"Herein is our love made perfect, that we have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world."
-1 John 4:17

About the Hurting and Homeless

If you have been following Dr. and Mrs. They Say for any length of time you understand we carry a deep concern for those who are hurting in any way especially the homeless and elderly.   Our deepest heart is to apply God's ways and principles, trusting more and effective lasting solutions to confront the issues affecting all of our lives. When one person suffers, the consequences touch us all to some degree. Unfortunate circumstances, drugs, joblessness and numerous other dilemmas collide with nearly every individual sometime in their lives. Other life impacting aspects exist in our society from family troubles to economic hardships and other scenarios far too numerous to list.

SOME INTERESTING THOUGHTS TO PONDER:

A conservative estimate of homeless statistic calculations show counts reaching well over the three million mark in the United States alone. This world-wide problem continues to grow at an alarming rate. Found among this expanding homeless population are families with children from infants to teens. Our veterans and older adults are living in abject poverty and dying in the streets or shelters. We may assume shelters to be the optimal most inexpensive, and only way, to administer basic needs. Research into the expenditures of homelessness is amazingly high. Some causes of the rising cost to care for our citizens range from emergency and temporary short term shelter, medical treatments to police intervention and incarceration, the numbers are staggering reaching into the billions yearly.

IS YOUR HEART BROKEN YET?

True compassion…a tender sympathetic empathy moving with kind soft-heartedness. A willingness to reach out with charitable merciful grace that comes from God and pour out the depths of His Love upon others in genuine Godly benevolence.

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?

We accept as true, the body of Christ as the chosen to be accountable before God to undertake the needs and burdensome sufferings of the fatherless, poor, widows and afflicted. Corporately recognizing and promoting the strengths and calls God has ordained in each individual and addressing them with sound biblical foundational principles, actions and solutions. In Christ is available every challenge to His children who will seek Him, laying down their lives and fulfilling His commissions and commands to love one another as He loved us.

GENUINE GODLY LOVE DEMANDS EXPRESSION

Our vision is centered primarily in a compassionate Christ-like conscience toward those needing assistance to help in raising the standards of life and bringing freedom to others. We value life at every stage affirming those who are willing but cannot help themselves, to be served by Christians who have been strengthened and can utilize practical resources to become the extended hand of God’s love. The scriptures are abundantly clear: “Pure religion and undefiled before God the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world."  James 1:27.

WHAT'S HAPPENING?

Shared March 2018:  Just under 50% of our homeless populations are those over the age of 50. OK not so elderly, yet we do have those within these statics that are much older. It's devastating to know the pressures families face with in-home care taking for their parents; even more so when we who have been sent to the streets to minister within the inner cities homeless populations have witnessed elderly left there by their own families who feel they can not care for them. Can we imagine a child taking their parent with Alzheimer's, who nurtured them throughout a lifetime, abandoning them amongst the homeless community?  It happens and by the time they are found they are often dead. The fragile and frequently sickly simply don't last long on the streets battling the elements of poor weather and other factors. With sharing this we need to emphasis how deeply this concern reaches into our elderly population. Known as the silent street dwellers the elderly most often do their best to hide in the street populace. Easy to overcome and rob of what little they may have, like a coat or shoes, their age many times makes them easier pray even to evils such as rape. We can do better to help over pressured families who suffer burnout and see no way but to make very shocking wrong choices. We're working on it with bowed hearts and bended knees before our Lord's great throne of Grace. Join us.

Shared January 2018:The vulnerability of children on the streets  becoming victim to prostitution and trafficking is overwhelming. None of us wants to hear the detailed  horrors any homeless person faces yet we need to consider what these young people actually face on a daily basis. Concerned about staying alive many fall prey to the dark elements of street life with some paying terrible prices, even if they do escape long afterwards. It's dreadful enough to live homeless, being alone, hungry, sometimes physically ill and emotionally wrought with only a the slim possibility of temporary Band-Aid helps or limited shelter time stays to attempt escape. Breaking the set patterns adopted in the lifestyle and healing from the pain can be just as much a frustrating and hurting challenge.  Especially if there's  still no one there watching out personally for you. Taking you by the hand and into their heart, tolerating failures and triumphantly celebrating with you over successes. We need permanent solutions to the growing needs to battle depression, suicide, drugs, underworld crime and so much more. This is what our TRC "Transitional Resource Center" is all about. Providing skill life sets and Newness of life in Christ Jesus. He came to show us the way, bring us the truth and live lives worth celebrating. He came for every individual. We see each one from birth to death as valuable and precious.

