Herearesomethingsyoucandotohelppeoplewhoarehomeless.1.Becomefamiliarwithcommunityprogramsinyourareathatprovidehelp.Whensomeoneasksforhelp,youcandirectthatpersontoaprogramthatwillprovidethehelptheyneed.2.Donotassumethathomelesspersonsarealike.Thereareanumberofcircumstancesthatcauseapersontobecomehomeless.Theshabbypersononthestreetmaybethestereotype,butthehomelesspersonmaybeawomanfleeingadomesticviolencesituationwithherchildren,someonewhoisworkingbutunabletomakeenoughtopaytherent,orsomeonelivingoutofacar.3.Talktothepersonwithrespect.Homelesspeoplefaceisolationandscorn.Itmeansalotwhensomeoneaddressestheminacivil,politeway.4.Sharethelove.Encouragethepersonwithlovingwordsandactions.Youmaybeamazedatthatperson'sfaithinlightofhisorhercircumstances.5.Prayforthem.Ihavebeenamazedathowmuchhomelesspersonsappreciatesomeonetakingthetimetolistentotheirconcernsandpraywiththem.6.Considercarefullybeforegivingcash.Itisofteneasiertogivecashtoahomelesspersonthantotakethetimetohelpwiththeperson'sactualneeds.Ifsomeonesaysheneedsmoneyforfood,itisbettertobuyfoodthantogivecash.Cashmaypresentatemptationtopurchasedrugsoralcohol,oritmayevenmaketherecipientavictimofcrime.7.Takeprecautionsforyourownsafety.Whilemosthomelesspersonsarenotdangerous,therearesomewhomaypresentathreattoyou.Youcanletthepersonknowinacourteousmannerthatyouaretakingprecautionsbecauseyoudon'tknowhimandthatyouexpecthimtorespectyourboundaries.8.Supportpoliciesthathelppoorandhomelesspersons.Manypersonscannotaffordhousingbecausethecostofrentisbeyondtheirincomelevel.Oftenorganizationswhotrytohelpspecialpopulationsrunintooppositionfromcommunitygroupswhosay,"Notinmybackyard!"Youcanadvocateformoreaffordablehousingforlow-incomeworkersandforfacilitiesinyourcommunitythathelppersonswhoneedhousingandassistancebecauseofdomesticviolence,mentalillness,andaddiction.动力所在刚到伦敦读大学时,从萨塞克斯的一个小镇来到大城市的转变确实让我很翟惊.你会看见很多露宿者,却根本不知道要怎样做.你会跟他们聊天,无视他们,走开还是给他们钱?说实话,我对露宿者一无所知,还觉得他们挺吓人的.你听过这些故事—他们是酒鬼,因吸毒而神智恍惚,或者是小偷什么的.我的一个朋友参加了一个帮助露宿者的计划,所以我决定找一个星期跟着去.每个周日晚上,一群学生会在学生大厅里做三明治,然后开车到霍尔本区派发.起初我以为我们只需要去到那里,派完食物就离开.但实际上我们在那里待了差不多一个小时,跟他们聊天,聆听他们的故事.我认识到露宿者也是有血有肉的人,他们有着非凡的经历.有时候,他们露宿街头的原因简直让人难以置信;当然也有好故事.有这么一个男人总是说自己是一名街道清扫工,住房救济名单上有他的名字.我以为他只是说说而已,但是有一个星期他回来说:“我只是顺道过来说再见,我找到落脚点了.”他记得我们,还回来告诉我们这个消息,这实在是太棒了.每当发生这样的好事,我都会感到很满足.进一步投入在那里帮忙了一年后,他们问我想不想进一步参与其中,于是现在所有事情都由我组织