One of the questions I get a lot when I do workshops or trainings around the topic of homelessness is, "How do I explain homelessness to my kids?" Usually this question comes from parents who live and work in areas where homelessness is self-evident. Occasionally it comes from parents who are planning a family trip into the city and they want to get out ahead of the inevitable questions that will come up as they walk from point A to point B.
The truth is that kids intrinsically know what a lot of us older, seasoned, experienced adults do not: homelessness is wrong and we should do something about it!
The fact that a fellow human being sleeps outside or doesn't have money for food, clothing, and other basic necessities is not how the world should be. As a Christian, I believe that God created the world “good” (Genesis 1). I also believe that the injustice I see all around me is not what God had in mind when the cosmos were spoken into existence.
Kids naturally understand when something isn't right and they want to know what we are going to do about it.
At the same time, as parents we often fear the unknown, especially when it involves our children, and that guy sitting on the sidewalk with a cardboard sign is an unknown. We don’t know why he is there, what situations in life brought him to that point, and we hesitate to expose our kids to things that they aren’t emotionally ready, or mentally equipped, to process.
But sometimes, as parents, we need to worry less and listen more.
As many of you know, I spent the majority of my childhood in Yaounde, Cameroon. While there, one of my very best friends was a blonde haired kid named Erik. He and I were forced together by circumstances beyond our control and we quickly connected on the soccer field and the basketball court. Fast forward twenty-one years or so, he and I are still in touch. He and his wife, Sarah, support my work at New York City Relief and have even visited one of our outreaches in Manhattan when they were in town for a couple of days.
Erik reached out to me last week because he wanted to know what our policy was on kids volunteering with New York City Relief. I told him that we can’t officially bring someone to one of our outreaches who is younger than 12. He replied, “I thought I’d ask. My daughter has an obvious heart for the homeless. She’s 6. I figure this is too young for anything but it’s pretty incredible. She spots them everywhere and asks how she can help them. She prayed the other night that God would make a way for her to give them all houses and food.”
I replied to Erik by telling him he is describing a future Outreach Leader at New York City Relief! I also told him that I know kids who have put together packages of travel-size hygiene supplies like deodorant, soap, tooth paste, tooth brushes, and new socks to have ready to go in case they happen to meet someone experiencing homelessness.
Later that same day, Erik texted me again. “Bro, she didn’t waste any time! Told me we HAD to get some stuff for what she’s calling, ‘kindness kits.’”
And then just a few days later, Erik wrote:
“Juliet gave away her first ‘kindness kit’ today. She made Sarah turn around and go all the way back to give it to him. He was so grateful and she was thrilled! One thing that impacted her when she gave it to him was that he said, ‘Thank you for talking to me.’ She asked us what he meant by that (later to us). So we explained that many people just walk by and ignore them.”
She said, “That’s so sad. Don’t people know they’re people too?”
I don’t know about you, but Juliet is someone I want to follow. She clearly understands the issue of homelessness better than most adults I know. She sees injustice and inequality and is responding appropriately. Of course we want our kids to be safe! But we should never allow our fear of the unknown to get in the way of our kids’ resolve to make this world a little more like God intended.
Maybe instead of trying to explain homelessness to our kids, our kids should explain homelessness to us.