 Shared November  2017:  Thanks giving has passed. So very much we've had to be thankful for and very prayerfully we will continue to declare our grateful appreciation with what we enjoy that so many others struggle daily to acquire, while merely surviving by very narrow margins! The Christmas season is upon us. The most beautiful time of year for many, while for others the season is one of lack, loss, sickness, loneliness, depression, hopelessness and more, complicated further with an uncertain future. During this time of year many of us who have served the the less fortunate are inhabited with images of long Christmas soup kitchen lines, people wandering the streets with nowhere to go, children lost, abandoned, runaways selling themselves on the streets for morsels of food, the sick, the dying. Forever burned into our memory banks, the figures haunt our souls, disturb our spirits, trouble our minds and deeply plucking the strings of our hearts we desire to see the troubled hurting delivered to more fortunate circumstances.

In the book of Isaiah 59 our Redeemer was promised and surely He has come to set, show forth and establish new covenant promises. We celebrate His coming this time of year. The coming of the Lord, our Savior, Jesus Christ, thanking the Father for His plan to redeem the souls of mankind. Verse 19 trumpets; “When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall raise up a standard against him”. When our standards are God's standards by the power of His Spirit, He is able to use us as individual pieces of a very large plan. Conforming us to the image of Christ, He sent His Holy Spirit and delegated His  Kingdom works  to continue through His followers. With the Living Christ and the power of His Spirit living purely in us, the  ultimate Kingdom of God  standards are to be raised against the works of the enemy.   Each of us can have a part according to God's choosing. During this season let's be encouraged to seek Him to function fully, taking our  part to raise His standard high for all the world to see; giving ALL THE GLORY TO GOD and thanking Him for allowing us to be part of the plan!

Shared October 2017 SAD FACTS / BROKEN PROMISES

Most of us want to contribute to acting in the spirit of humanitarian and charitable works reaching out to improve the lives of others who can no longer help themselves. No doubt with so many suffering we can find abundant opportunity. Some of us, especially when it comes to an older family member, no longer able to function on their own, have been acting as personal caretakers and liaisons for our loved ones trying to deal with the the VA on their behalf. We hear the same stories form other families. Some more honest VA workers admit when we voice our very valid concerns that they hear the same complaints we express over and over again and again. The purpose of the VA was, as spoken by Abraham Lincoln intended to “ care for him who shall have born the battle”. Regretfully, many of our Veterans, once out of uniform, older, ill, wounded, even homeless, experience being denied services and find themselves in hopeless even death situations as they spend endless hours on the phone, filing Veterans grants, crying out for help, being sent from one place to another, receiving conflicting and even erroneous information as they or their liaisons seek the help pledged them. With every promise and glimmer of hope at the end of the day they are denied what is rightfully theirs. In direct opposition to the commonly cited quote “No man left behind”, they are indeed left behind. The motto, nearly as old as military conflict itself, can be found in the creed of the elite U.S. Army Rangers expressing "I will never leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy." Unfortunately the enemy is amongst us. Though some in positions of decision making over our Veterans mean well and are even well intentioned, after spending endless hours, months and even years, communicating with them many of us can testify; Seems each office is independent, with separate ideas, ideals, messages and sets of rules. No solid rules they have to follow? In fact we've been told this information “each office is autonomous” and question how it is a Federal agency could and would put self governing decision making over these lives into the hands of those who exercise a right to do what??? Break the rules and make their own as they see fit???This is why we are establishing the "NOT A SINGLE VETERANS LEFT BEHIND" initiative. Stay tuned to learn more about this.

