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Emma Neufeld

Tamera Davis

Composition II

04 February 2024

The Homeless are Our Neighbors Too

Author Ron Hall once said, “The biggest misconception about the homeless is that they

got themselves in the mess — let them get themselves out. Many people think they are simply

lazy. I urge those to make a friend at a local mission and find out how wrong these assumptions

are.” Homelessness is a problem in many communities, and I have recently noticed what seems

to be a growing homeless population within my own community. This past year, I have

encountered more individuals asking for money on street corners, some of whom have indicated

they are homeless. This made me think about the variety of homeless individuals, as well as the

circumstances surrounding their current homelessness. Regardless of how they ended up in their

current situation, they are human beings who need help. I also recently came upon a local group

that has begun organizing efforts to meet some of the needs of the local homeless population.

These recent encounters made me begin to think about how I might be able to help and what

actions I can take to make a difference in the life of a person in need. By becoming an active

member of my community in both mind and physical actions, I can find concrete ways to help

individuals who are homeless in my area by donating my time or resources to the individuals

themselves or by contributing to groups already formed that are organizing efforts to help the

local homeless population.

A specific vulnerable person in my local community whom I have taken notice of

recently is an older homeless man who sometimes stands near a local coffee shop and grocery
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store. He stands there with a sign at times asking for assistance. He is vulnerable because he does

not have a stable home or stable income to meet his needs. He appears somewhat frail and not in

the best of health. He needs protection in the form of shelter from inclement weather, which has

been an issue recently with the cold weather we have experienced this winter. He needs support

in the form of money, food, and essential items. There are many others similar to this man in my

local community, so I started thinking, how can I help? I feel somewhat powerless since I do not

have great financial resources currently as a young college student, but I do have a home and all

my basic needs met. As I started thinking about the needs of the homeless in my community,

opportunities started to present themselves.

After reading the article, “On Being Neighborly”, I realized that I can start by changing

the way I think about my community. Finding ways to help members of my community,

including the homeless, begins with my mindset toward my community. Marcus Brotherton

points out that if individuals start to think of themselves as integral parts of a community who

actually influence their environment, then they will realize that they can make their community

better (Brotherton). Being a good member of a community also means treating others how I

want to be treated. Creating a good community means being a good member of the community,

being mindful of one’s own actions, and realizing how those actions affect others within the

community (Brotherton). These are all concepts I can use to think about my actions every day

within my community to take small, yet meaningful steps to be a good “neighbor”.

I recently noticed a group of individuals that has formed in my local community who

reach out to homeless individuals in the community and try to meet their needs. They started out

by taking meals to a local park to feed homeless individuals. Later, a local church joined their

effort, so they meet weekly at that church to provide a meal and other items that homeless
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individuals may need such as toiletries and clothing. Before a recent extreme cold weather event,

the group came together to try to secure hotel rooms for as many homeless individuals as

possible. They mentioned that they were trying to find shelter for thirty homeless individuals in

the community. This made me think about the man I had seen in a certain area of town near local

restaurants and a grocery store.

Some concrete and immediate ways I can help the homeless man I observed near the

coffee shop is to give money to him when I have some extra or give him food. Other ways that I

can help the local homeless population is to join in the efforts of the local community group that

has already formed, attend one of their weekly meetings to find out how to help, donate money,

food, clothing or toiletry items to the group to distribute to the homeless and those in need, or

help cook or serve a meal to the homeless. I can also be on the lookout for vulnerable individuals

I see around town and let someone such as the group that has already organized know about

these individuals. The group has safe ways of reaching out to homeless people and making in

person contact with them to find out what their needs are. If I am brave enough to go to one of

the times when they serve meals to the homeless, I might actually meet and talk to homeless

individuals to hear their personal stories. If I learn the stories of some of the homeless

individuals, I can better understand how they ended up in the situation they are in and have more

compassion for them. I can think about what it would be like to be in their situation and how

quickly life and circumstances can change for anyone.

As homelessness appears to be a growing issue within my community, I realize that I

need to educate myself about community issues and change my mindset to remember that I am

an important part of my community who can make a difference by being a good neighbor. As

author Ron Hall pointed out, I should take time to get to know homeless individuals to
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understand how they ended up homeless and what their needs are. Then, I can take concrete steps

to help their lives by donating my time and resources. By becoming an active member of my

community, joining in the efforts of the local group that provides aid to the homeless, and

listening to and having compassion for vulnerable individuals, I can help to make my community

a better place to live.

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Annotated Bibliography

Brotherton, Marcus. “On Being Neighborly.” The Art of Manliness, 30 May 2021,

www.artofmanliness.com/people/relationships/on-being-neighborly/.

The author of this article, Marcus Brotherton, is an ordained minister and New

York Times best-selling author, as well as a former newspaper reporter. The Art of

Manliness was founded by Brett McKay in 2008, and is now run with his wife,

Kate McKay. They run The Art of Manliness independently and do not appear to

be funded. The Art of Manliness began as a blog and now includes other resources

such as weekly podcasts and articles covering a wide range of topics while

seeking to help men grow, become better individuals, and reach their full

potential. In this article, Brotherton cites the book that he edited, The Art of

Neighboring: Building Genuine Relationships Right Outside Your Door, by Jay

Pathak and Dave Runyon which outlines the results of the initiatives that different

groups implemented in a variety of cities addressing ways they could better serve

their communities. The conclusion he draws from this book and the results of the

initiatives support the arguments I have presented in this essay that being aware of

how my actions affect my community and taking concrete measures can improve

the livability of my town.