This Is How You Can Actually Help The Homeless

image by Ulkar — purchased by the author

My family was homeless for over a year. I quickly discovered that homeless life was all about trying to survive one day at a time.

Many people want to help homeless folks but aren’t sure where to begin. Below, I listed the things that helped us get through the days and nights. If you can provide any of these to an unhoused person, you will increase their chances of surviving the ordeal.

A Working Vehicle

My family lived in an old van. It gave us a way to get around and a place to sleep.

If at all feasible, providing a working vehicle to a homeless person could help them in various ways. Outside of transportation, it would also give them a place to rest and increase their chances of finding resources and medical help.

A Place to Park Overnight

Walmart parking lots allowed overnight parking, so my family could always find a place to sleep.

If you own your home and allow a homeless person to spend the night in your driveway on occasion, it would be an amazing gift. Peace of mind is exceedingly rare when you sleep outside in your vehicle night after night.

Bathroom Access

We had a membership at the YMCA and access to my mom’s apartment to shower and use the bathroom.

If you provided a place for people to wash their bodies, it would help their mental and physical health. It would also help their social standing — which could lead to them obtaining other valuable resources.

Art Nunymiss , who has also experienced homelessness, adds that buying a homeless person a beverage at a restaurant will give them access to the bathrooms.

A Mailing Address

Many resources from social services require a mailing address. Thankfully, we had a P.O. Box before we lost our home.

If you could allow a homeless person to use your mailing address, they would be able to access resources otherwise unavailable to them.

Gift Cards

The kids had a coupon book for free Wendy’s Frosties they’d recieved trick-or-treating at Halloween. Thanks to these gift cards, they were able to go inside the restaurant to use wifi, the bathrooms, and escape the heat.

McDonalds, Walmart, and Starbucks gift cards give people a place to get out of the weather. (Thank you for this suggestion, Art)

Washing Machine Access

We had access to our Mom’s washing machine as well as the local laundromat.

Clean clothes are a luxury many homeless people can’t access. If you could do a load of laundry every week for a homeless person, it would be much appreciated.

Phone/ Phone Cards

We were able to use our phones to make calls, find resources online, and keep the kids entertained at night.

If you can’t afford a prepaid phone, an old smartphone can be used with public WiFi to make phone calls.

Other Practical Items

Baby wipes
Feminine hygiene products
Band-Aids
Tylenol
Bandages
Rubbing Alcohol
Socks
Clothes
Backpacks
Notebooks
Pens
Trail mix
Water
Books

Human Kindness Goes a Long Way

Isolation is something that homeless people understand only too well. Most people no longer wished to spend time in my family’s presence once they find out we were homeless.

It was dehumanizing and heartbreaking. This was especially true for the children when new friends’ parents wouldn’t allow them to spend time together.

However, we also met amazing people who reminded us we were worthy humans.

Above all else, please remember that the unhoused are fellow humans. A friendly smile, a wave, or a simple greeting means more than you can imagine.

Let’s not forget the invisible people struggling all around us while we sit comfortably in our homes.

A Note from the Author

Helping During the Pandemic

The meager resources available to unhoused people has dwindled considerably. Consider these ideas from InvisiblePeople.tv for safely helping the unhoused people in your area. ⁸

Prepare and Deliver Food

Homeless shelters and soup kitchens are no longer hosting large cafeteria-style meals. They’ve been replaced by grab-and-go and meal delivery services. This means there’s no need for servers. However, if you’re able to cook, you can do so as part of a small group. You can deliver meals or distribute them at a drive-through pick-up.

Remember to wear a mask and gloves at all times while preparing, handling, or delivering food. Replace gloves often and wear a face shield if you’re interacting with someone suspected to have Coronavirus. One NYC program has had success asking homeless people to wash up before being given care packages.

Donate Hygiene Items and Cleaning Products

By now, everyone knows particular hygiene and cleaning items are hard to come by. Toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and disinfectant are scarce. Many homeless people are already used to going without these items; uncleanliness is a significant reason why many homeless people live poor health. It’s now more important than ever that homeless people have the means to protect themselves.

If you have extra hygiene or cleaning products, consider donating them to a homeless shelter. You can also hand them out directly to homeless people, but remember to practice social distancing, remaining at least six feet away from others. Wear a mask if you can. If you get sick, you won’t be useful to anyone.

In times like these, it makes no sense to be selfish. If you were caught up in panic-buying pandemonium at the grocery store, let your extras be put to use immediately for the welfare of those at the highest risk.

Work Behind the Scenes

Not all volunteer work involves face-to-face contact with those you serve. Offer to sort and display clothes at a clothing closet. Or, take orders at a food bank and pre-package groceries for patrons to later pick up. These are ideal tasks for those who wish to avoid contact with others as much as possible for any number of legitimate reasons.

Another thing you can do is help clean shelters. Cleaning procedures are becoming stricter. Disinfecting needs to be done more often, more thoroughly, and with more potent products. That’s a heavy burden on already overwhelmed and over-stretched staff. In some cases, shelters are even putting their guests to work. Reach out to homeless shelters in your area and see if any need assistance in giving their facilities a deep cleaning. It’s a task anyone can do with little to no training.

Donate Money and Resources

The best way you can help homeless people in your community is to donate. Small, local nonprofits need all the help they can get right now. These agencies rely on volunteers. In their absence, they are finding it difficult even to keep the doors open. To ensure these agencies make it through this crisis and serve vulnerable populations into the future, they need to keep the lights on, pay staff, and continue to serve their community as best they can.

You can also donate food, which agencies are in desperate need of right now. With so many Americans fearful for themselves and their families, there are no fundraisers, and the usual stream of donations is running dry. If this is something you did before, continue to do it, and give a little more if you can. If not, consider this a more than acceptable replacement for the volunteering you can no longer do.

Charity Navigator is a resource you can use to check whether an agency is putting the donations it receives directly into the population it serves.