Shared September 2017: It's no secret our government has been failing horrifically caring for our Veterans. The number of complaints against all employers for discrimination against service members has risen 73 percent from 2001 to 1,548 last year, and the federal government accounted for the single biggest number of complaints with 18 percent of the total. I do think some people may misread discrimination. The fact that every office is basically autonomous (so we've been told) and every time you ask a question you get a different answer, could possibly contribute to misjudgments.  Autonomous? How can that be when rules and regulations have been set in written documentation?  As we personally care for one of the oldest surviving veterans of WWII, 98 years of age, frail, declining in health and in need of many vital life sustaining things, like heat, we are made all too aware of just how deeply internally deficient the agency is and has been functioning for years. In order to receive essentials promised in VA written promises, it becomes unimaginable what a helpless suffering Veteran is demanded to be put through. It's sickening after what their families go through to try and get them the help, tax payers have contributed to secure for them to be denied with lame excuses and anything they can do to delay and discourage help. They just want you to give up and resign from any efforts to get help. More on this in following months to come.

Shared August 2017 : So many in need of helping hearts sensitive to their suffering. We don't have to look far to find someone or a bunch of someone's who need assistance just trying to hold on to life. We've been documenting and looking deep into the plight of our Veterans. You know; those heroes and heroines who laid down their lives, went through, and some never returning from war. This week we're looking into a crushing matter among them known to us as suicide. Our service people who have served for us personally. With a major health crisis among our Veterans, a 2016 VA study reports 20 suicides each day by Veterans within the health care system for-fitting their lives. Researches documented the heartbreaking choice is 21 percent  higher for Veterans than civilians, with roughly 65 percent being those over age 50. From 2001 to 2014, as the civilian suicide rate rose about 23.3 percent, the rate of suicide among veterans jumped more than 32 percent. This unfortunate choice is notably troubling among female Veterans, whose suicide rates rose more than 85 percent in that period of time. Civilian female rate were 40 percent. Mental health providers and counseling is necessary and important, however, providing every day needs of our Veterans is perhaps and most likely a huge answer to this devastating problem. Sadly often  shelved and denied,  because of red tape, poor administration, wasted tax dollars and a host of other unmentionables our Veterans and their families are FORCED through unnecessary pressures to try to qualify for promised help. Stay tuned for some very simple solutions we will be sharing to solve and bring much better care to the system.

What are the Warning Signs?

• Loss of interest in things or activities that are usually found enjoyable
• Cutting back social interaction, self-care, and grooming
• Breaking medical regimens (such as going off diets, prescriptions)
• Experiencing or expecting a significant personal loss (spouse or other)
• Feeling hopeless and/or worthless
• Putting affairs in order, giving things away, or making changes in wills
• Stock-piling medication or obtaining other lethal means
• Other clues are a preoccupation with death or a lack of concern about personal safety. Remarks such as "This is the last time that you'll see me" or "I won't be needing anymore appointments" should raise concern.
• The most significant indicator is an expression of suicidal intent.

 Shared May, 2017: What a burden when you have a heart for the suffering. You suffer with them desiring so deeply to become a piece of the missing puzzle empowered to make changes. Please God...Help us! We need you! There are many ways you can pay for nursing home care. Most people who enter nursing homes begin by paying for their care out-of-pocket. As you use your resources (like bank accounts and stocks) over a period of time, you may eventually become eligible for Medicaid. Medicare generally doesn't cover long-term care stays (room and board) in a nursing home. Also, nursing home care isn't covered by many types of health insurance. However, don't drop your health care coverage (including Medicare) if you're in a nursing home. Even if it doesn't cover nursing home care, you'll need health coverage for hospital care, doctor services, and medical supplies while you're in the nursing home.There are several other ways you can pay for nursing home care: Personal resources can be another choice, if you have some. You can use your personal money and savings to pay for nursing home care. Hope you're really rich! Some insurance companies let you use your life insurance policy to pay for long-term care. You can ask your insurance agent how this works.They may or may not know.  If you qualify for Medicaid, you may be able to get help to pay for nursing home care costs. Not all nursing homes accept Medicaid payment and most likely you'll have to prove you have nothing left to work with. Check with  nursing homes to see if they accept people with Medicaid, and if it has a Medicaid bed available. You may be eligible for Medicaid coverage in a nursing home even if you haven't qualified for other Medicaid services in the past.Then again you'll probably get put on a  four to six year waiting list...or longer and you'll be forced through endless hours of red tape trying to prove how little you have and how much you don't have. Generally, that is to say most times, you won't be eligible for Medicaid until you've spent most all of your personal resources on medical care. You may be moved to another room in the Medicaid-certified section of the nursing home when your care is paid by Medicaid. Hum... not hard to guess what that's all about. An important thing to know about Medicaid; You may have to pay out-of-pocket for nursing home care each month. The nursing home will bill Medicaid for the rest of the amount. How much you owe depends on your income and deductions.

