Homeless in Dublin

This month’s Dubliner magazine is featuring a series of articles on homelessness in Ireland. The Dubliner isn’t the most serious of magazines and it’s by no means a credible news source (as Mr. and Mrs. Tiger Woods would testify.) It’s more of a trendy, cultural publication with some satire thrown in at unexpected moments (e.g., an article on homelessness from The Onion.)

So when The Dubliner raises the issue of homelessness and beggars on the streets, it throws in a splash of statistics and whole lot of opinion. Having said that, it does get a wide circulation and I think it’s a healthy thing for Irish people to think about the issues. Then they can decide for themselves which writers from The Dubliner are full of rubbish and which have something legitimate to contribute to the conversation.

What’s on my heart most regarding the issues of homelessness is how the Church can be a part of the solution(s). I think I’m coming to the conclusion that what Christ-followers can contribute most profoundly is a reminder of the humanitarian nature of the homelessness problem. It may seem obvious that “homeless people are human and therefore, duh, it’s a humanitarian issue,” but I do believe that very fact gets lost in much of the debate.

The homeless are people made in the image of their Creator and not worth any less than the successful business executive living on a six-figure income. However, when we throw out arguments like “there’s no excuse for homelessness with all the help people can get from the government,” we address the issue as a political one instead of addressing the people behind the homelessness as a part of the same broken humanity that we share in.

For example, one of the arguments given for not handing out money to beggars on the streets is that they’ll probably just use it to buy alcohol or illegal drugs and stay trapped in the downward spiral of addiction. (Click here to read about one local London council’s campaign to promote this idea.) While it’s true that many homeless people are caught up in drug and alcohol addiction, many are also victims of abuse or psychological disorder such as schizophrenia. In other words, “homelessness” isn’t actually about “homelessness.” It’s often more about human fallenness and dysfunction.

Others say we should give money to beggars as much as we are able. What they do with it isn’t any of our business. It’s their money as soon we hand it to them and therefore not our responsibility. But while it’s also true that we can only be responsible for our own choices, part of the weight of that responsibility is to understand how our choices can indirectly harm our brothers and sisters living on the street by enabling them. In other words, “homelessness” isn’t actually about “homelessness.” It’s about human relationships and community.

In fact, when we’re confronted with the reasons for homelessness, it doesn’t take much to be reminded of our own brokenness. Take for example, the issue of drug and alcohol addiction of many in the homeless community which may have started out as a way of escape from life’s difficulties and spiralled out of control. Fundamentally, it’s the same issue with wealthy business people who have looked to their career as a way of the same kind of escape. The only difference is their addiction to status and/or money (or even drugs and alcohol!) probably won’t land them on the corner of O’Connell and Westmoreland Street.

These are just a few rambling thoughts on the issue. Much more to be said on a more pragmatic level. I, for one, would like to be prepared to walk a homeless person to the nearest corner shop or restaurant in Dublin city centre and get a piece of their story while buying them a bite to eat. Maybe if I do that enough, I’ll start to get to know a few well enough to build friendships that put them in touch with the source of life and redemption that dwells within me.