Why is it important to donate to the homeless?

Have you ever wondered how the homeless live? Why did they end up on the streets? Do they have dreams, goals, ideals? How do they survive? Most of the homeless live on the streets or in makeshift shelters and have done so for many years. Some have been abandoned by relatives, others have run away or lost the homes they once had. There are also many around the world who have been left without shelter since early childhood, and others who have ended up in the field after leaving a reception centre.

The team of the Pavel Andreev Foundation talks about them in this chapter: how we can help them and why it is important to donate to the homeless.

Content:

1. Who are homeless people?;
2. How can we help homeless people?

1.Who are homeless people?

There are many homeless people, and among them are those who lost their homes when they were adults. The reasons can be many and varied - as a result of family problems, divorce or other circumstances (job loss, eviction, health problems). For most people living on the streets, life has forced them to adjust to miserable living conditions and, as a consequence, to lose perspective in their lives. These loners are often assumed to be on the 'fringes of society'.

They are chased off public transport, insulted or abused, misunderstood and unappreciated by anyone. They are unheard. They are invisible. We pass them on the street, in underpasses or tunnels, sometimes huddled next to city garbage cans.

Sometimes we just machine-give them a few coins and go on our way. Rarely, but sometimes, we buy something we need from a store - food, personal hygiene products, leave it in front of them and move on.

Rarely do we think about how homeless women live, how they wash, what they eat or what they do when they are menstruating. We avoid thinking about these things because we find it hard to put ourselves in such a place. We don't even imagine that we could be in their shoes.

If we do decide to listen to their stories we will learn a lot. For example, that they are human like the rest of us. They owned houses, had jobs and social lives. And yet something happened - a divorce, a death, a paperwork problem, a job loss, or some other mishap that led to that ending. So these people got caught up in a vortex that took them down and they ended up on the street, and from there to be able to get out is difficult, almost impossible.

Among the homeless people there are not a few who come from centres for socially disadvantaged and vulnerable groups. Coming out of such they have nowhere to go again and stay on the streets. No one chooses to live alone on the streets.

For more ideas read:

• How to help a homeless person in need?
• How to quickly raise money for a homeless person in need?

We at the Pavel Andreev Foundation believe that one of the driving forces for the development of society is nobility. It is that old kindness that is inherent in all of us, but which we rarely allow ourselves to express. If we do not have the opportunity for more, we can simply treat a homeless person with mercy.

Let us never stop being compassionate towards other people and remember that the homeless are human beings too, capable of giving thanks, of loving and of being grateful. Some of them, have families, but they are ashamed of being vilified and so they stay away. Some of them still want a home, a job or a normal life, but there are not a few who have lost hope and have no expectations for their future and have given up.

2.How can we be of help to homeless people?

What each one of us can do is to see and listen to the homeless, to realize that their basic rights and needs are exactly the same as everyone else's.

They suffer from a multitude of problems, including physical insecurity, homelessness, health problems, inaccessibility to the labour market, lack of identity documents, poor education. One way to help them is by organising a fundraising campaign.

Check out all the campaigns at PavelAndreev.ORG or start your own.

Here are some ideas for charity activities:

• Organize a charity event:

One of the most effective and popular fundraising methods is to organize a charity event. You can organize a charity concert, auction, fundraiser or other event that will attract people's attention and motivate them to donate to the homeless.

• Create a donation box:

It's a good idea to place a donation box in places with high human traffic. This could be stores, restaurants, libraries and other public places. Make sure the box is highly visible and well marked to get people's attention and motivate them to donate.

• Collect donations and belongings:

In addition to cash, homeless people are in need of items such as clothing, food, hygiene items and other necessities. A common approach is to collect material items directly.

• Collaborate with local organizations:

Many cities have organizations that are dedicated to helping the homeless. Contact them and offer cooperation. You can get involved in their projects to help organise events or provide financial support.

Remember, fundraising for the homeless is an ongoing and continuous process. It's important to stay connected with the community and continue to raise awareness of the homeless issue.

• Start an online donation campaign:

Using social media and online platforms is an excellent way to raise funds for the homeless. Create a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds through a crowdfunding platform, such as PavelAndreev.ORG. The PavelAndreev.ORG website is backed by an international donor community that provides unlimited capacity and the opportunity for every crowdfunding campaign to be heard, seen and supported. And isn't this an excellent opportunity to help homeless people?