3 Ways You Can Help End Homelessness

Ever since the worldwide economy has gone into a tailspin and companies began to downsize

, a disproportionate number of people have become homeless. Although being concerned, becoming a volunteer and being an advocate are important, offering material assistance is often necessary. By making the apropos donations you can do your part to help end homelessness.

Here are a number of things that you can donate to help to get homeless individuals and families back on their feet again.

Clothing

Not having clean, well-fitting clothes goes beyond being exposed to the elements. When people don't feel that they look good, whether they are homeless or not, it negatively affects their self-image and hurts their ability to get ahead.

When people are experiencing homelessness by necessity they must travel light. They don't have many, if any opportunities to clean and/or store anything that they cannot carry with them. As you might surmise, if a person who is being interviewed for a job is shabbily dressed it will hurt his or her chances of landing the position.

To help to end homelessness you should donate your clean clothing to people who could use it. But even before you make your donation why don't you start a clothing drive in your neighborhood? You could talk to a nearby homeless shelter in order to find out what they most need.

Keep in mind that because most homeless shelters have only a limited amount of storage space they probably won't be able to use summer clothes in the winter and vice-versa.

Household Goods

When you go to your local shelter you should also inquire as to whether or not they need things such as furniture, kitchen utensils, diapers, books, games, toys, dolls, stuffed animals, etc.

Often the people who no longer have a roof over their heads do not have easy access to a local library. When they spend their nights in a shelter they find that there's little there for them to do. Find out if your local shelter would appreciate donations of magazines and books. If so, and if the shelter does not already have a small library, consider organizing a book drive that will help to create one.

Computers

A lot of non-profit organizations such as homeless shelters have a hard time buying expensive yet essential pieces of equipment such as computers. If you own a computer that you do not need any longer, a local service provider or shelter may really appreciate it if you donated it to them. And the guests at these residences would sure appreciate being able to use the computers as well.

By doing these three simple things you can do your part to help to turn the tide on homelessness.

In the meantime, many shelters are also in need of software to help them to keep track of their guests.

by: Wendy Moyer

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