Homeless bags?

[rcsmom]

I occasionally see homeless people while out shopping or running errands. Not often really- we live in a small rural area but I always try to stop and give them some water and maybe food if I have it and a couple bucks. I was thinking of making up a couple of ziploc gallon baggies of stuff I could give out. I was thinking of putting in a couple bottles of water, some food (pb crackers?), a list of shelters in the area, maybe a small New Testement? Do those sound good? What else could I add?

[SalH]

If you put homeless care package in on Pinterest, there are lots of pins on this subject. I wasn't sure if it was ok to link to one. If you aren't on Pinterest I imagine most of the results would come up in Google. Great idea.


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[mamacat]

I think socks/underwear and travel size toiletries,including baby wipes, are always a much needed item.Fruit cups and applesauce cups,granola bars,juice box,little cans of V8 juice.There is a ministry called Jax Beach Brothers Keeper that does that on a larger scale if you do FB and want to check them out they have pics of the bags. Of course there is my dds story. She bought takeout lunch one day and saw a guy outside and asked if he would like some lunch and he said he had already had lunch but that the homeless guy over there might appreciate it.

[Aerynne]

hand sanitizer, antibacterial wipes, toothbrush and toothpaste, gum or mints, hard candies, maybe a pair of knit gloves and knit hat and hand warmers in the winter.

[WaitPatientlyOnTheLord]

In my packages I do crackers, individually wrapped peanut butter. Tuna salad in those shelf stable foil wrappers (even though I'm vegan. ) a fruit and veggie blend juice. A small chocolate. Bottle of water, a couple tea bags. Oh, and granola bar.


I want to add a prepaid public bus ticket, but I haven't figured out how yet.


I've *heard* many homeless people are offended be being given hygiene items. So I avoid that in my bags. But it's one of those things where each person is different and you should add in whatever the spirit leads you to include.

[CJNeeley]

Originally Posted by WaitPatientlyOnTheLord

But it's one of those things where each person is different and you should add in whatever the spirit leads you to include.

This I would agree with. Once when we were making some the kids insisted on making some drawings, bookmarks, and string bracelets and I let them add them (i honestly felt like paper art was probably the most impractical thing possible, but bit my tongue)... it was a HUGE hit! Everyone seemed to talk about the artwork and crafts in some way... some people cried and said it was their favorite part; some had bigger gushing reactions to the stuff than the grandparents do when they get projects. One time we saw a man in another part of town weeks later and he had one of Peanut's drawings folded up (granted it was stained and well worn around the edges) in his pocket... when he took it out to show us my baby danced with him on the sidewalk out of excitement and the man was beaming, the other kids were in awe he a) still had it and b) carried it around in his pocket. My daughter also saw someone wearing a bracelet she made (not the person she gave it to but a different homeless person) and was excited that "he turned it into a friendship bracelet by sharing it with someone else!" Since then we've let them put in whatever no matter how odd we find it. From coupons, to artsy craftsy stuff, to 'special' stones they dug up on vacation paired up with written explanation of what the stones were/where they came from/why the child thought they were special and suchness, to like you prizes they won somewhere. I guess they are at least good for conversation if nothing else... but I suspect the biggest piece of the appeal of those items are the obvious love the child put into it carrying over.

Today at the farmer's market there was a woman selling copies of "The Bridge" (a small local newspaper sold by homeless/formerly homeless people here for income), we usually buy them downtown and might have a copy of the one she was carrying but we paid her for two and took one and the twins shared some blueberries with her from the bag they were noshing on as we wandered (as in the kids ate a pint of blueberries as we shopped in maybe a dozen booths ) which she was impressed with since she's seen how much they we enjoying them. We saw her again on our way out and the kids rather randomly talked to her about butterflies (which made her tear up because she told them it was cool they did that because butterflies are really special to her because they symbolize new beginnings and this is a new beginning of her own she is trying to work on) and a butterfly came and landed on the shoulder of the middle boy and flew to the shoulder of the middle girl (and the woman's tears finally came and choked her up). Judging by her smile and the hugs/high fives, I think the kids' interactions meant *way* more to her at that moment than the money did. I suppose that sometimes a weird, sweet kid (or 6) pestering you or gifting you odd unsolicited items is just what you need right when you need it.

So I would say if you feel like you should put something in your bags don't fret the logic or practicality of it... the Spirit guides us even when we don't understand. From a practical standpoint, I suppose socks are often useful (winter can layer them for warmth, summer can change/rotate them so the sweat dries out--per a man Cricket struck up conversation with outside the library) and I didn't notice a mention of them above... but I see nothing wrong with your ideas. We try to keep a stash of some shelf stable snacks and water bottles in the car, sometimes they get used by the kids (if we are out shopping too long or to avoid the vending machine at soccer practice) and other times they get passed to homeless people we come across around town, but we figure the additional rotation helps keep the items fresh and worth eating. But a lot of it is fairly spontaneous for us... mostly because I am not an adept planner.

[Leslie]

Originally Posted by CJNeeley

From a practical standpoint, I suppose socks are often useful (winter can layer them for warmth, summer can change/rotate them so the sweat dries out--

I read somewhere that socks are a commodity that's hard to come by. I suppose that's one of those things that people throw away rather than passing on to Goodwill.

[RiverRock]

I have a friend who has a street ministry and he recommends chewy or soft granola bars because many of the people he serves are missing teeth and the crunchy bars are hard to chew. This might be a consideration when choosing crackers, too. Buttery crackers would be easier to bite than rice crackers, for example.

[CJNeeley]

Originally Posted by RiverRock

I have a friend who has a street ministry and he recommends chewy or soft granola bars because many of the people he serves are missing teeth and the crunchy bars are hard to chew. This might be a consideration when choosing crackers, too. Buttery crackers would be easier to bite than rice crackers, for example.

Very useful info, definitely something we'll consider in the future.

[Reva]

Such great ideas on this thread! I love it.

[mamacat]

I would encourage all to check out the Jax Brothers Keeper site on FB.He had some wonderful footge yesterday of Him with his young son doing a breakfast feeding patrol on Fathers day morning

[tessiemae]

What a great project!

We did something a bit like this with some other homeschooling families. Here, in Colorado, many people who are homeless cannot stay in the shelters as they are also substance abusers. So, I ended up revising out baggie kits to give information about who to call to get picked up in the case where someone with use/addiction was ready for help.

A few people ended up giving us feedback on the kits as they joined a program where they sleep in our church. The toothbrushes/toothpaste were super appreciated.

I'd encourage anyone to do as the Spirit moves them. I have noticed that in the 15 years that we've helped out at the mission in town and in the 3 years that families have slept in our church, most people don't seem receptive to spirituality, to Jesus, but they are generally tolerant of a blessing before a meal together. This has surprised me, but it doesn't daunt me. Maybe others have had a very different experience? I'd love to hear about it.

peace,
tessiemae

[deena]

As others have said, socks. Cuz you can't do laundry very often and you can often get pants and shirts from places but never socks and underware and they get gross after a few days so you throw them out.

Bottled water is nice.

[mamacat]

Oh Tessiemae I wish our state had that kind of help available

[Barefoot]

I'd include little packets of wet wipes, feminine hygiene products for ladies, a disposable razor, toothbrush and toothpaste, and those little flossy things that have a pick on the end, individual sachets of washing powder and some coins for a laundry, woollen socks, first aid kit, including band aids for blisters and paracetamol, dried fruit and nuts, shelf stable cheese, a tin of tuna that has a ring pull opening, a fruit cup, and some plastic cutlery.
I'd put each item in a ziplock bag, so food didn't get contaminated by soapy products.