. Shared April, 2017: This is a hard one, however, I've worked inner-city ministry and heart wrenchingly have witnessed it first hand. The unseen homeless population of the elderly. It is reported more than 50% are over age 50. Somehow we picture the the homeless being a younger generation of runaways and cast outs. When most of us think of the unfortunate homeless we picture gangs, graffiti, drugs, and prostitutes.  These might have been the majority at one time  but now it's the elderly. Of course there are children and whole families out there too. Unimaginably heartbreaking. No matter their age, no one should have to suffer the evils the streets have to dole out. Let's talk about the elderly. Can we even begin to imagine how they got there? To be sure there are as many stories as individuals but fact is some of them do have family members who simply did not choose to keep them for one reason or another and dropped them off in the streets. Some were driven miles away from the place they knew as home, suffering memory issues, unable to remember their names or where they once lived or who placed them there. Wandering out into the crowd they were lost forever. It's easier for the street experienced to prey upon, the elderly, who are known as the unseen homeless, hiding  as secretively as they can, suffering and unable to withstand temperatures, fighting old age aliments and often more susceptible to diseases... they die at a much swifter rate. Ever wonder what happens to those unclaimed bodies? You know; the ones families put out of their homes, forgot about and refuse to acknowledge? You may not want to know. Much less ever become one of them.  

hared March, 2017: We've been doing our homework for quite some time and we'll be cluing you in to the information we've accumulated. There's quite a bit that's shocking and disturbing , however, we need to be aware! Question: How Many Seniors or handicapped Really End Up In Nursing Homes? NOT AS MANY AS YOU MIGHT THINK DUE TO THE FACT THAT THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH NURSING HOMES TO HOUSE THEM AND THEY ARE NOT AFFORDABLE. How many older people live in nursing homes in the United States? According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, only slightly over 5 percent of the 65 and over population occupy nursing homes, congregate care, assisted living, and board-and-care homes, and about 4.2 percent are in nursing homes at any given time. Admit it...you just assumed that's where the majority go when they age or have the need...didn't you? I think we all thought that at some point and it might have been nice to a point to ASSUME that if we ever needed one it would be available to us. The rate of nursing home use increases with age from 1.4 percent of the young-old to 24.5 percent of the oldest-old. Almost 50 percent of those 95 and older live in nursing homes. Linda Breytspraak, Center on Aging Studies, University of Missouri-Kansas City As the baby boom generation ages, and many are considering whether they will need to have long-term care insurance, one of the first questions asked is “what are the odds that I will end up in a nursing home? Insurance or not we need to face it Boomers and thereafter younger  youngins. It might and most assuredly will be more to face than you've given though to as yet. 

Shared February, 2017: According to a 2012 survey conducted by Met Life the costs of nursing home care are staggering! Indeed with a private room cost averaging $248 for a days stay, or  more than $90,000 annually and a semi private room weighing in at $222 daily or more than $81,000 per year, we can make no mistake in agreeing the costs of nursing home care are staggering!   Since Met Life's  report was released in February of 2013, now some years later, we know the sticker price has  increased.  It's devastating to consider, though most of our younger population has not given it even a brief moments thought, what might happen to us or our parents just a few short years from now. We're going to be commenting much more concerning this important note-worthy issue. We need to be on top of it, become educated and move to do something to help solve the problem. 

