Homeless Encampment @ Garden Ridge and Brazos

This notice showed up in my Nextdoor feed yesterday:

There is a homeless encampment located at the corner of Garden Ridge and Brazos in the wooded area. We have notified the police but the camp is still there. The tents go up at night. The photo was taken in the afternoon. Please be safe and aware when in this location.

Within 24 hours of it's posting, over 275 responses have been made. These responses feature the natural and predictable de-evolving of people opinions one sees on many social media applications. They speak of fear, political agendas, racism, classism, shaming, and more.

Having spent the better part of my church career in the presence of homeless people (and now occasionally serving food to homeless and hungry at my church), I know that this problem is multi-faceted and without a simple solution. I know that dealing with persons on the economic margins (or any margins) can raise highly charged emotional responses.

Now that I spend a great deal of time on social media (as a part of this new calling of ministry), I know that it is exceptionally easy to offer controversial opinions from the comfort and anonymity of being behind keyboard in front of a computer screen. Politeness, civility, and camaraderie are easily replaced with a smug sense of superiority, in this case by those who decry the presence of homeless in their suburban neighborhood as a menace and by those who believe to find themselves in a place of moral superiority.

Confronting homelessness will do that to a person. It'll make you scared for your safety. It'll melt your heart and create avenues of giving. It'll smell really bad and feel really good to help.

After running a couple of errands, I stopped at the corner of Garden Ridge and Brazos. It's less than a mile from my suburban house. No one was there, so I left some ready-to-eat food and a $5 bill. "I ain't no saint and I'm no winner of a sinner" a homeless man once told me, so I hope that this confession doesn't seem like bragging. I just felt something tug at me. Maybe in was more of a prodding. You can call it what you want.

Then, in anonymity, I went home and sat behind my keyboard to write this. Maybe a little goodness might be what's needed today. And maybe it won't be seen that way. I am grateful for this report and grateful for the opportunity to respond as Christ's disciple to my neighbor in need (and so close to where I live!). I am grateful for my siblings in all faith traditions (and those who respond in a humanitarian way) who heed the teachings of benevolence and good will.

If it is difficult for you to give or if your heart is hard, I pray you contemplate your own humanity, even if you cannot find it within your will to help. I invite and implore you to join with those who give despite or because of others' interventions. Peace be with you.

Response #276 officially entered. In the time it took to write this blog post, there's already responses.