The Barbados Alliance to End Homelessness is a charitable organization registered as Charity No. 794 under the Barbados Charities Act, CAP 243, on October 19, 2009.
The Barbados Alliance to End Homelessness is a charitable organization registered as Charity No. 794 under the Barbados Charities Act, CAP 243, on October 19, 2009.
Help dispel the stereotypes about the homeless. Learn about the different reasons for homelessness, and remember, every situation is unique.
A homeless person may be someone who lost their job, a runaway child, or someone with a mental illness. One of the first steps in helping people is to see them as individuals and to find out what they need. Notice them; talk to them. Most are starved for attention.
Give the homeless people the same courtesy and respect you would accord your friends, your family, your employer. Treat them as you would wish to be treated if you needed assistance.
We can make quite a difference in the lives of the homeless when we respond to them, rather than ignore or dismiss them. Try a kind word and a smile.
Carry a card that lists local shelters so you can hand them out to the homeless. You can find shelters in your phone book.
It’s as simple as taking a few extra sandwiches when you go out. When you pass someone who asks for change, offer him or her something to eat. If you take a lunch, pack a little extra. When you eat at a restaurant, order something to take with you when you leave.
One of the most direct ways to aid the homeless is to give money. Donations to non-profit organizations that serve the homeless go a long way.
In localities where there is a “bottle law,” collecting recyclable cans and bottles is often the only “job” available to the homeless. But it is an honest job that requires initiative. You can help by saving your recyclable bottles, cans, and newspapers and giving them to the homeless instead of taking them to a recycling center or leaving them out for collection. If you live in a larger community, you may wish to leave your recyclables outside for the homeless to pick up — or give a bagful of cans to a homeless person in your neighbourhood.
Next time you do your spring or fall cleaning, keep an eye out for those clothes that you no longer wear. If these items are in good shape, gather them together and donate them to organizations that provide assistance to the homeless.
Load up a bag full of non-perishable groceries, and donate it to a organizations food drive that provide assistance to the homeless. If your community doesn’t have a food drive, organize one. Contact your local organizations, shelters, and homeless society and ask what kind of food donations they would like.
Children living in shelters and dilapidated conditions have few possessions –if any– including toys. Homeless parents have more urgent demands on what little money they have, such as food and clothing. So often these children have nothing to play with and little to occupy their time. You can donate toys, books, and games to family shelters to distribute. For Christmas, ask your friends and co-workers to buy and wrap gifts for homeless children.
Shelters thrive on the work of volunteers, from those who sign people in, to those who serve meals, to others who counsel the homeless on where to get social services. For the homeless, a shelter can be as little as a place to sleep out of the rain or as much as a step forward to self-sufficiency.
Soup kitchens provide one of the basics of life, nourishing meals for the homeless and other disadvantaged members of the community. Volunteers generally do much of the work, including picking up donations of food, preparing meals, serving it, and cleaning up afterward. To volunteer your services, contact you local soup kitchen, mobile food program, shelter, or religious center.
No matter what you do for a living, you can help the homeless with your on-the-job talents and skills. Those with clerical skills can train those with little skills. Doctors, psychiatrists, counselors, and dentists can treat the homeless in clinics. Lawyers can help with legal concerns. The homeless’ needs are bountiful — your time and talent won’t be wasted.
Every one of us has something we can give the homeless. Wherever our interests may lie — cooking, repairing, gardening, and photography — we can use them for the homeless. Through our hobbies, we can teach them useful skills, introduce them to new avocations and perhaps point them in a new direction.
Some homeless people, particularly those who have been on the street for a while, may need help with fundamental tasks such as paying bills, balancing a household budget, or cleaning. Follow-up programs to give the formerly homeless further advice, counselling, and other services need volunteers.
The Mission of the BAEH is “to re-integrate vagrants and homeless persons into mainstream Barbadian society by providing a holistic rehabilitative programS that would enable them to develop into healthy productive citizens.”
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©2024 – The Barbados Alliance to End Homelessness.