Shared JANUARY, 2017:  Another year well on it's way and it's very, very cold outside on many parts of our earth. It's hard to imagine in our warm snug little homes that there actually are people trying to survive outside without shelter or with very limited shelter, freezing, sick, hungry, hopeless and more.  This includes our elderly and children. No age group is less important; people are all important no matter the number of years, yet for the elderly and children there are even more challenges. Please pray and consider reaching out to a homeless  family or  just one individual you might be able to personally help. Perhaps you have an extra room, some food, warm clothing, or just a pair of socks to share. You can be a deciding factor that can make all the difference for someone out there, perhaps not only while they sojourn here, but eternally!

Shared NOVEMBER, 2016:  We're facing those winter months once again. For all too many this means all sorts of extra challenges. many of our  elderly who are alone and lonely will face troubles just trying to make ends meet, getting out and fighting depression. The homeless of course will face special challenges  just trying to get a warm meal, bed or simply to stay alive. People transitioning from prisons, half-way houses and escaping from violent relationships, oft times in their own homes, will be suffering at personal levels beyond description. Children and teens  in need of adoption, on the streets and even in their own homes   will suffer unspeakable abuses. All of the afore mentioned and more  may benefit from a simple act of kindness on your part. Please pray and seek those out who need YOU! We all have the opportunity to make the world a better place for someone.   

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN 2017?

It's amazing to comprehend that 2016 is coming to an end. As we face the onset of another year we need to examine the happenings of this passing year. How has our homeless situation, human trafficking, aid to our  heroic Veterans, elderly care, drug addiction, suicide and so on and so forth changed ? Allow me to report on just one of these issues, personal and close to home. Senator Chuck Grassley bravely revealed in August of 2016 that a whopping  $20 million has been spent on art by the VA administration since 2004; $16 million during the current Presidential terms, even as it was and still is cutting services to war veterans in desperate need. Let's take into consideration a 96 year old Veteran who served in Washington during World War II. Frail and in need of constant care her necessary full time  aid requirements have recently been cut from a mere 42 to only 28 hours weekly. Details of Toni's  health condition could be elaborated upon,  convincing anyone with the least stirring of compassion that she is in need of full time assistance; still her VA doctor , without personally seeing her I might add, went against the recommendations of her personal doctor for more care and greatly lessened her help.  Red tape and insensitivity to the plight of human suffering continues and grows at an alarming rate concerning our brave, self-sacrificing Veterans. Shamelessness covers institutions that were established to look after and care for our frail, suffering needy citizens. This disrespect needs to be addressed with leadership changes whose  conscience  will not allow them to determine the needs of those who gave so much to secure our freedoms to be a secondary and most of the time even less of a consideration than buying artwork and other less worthy expenditures. Psalm 11:3 asks us; "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?  Senator Grassley  wrote to Secretary Robert A. McDonald. The Us Department of Veterans Affairs  was created with the aim of caring for those who have served to protect the United States , by honoring their faithful service and providing health care for the injuries sustained in that service. The funds are given to the VA are intended to further this goal and ensure that our nations veterans are properly taken care of.Our veterans deserve the thanks of a grateful nation. Recent media reports have cast doubt on the VA's focus on our Veterans.Leaving hundreds of thousands of veterans on wait lists while spending so much money on artwork undermines the American  people's faith in the VA" ,he added. Hooray for all like the noble  Senator Grassley whose voices ring valiantly and true for our Veterans. In this and coming years we at Dr. and Mrs They pledge to do all within our power to bring change to what needs changed. 

