310: How should we respond to the homeless?

When you’re asked for money by a homeless person, or pass someone who appears to be homeless standing in a doorway or on a street corner, how should you respond?

That’s the topic addressed in this, the first of Humanize Me‘s regular Q&A episodes. Bart Campolo is joined by the podcast’s producer John Wright to attempt to answer the question, which came in from a listener called Mark in Bristol, UK and reads in part:

“I know you’ve got tons of experience helping [the homeless], and seem to have made it a component of your life’s work. But what’s a good, productive approach for the rest of us who have all-consuming careers (I’m an academic research scientist) and who can spare but a moment and some spare change for the homeless we see on the streets?”

Takeaways: Each of us must ask how our life is contributing to making life better for society, if we’re going to feel okay walking past that person on the street. It’s a good thing to be altruistic in a mission-focused way. Our energy, emotional bandwidth and finances are finite resources that need managed well. Listen to the episode for more!

Bonus question: “Do you still find any bible verses inspirational and why?”

LISTEN HERE

By | 2022-08-10T03:42:57+00:00 May 7th, 2018|Podcast|

About the Author:

Bart Campolo is a secular community builder, counselor and writer who currently serves as the Humanist Chaplain at the University of Cincinnati. Listen to his podcast HERE!