Good morning everyone. The thread about Beggars Off Highway Exits made me want to share my experiences with the homeless in Indianapolis. There are good points there about not giving out money, but my experiences are different so I didn't want to thread-jack.
A couple of us at my church have just started up a ministry to help the homeless in Indianapolis. We put together sack lunches and pass those out along with socks and underwear. We also give out blankets, coats, and hats when we have them. We never give out cash.
We go to a couple of different locations, but they aren't off ramps. There are a number of homeless camps in the downtown area. The areas that we hit are mostly along the river. There are dozens of homeless living in camps just a couple of hundred yards from Lucas Oil, Victory Field, and the Zoo. There's another camp basically across the street from Eli Lilly. Most people would never know that these camps existed. I sure didn't until I started helping to start this ministry.
In just the few weeks that we've started this ministry, I've never seen anyone who has disrespectful, or who tried to shove and push in line to get something. My experience has been that everyone is very polite and grateful when we come to help them. There are some homeless camps around that are a rougher. Luckily one of the men helping with this ministry has worked with the homeless in Indianapolis for several years and knows what areas of town to avoid.
Most of the homeless have tents. A while ago a group came through with a bunch of donated tents. Others have more established shelters that they have built from skids and scrap wood. These are the people that have been homeless for a while and have adapted to their situation. At one homeless camp where another church group provides a meal every Sunday, it is very neat, organized, and they have their own elected mayor who keeps it that way. Then we have the people who are homeless for the first time. Many times these recently homeless will be taken in by a group of long term homeless, but there are plenty of times when that doesn't happen. These recently homeless are often ill prepared for the condition that they find themselves in, having very little in the way of warm clothes for the winter.
Sometimes we know why these people are homeless. There are drug addicts who have lost their jobs. My friend who has worked with the homeless in Indianapolis for eight years tells me stories about a police officer who got addicted to crack and ended up on the street. He has a similar story about a nurse. These are people with good paying jobs who have allowed their lives to be destroyed by drugs. Then there are others who we don't know why they are homeless. In a way it doesn't really matter to us why a person if homeless. Without opening up the can of worms that is religion, I'll just say that we are there to help people. If we hear about odd jobs or seasonal work, we pass that along. Most of the time though we are just there with some food, some clothes, and a kind heart.
If anyone wants to really help the homeless, send me a PM. If you live within a half hour drive of Pendleton and have any blankets, coats, or hats that you don't need, let me know and I'll come to your place and pick them up. Once we get the ministry more established, if you want to go visit the camps on a Sunday let me know and I'll see if I can make that happen.
A couple of us at my church have just started up a ministry to help the homeless in Indianapolis. We put together sack lunches and pass those out along with socks and underwear. We also give out blankets, coats, and hats when we have them. We never give out cash.
We go to a couple of different locations, but they aren't off ramps. There are a number of homeless camps in the downtown area. The areas that we hit are mostly along the river. There are dozens of homeless living in camps just a couple of hundred yards from Lucas Oil, Victory Field, and the Zoo. There's another camp basically across the street from Eli Lilly. Most people would never know that these camps existed. I sure didn't until I started helping to start this ministry.
In just the few weeks that we've started this ministry, I've never seen anyone who has disrespectful, or who tried to shove and push in line to get something. My experience has been that everyone is very polite and grateful when we come to help them. There are some homeless camps around that are a rougher. Luckily one of the men helping with this ministry has worked with the homeless in Indianapolis for several years and knows what areas of town to avoid.
Most of the homeless have tents. A while ago a group came through with a bunch of donated tents. Others have more established shelters that they have built from skids and scrap wood. These are the people that have been homeless for a while and have adapted to their situation. At one homeless camp where another church group provides a meal every Sunday, it is very neat, organized, and they have their own elected mayor who keeps it that way. Then we have the people who are homeless for the first time. Many times these recently homeless will be taken in by a group of long term homeless, but there are plenty of times when that doesn't happen. These recently homeless are often ill prepared for the condition that they find themselves in, having very little in the way of warm clothes for the winter.
Sometimes we know why these people are homeless. There are drug addicts who have lost their jobs. My friend who has worked with the homeless in Indianapolis for eight years tells me stories about a police officer who got addicted to crack and ended up on the street. He has a similar story about a nurse. These are people with good paying jobs who have allowed their lives to be destroyed by drugs. Then there are others who we don't know why they are homeless. In a way it doesn't really matter to us why a person if homeless. Without opening up the can of worms that is religion, I'll just say that we are there to help people. If we hear about odd jobs or seasonal work, we pass that along. Most of the time though we are just there with some food, some clothes, and a kind heart.
If anyone wants to really help the homeless, send me a PM. If you live within a half hour drive of Pendleton and have any blankets, coats, or hats that you don't need, let me know and I'll come to your place and pick them up. Once we get the ministry more established, if you want to go visit the camps on a Sunday let me know and I'll see if I can make that happen.