Shared JUNE 21, 2015: Over the past four decades the inmate prison population of the United States has become the largest world-wide. Children who have lost one or both parents serving jail time has grown to nearly the three million mark. In addition, rising numbers of women are giving birth during their incarceration. Special challenges arise for both mother and child. Active family as well as our entire society bear the burden as well.  Statistics report for every 25 women incarcerated, one of them is already pregnant. Special programs for qualifying mothers in nine of our states offer nurseries and programs are helping to lower the recidivism rate. Yet, there are still have many issues to address. What happens to many of these women and their children after release? What about child of those with an extended sentence. All affected require far more attention and individual care. We need a greater support structure to prepare these women and their little lambs to enter back into the mainstream. We need aftercare for all including men coming out from behind bars. We don't want to turn anyone back out into the streets without what they will need to face life successfully. 

Shared MAY 18, 2015:  The battle for charitable funding within government agencies rages, as they continuously cut expenditures for the needy. The reality of persistent hunger that leads to disease and fills our emergency rooms escalates. Every year the numbers of individuals visiting emergency rooms and the cost of treating them grows while the provisions and opportunity for them to be treated dwindles. Multiple chronic health issues due to poor nutritional provision, as well as  lack of food, can be fingered as one of the root causes. Perhaps some of our government tax money would better serve to secure enough  good nutritional food for those who are in lack, resulting in a healthier society lessening visitations to emergency rooms.  

Shared APRIL 13, 2015: Some of us can identify with hunger listening to our tummy's squeal having had breakfast and it's already 2 in the afternoon demanding we detour to  the drive through to quiet the disturbance and fill that hunger void. Perhaps we've experienced a bit more than that having to wait through a busy days activities to feed our hunger but many have never had to wait an extra day or more to stay alive . The issue of hunger world-wide is of  large scale concern. In the United States, the Department of Agriculture determines 49 million people, including 16 million children are going without what is needed on a daily basis. One in seven households and one in six individuals  have struggles providing  or obtaining adequate food supplies to keep them from going to bed hungry. That's a lot of people going without proper needful nutrition and necessary survival elements for their health. Many of these precious souls are elderly. The counts do not include our millions that are on the streets facing hunger, uncertain where their next morsel of bread might be found.   

Shared MARCH, 30 2015: Happy Resurrection Week of the RISEN CHRIST to you ALL! Turkey, ham, roast, potatoes and all the rest of the trimmings will grace many of our tables this coming Sunday and we will enjoy the warmth of our homes, family and friends. We simply ask this week that we all might pray for those who are alone and or lonely. And if possible we will be filled with thoughtfulness towards them and move with compassionate hearts. Perhaps we can invite someone to share the Holiday with us or simply hand a meal to a hungry person. Let's be the demonstration of Christ's resurrected life by helping to raise another person's life circumstances. We've all been given something to share, even if it's only a prayer lifted heavenward for someone we know in need.   

Shared FEBRUARY  9, 2015: Nearly too heartbreaking to report yet we need to stay informed. It's a heart wrenching experience when a family member is nowhere to be found. When a child, young adult or any of our loved ones has gone missing the inner agony can be and usually is beyond expression. In the United States it is estimated anywhere between 1.6 and 2.8 million youth under the age of 18 runaway or are thrown out from their homes each year, comprising 39% of the homeless population. This is overwhelming. Very few at a young age are equipped to handle the well organized perils of seedy underworld crime designed to trap them. Too many easily become prey to evil lurking on every corner just waiting to victimize them. They find themselves caught up in unspeakable horrors in efforts to merely survive. It is reported that 32% of these young ones trying to make a go of it on the streets attempt suicide. There are an estimated 5,000 deaths annually of children under the age of 18, who make their homes in the streets, due to assaults and illnesses. We all have opportunity to become an extension of God's loving compassion upon those who are out of the way and to win their souls for the Kingdom of God. What is God calling you to do?

Shared JANUARY 26, 2015: An entire month has passed since the Christmas Holidays and it is sure that some of our Christmas spirit has also slipped away from us. I am here to remind you we still have homeless on the streets. Please, let's not forget about them as temperatures plunge deeper into the single digits and in many places below the zero mark. Human beings were never intended to brave these elements. Please pray as shelters are few, space is limited and many have limitations as to how long a person or families can be housed. Do you have an empty church pew, upon which Jesus might rest his head from a weary load? Please put the resources God has blessed you with to serious prayer.  

