Giving 2 Homeless People
What do homeless people need?In various areas, homeless persons and their children often need basic survival provisions, medication, food, clothing, blankets and, of course, housing, or at least a place to stay out of the rain and freezing weather. Many women and children are homeless, in addition to older people, the mentally ill, teenage runaways and many people of both genders who have been unemployed for months and years and have lost their status in society. Displaced disaster victims and refugees may live in tents or temporary shelters with minimal subsistence. You can give money, materials from your business or collections, or items that you purchase. Below the list of Needed Gifts, the Giving Resources will help you distribute your gifts to the intended recipients. Your local phone book lists many charities and you can also use the new Google "Local" search tool for charities in a particular city or ZIP code. Check with the Giving Resource or charity to make sure that they can accept and distribute material or in-kind gifts. Even if the item is listed on a wish list, it's best to communicate with the organization in advance of shipping any donated materials. Needed Gifts: |
Charity Giving is Personal...
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| Medication | Many homeless people need medication to help them survive day by day. Some have serious illnesses and substance abuse problems and are in critical need of medical care, medication and treatment for drug dependencies. If you or your business can contribute medication, this will be much appreciated. | |
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Food |
Many homeless persons in various parts of the world are disabled and need food for themselves and their children. Unfortunately, many homeless people live in places where opportunities for earning living wages are hard to find. This problem occurs in the United States and many parts of the world, especially in the developing nations. Hunger and homelessness are the immediate effects of poverty and unemployment. |
| Clothing | People who are too poor to afford housing need clothing for themselves and their children. Your local charity specializing in helping homeless people will advise you on specific items in need. |
| Basic Necessities | Many homeless people are unable to work or earn a living. They need your help. In addition to medication, food and clothing, as mentioned above, they need personal care, volunteer services, housing, items for personal comfort such as blankets, pillows, beds, radios, televisions, books, and other items. Toiletries, toothpaste, soap, razor blades, underwear and clean socks are items needed in temporary shelters and in the street. |
| Electronics | Some homeless people are in need of electronic devices, such as mobile phones, laptop computers and various tools for mechanics and other trades to help them make a living. In addition, many of the helping organizations list office supplies, such as computers, printers and other electronic devices, on their donation wish lists. Several wish lists are provided in the Giving Resources websites listed below. |
| Tools | To build a house, you need tools. Many homeless people need tools and materials to help with temporary shelters. Others need tools for various trades to help them get a job. If you're living in a car, a few tools and maybe a new battery and some gasoline may help to get you through some cold weather. |
| Toys | For families living in cars or temporary shelters, a few toys may help to brighten the day for the kids and the parents who desperately want to make their children happy. Children need toys to help them get through the day, to exercise and to learn. Whether they play with balls or electronic gadgets, children are less likely to get in trouble or pick on their siblings when they're having fun. The need to play and keep busy is important for children, not just during the holiday season, but every week of the year. For practical considerations, toys should be low maintenance, safe and small. Educational toys are a plus, especially if they're low-maintenance and selected for the right age group. Children's books may also be welcomed in temporary shelters for families. |
Giving Resources:
| Beyond Shelter | Beyond Shelter relies on the contributions of private donors, corporations and foundations to help operate its programs and services. Founded in 1988, in Los Angeles, California, the mission of Beyond Shelter is to develop systemic approaches to combat poverty and homelessness among families with children and enhance family economic security and well-being. Beyond Shelter accomplishes its goals through responsive service delivery, people-centered community development, and the creation of knowledge for social change. |
| Coalition for the Homeless | If you have new or gently used clothing, new toiletries/personal hygiene items, or home furnishings that clients of Coalition for the Homeless might be able to use, please call 212.776.2059 or email development@cfthomeless.org. Coalition for the Homeless in New York, New York is the nation's oldest advocacy and direct service organization helping homeless men, women, and children. We are dedicated to the principle that decent shelter, sufficient food, affordable housing, and the chance to work for a living wage are fundamental rights in a civilized society. Since our inception in 1981, the Coalition has worked through litigation, public education, and direct services to ensure that these goals are realized. |
| Committee On The Shelterless - COTS | Founded sometime around March of 1988, COTS was a response to Mary Isaak’s and Laure Reichek’s concern for the adults and their children who were sleeping outdoors in culverts, dumpsters or in other unsafe and unsuitable conditions. Both women realized that FISH (Friends In Service Helping) and other charitable organizations were not able to respond to the increasingly numerous requests for shelter. COTS, the Committee On The Shelterless, offers hope and help to homeless persons in Sonoma County, California, by providing emergency food, shelter, housing, education on skills in parenting, money management, mandatory savings programs, job internships, critical support and other life skills, helping them toward their goal of getting a home of their own. |
