a major factor contributing
to homelessness and premature death, there are many other reasons for people
experiencing short- or long-term homelessness.
Various
initiatives in higher income countries have sought to alleviate the plight of
homeless people, one of the most prominent being street papers such as The Big
Issue. These news, arts and culture magazines are distributed
through street vendors, who have to be homeless in order to sell them.
They purchase the magazine for half the cover price and go on to earn the other
half from as many copies as they sell. Launched in 1991, the Big Issue
has helped inspire an international network of street papers with over 100
publications in 40 countries; over 200,000 homeless people have benefitted from
the training, encouragement and support provided by the organisations behind
these papers.
It
is the possibility of earning their own income and not being dependent on
handouts (or worse, petty theft) which motivates most vendors to stand on
street corners in all weathers. The venture has the potential to
alleviate poverty in two dimensions, both financial and relational. The
process of becoming homeless usually involves some form of relational
breakdown, and people are more likely to suffer rejection and abuse once
homeless – not least from others in the same situation. Living on the
street is relationally complex; homeless people lack the relative security of
their own home, often rootless, and uncertain how far (if at all) to trust
others.
Becoming
a street vendor can help such people regain a measure of dignity and respect,
and passers-by have the power to accelerate or hinder that process. If people
who do have somewhere to call home ignore street paper vendors or treat them
with disdain, then they contribute to the relational poverty experienced by the
homeless. Such people have often fallen through the safety net of the
state welfare system, and so the responses of individuals – in buying street
papers and showing kindness to vendors – can go a long way towards creating a
more relational society.
Read on…
An
article in yesterday’s New York Times called for a rethink in how poverty is
tackled in the US, citing the work of LIFT, an organisation recognising the
relational dimension of poverty and responding accordingly. Read the
article here.
Walk the talk
Do
you know of any people selling street papers in your town? If so, why not
go out of your way this week to buy a copy of The Big Issue or other title, and
make a point of looking the person in the eye, calling them by their name
(written on their ID badge), and sharing a word of encouragement or kindness.
The last word
From
the Bible, James 2:2-4 ‘Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold
ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you
show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good
seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor
by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with
evil thoughts?’
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