HOMELESS NEEDS

Shared DECEMBER 22, 2014: There are so many needs the homeless wandering our streets have that it's difficult to pinpoint which are most important. Of course among our main concerns are food and warm shelter with loving caring people sharing from their hearts. During this holiday season, as many families enjoy the securities of family and homes, we want to share a list of simple things some of us may have that we can bless those living on the streets. When you're constantly outside subject to the elements you need special considerations. Warm coats with hoods are great! Please think about spending a few dollars to weatherproof them if you are able. This can make a huge difference in protection from moisture. Throw in a rain poncho if you might have one to spare as extra protection is always welcome! One of the main requests in shelters is for clean dry socks. For a homeless person on their feet regularly keeping their feet healthy can be a great burden. Blankets are a huge benefit to someone sleeping on the streets. It also can carry meager belongings and be used in shelters where there frequent bedding shortages . Gloves, knit caps, toiletries, and a backpack to carry it all in can be a super blessing too. Do you happen to have a tent that is not being used? This can mean all the difference for some, including entire families with children that are out there. Flashlights, shoes, underwear, nail clippers and of course non-perishable food items that can be zip-locked into bags to keep them dry are always appreciated. Please pray and if you find you have any of the above or a heart to purchase some of these items, many churches as well as shelters are more than happy to get them to the needy.

OUR HOMELESS VETERANS

Shared November 10, 2014: It's difficult to imagine the horrors of war. Laying your life on the line, facing enemies, spending sleepless nights wondering how loved ones are faring without your love and support close at hand. These are only a fragment of the challenges these courageous ones face. The reality of losing your life or being disabled is ever present. These heroic servants know that what they are giving of themselves is valuable and necessary to try and secure their nation's freedom. Loneliness and longing to be with dear ones raise the question, "Has the trade been- and will it be -worth the sacrifices made?" Really only those who have served in combat can accurately imagine what the true cost of surrendering one's life to military service involves. Your life is no longer your own, but given over to directives and mandates of war that must be obeyed. Sadly, for many of our veterans, the payoff for their noble offerings given to protect our homeland, and each of us personally, takes a lifetime toll. Upon returning home the prices paid are accompanied by great personal losses, ranging from mental, physical, emotional and spiritual agonies beyond description, that leaves them outcasts from family and society. Now some are suffering in the trenches of a new war; homeless. Sleeping in alleys, on streets, park benches, in dumpsters or anywhere they might find temporary defense against the elements, it is estimated that about 13% of our homeless adult population are Veterans. The shame is ours as a nation. We have yet to show true gratitude for those who have cared so deeply for our welfare by laying their lives on the line. These precious souls deserve our deepest thanks with much more than token medals and verbal promises. 

HELP US HELP THEM! THERE ARE SOLUTIONS FOR OUR HURTING AND HOMELESS!

WHAT ABOUT THE TEN YEAR PLAN TO END HOMELESSNESS ?

Shared October 27, 2014: In 2002 a national campaign endorsed by federal officials was adopted in hundreds of cities throughout America, with billions of dollars spent on the project. Promising to eradicate homelessness within a ten year period, 2012 capped the sad failure to end the tragic human element of chronic homelessness. Looming larger than life and accompanied by the stench of death, the still growing numbers of the homeless expanded, covering our nation's landscape. All we need do is observe the vast numbers wandering the streets within urban as well as suburban neighborhoods to realize the plan's intentions no longer carry life-giving breath.

In 2010 and even before findings could be fully tallied the project eliminating homelessness and the extremes of poverty failing miserably, a tactical maneuver was decided upon. The federal government would continue the program by changing its name for another 5 years, with a new end date of 2015. The date has now been extended to 2017. In earnest we must examine the current bill of goods being offered to us. A light has been shined on its ineffectiveness, its cost, and the government's poor choice to extend it to avoid admitting the abysmal failure of the plan. We need to learn from the past and plan for the future wisely by replacing old stale thinking and repeated patterns of collapsing breakdowns with new innovative arrangements.

If you'd  be interested in helping or would like to know more about viable solutions to this heartache find us on our Contact page.

COLDER MONTHS SOON AHEAD

Shared October 6, 2014: Here in the Thumb area of Michigan we have experienced abnormal chilly temperatures this past Summer of 2014. More frigid weather promises to settle over most of our nation. For us with concerns for those without shelter this sends even deeper chills through our souls. There are multitudes of at risk individuals living on the streets in impoverished hopelessness facing a brutal life. This not only includes men but women and children. It's a harsh reality we must all put to serious thought with sincere attention to what we are being called to do by God to ease their suffering. Though the bitterness of homelessness presents a huge demand and the obstacles are numerous, the issues that threaten so many can be worked out if we follow God's plans and His ways and take the individual places assigned to us by Him. Sincere prayer and seeking God's will, not our own, empowers us to win this war, in the righteous ways of our Lord, for all the right reasons. God's Active Word Ministries has invested years in research and development through seeking God's heart in much prayer and practical analysis to establish His plans. If you desire to be used of God for His purposes concerning those in need and are interested in hearing more, please contact us through this website.

 OUR ELDERLY HOMELESS

Shared September 8, 2014: Imagine what it might be like for us to be facing our declining years and homelessness at the same time. Often times our elderly population are forgotten as those who are silently moving among our homeless. We assume there is an automatic system firmly in place to care for them and all the issues they face. Sadly this is not the case. Our aging population trying to exist without homes continues to increase among those seeking shelter from the harsh blows of life. The loss of a mate, inability to care for themselves and other somber circumstances has put a number of our older citizens, many with serious special needs at huge risk. Unfortunately some are not able to meet government mandates and fall between the cracks. These precious ones perish on our streets more quickly, unable to cope than other age groups. That's right: they die homeless and alone. 

It is reported without a roof over their heads, the vulnerable aging passing on in the highways and byways is growing at such rapid rates that our officials do not want the vast numbers reported. This dilemma appears to be expertly ignored and well hidden. 

Poverty, declining health, loss of a mate and income, lack of availability of affordable housing and many other factors contribute to the pain of facing life without a roof over their heads for many persons including those who are maturing.

We will be sharing more about this area of homelessness and solutions to the problem. This week we simply ask you to think of and pray for them. Now take a moment before God to imagine, if you can, that you might be forced to spend your last days wandering the streets without the security of a home or aid of loving hearts to help you in time of need.

New Jersey's Tent City For Homeless Encampment Closed

Shared August 24, 2014: In July 2014 the homeless encampment providing shadow dwellings near the Jersey shore that came to be known as Tent City and shined an uncomfortable spotlight on homelessness in the suburbs was declared closed after the last of its 120 occupants was placed in temporary housing.
The camp had it's beginnings in 2003 and it is not clear how many residents actually lived within the modest makeshift dwellings throughout the years.
A quote from the Rev. Steve Brigham, an advocate who lived at the camp, stated; "Without a doubt, we brought awareness to the fact that there's homelessness in the suburbs, and a great need for a shelter, and for affordable housing — smaller houses on smaller pieces of land that people can afford on a low-wage job," Brigham said. "There still is no shelter in Ocean County; this is a Band-Aid. It's better than getting kicked to the curb with nothing, but it's still a Band-Aid."
With a heart of sadness we share that it has been reported the solutions for the last of the 120 camp's residents has been to provide apartments for at least 10 months and motels for another two. As part of a court-sanctioned agreement between the former residents and town officials it seems another mere momentary, make-do, quick fix had been decided upon.
Sure to reach well into one million dollars, this expense prolongs issues we must face and will at some point, only to return many to the streets to search for shelter once again. There are better, permanent and far more viable solutions to these problems. We are beginning the first phases of God's heart for the homeless and hurting which promise to take this dilemma to a new level of hope and expectancy for quality change.

PLEASE STAY WITH US AS WE REVEAL PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS AND SHARE GOD'S VISION TO CHANGE OUR WORLD.

                                                                                     For additional  facts please pop on over to our Purpose page