| Compass Community Services | Compass Community Services provides shelter and critical services to San Francisco's homeless and very low-income families. The agency's four interconnected programs support more than 3,000 parents and children each year in their efforts to achieve stability and self-sufficiency. Services include crisis intervention, emergency shelter, food and clothing, transitional housing, case management and therapy, job training, enriched infant care and childcare, and permanent housing placement. |
| Crisis | Crisis very much appreciates gift in kind support from our corporate partners. We are in constant need of it throughout the year to help run our services for homeless people and keep the costs down. Crisis opens six shelters in London, England between 23 - 30 December offering homeless or vulnerably housed people companionship, access to essential services, learning opportunities and a programme of entertainment. Based at Crisis HO, Skylight offers a variety of activities for homeless people and the general public. The Crisis Changing Lives programme provides financial awards of up to £2000 to solitary people who have been homeless to help them move towards a work based, vocational goal. |
| Downtown Emergency Service Center - DESC | The Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC) relies heavily on in-kind support for a variety of goods and services which are critical in assisting vulnerable individuals reach their highest potential. DESC is one of the largest multi-service agencies serving homeless adults in the Pacific Northwest, headquartered in Seattle, Washington. DESC currently provides its Programs based on an annual budget of $9.6 million, with a staff of approximately 200. DESC receives funding from the City, County, State and Federal governments, along with United Way and private philanthropy. |
| Neighborhood Coalitions for Shelter | In the 23 years since its founding, Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter (NCS) in New York, New York has helped more than 20,000 homeless and formerly homeless find food, shelter, counseling, employment, and in many cases, a home to call their own. NCS provides a full continuum of services aimed at helping people move from the streets to housing and independence. A skilled and dedicated staff of social workers, psychiatrists, substance abuse counselors, and vocational and educational specialists, offer the services needed to help men and women overcome histories of mental illness, addiction, incarceration, domestic violence, and economic displacement. |
| Orange County Rescue Mission | Our Mission is to minister the love of Jesus Christ to the Least, the Last, and the Lost of our community through the provision of assistance in the areas of guidance, counseling, education, job training, shelter, food, clothing, health care and independent living communities. At the Orange County (California) Rescue Mission, averaged over the last eight years, a full 86 cents of every dollar given goes directly to help the homeless. If gifts received are above a specific need, they will be used for Mission programs where the need is greatest. |
| Raleigh Rescue Mission | During the holidays and all year long, Raleigh Rescue Mission counts on your donations of food, gently used and new clothing, furniture, household items, and more to supply the needs of the homeless, hungry and poor. Raleigh Rescue Mission was founded in 1961 to minister to the growing needs of the homeless population of Raleigh, North Carolina. Since that time, the Mission has provided physical and spiritual nourishment in the form of relief and recovery programs and services for men, women and children who are homeless and/or addicted. The Mission strives to prevent recurring homelessness through the Life Plan Program, a long-term recovery program providing Bible-based teaching, counseling, job skills and referrals to other agencies to help stabilize homeless adults and allow them to become productive members of the community. |
| Scotland Shelter | Shelter is the national campaigning charity helping homeless and badly housed people. We know that bad housing wrecks lives, so we're working hard to ensure that everyone has a home where they can feel safe. Through our network of Housing Aid Centres we provide advice about housing rights and options. We also provide support and training for Citizens Advice Bureaux (CABx) through the Scottish Homelessness Advisory Service (SHAS), ensuring that professional advice is always available where it's needed most. Where legal expertise is required, we can refer clients to our own legal team or an appropriate local law service or solicitor. |
| The Homeless Guy: Gift Bags | Get some paper lunch bags and fill them with little goodies. This is just a list of things I can think of, that everyone on the streets would need and appreciate. You might have your own good ideas too. -- "travel size" tooth paste and tooth brush and deodorant. A pair of new or clean socks (it's hard to keep feet healthy on the street) nail clippers, a comb, a bar of soap, gloves when it's cold out, a disposable razor, etc. Then add something special, like little Halloween size candies, a personal note that says "I care". You could even decorate the bags with drawings of happy faces and hearts - yeah, even mean ol' grumpy homeless guys like that kind of stuff - even if they don't admit it. |
| The Homelessness Project | The Homelessness Project is a program of the Church Council of Greater Seattle, a 501(c) (3) non-profit agency. We select families and provide services with absolutely no regard to religious beliefs or affiliations. The Homelessness Project (THP) offers the time and resources for families to rebuild lives shattered by crisis. With church partners and affordable housing communities (see History of The Homelessness Project), we offer single parent homeless families a place to live while they stabilize their lives and regain their dignity and self-respect. |
| Transition Projects, Inc. | Since 1969 Transition Projects has helped thousands of people transcend the streets of Portland. On any given day—today, for example—we’re making the difference in hundreds of lives, providing the tools people need as they transition from homelessness to housing. We offer long-term shelter, for starters, plus a unique mix of valuable services that helps people overcome their own barriers to stable housing and employment. Services like job training, continuing education, alcohol, drug and mental health counseling, and more. |
| Union Rescue Mission | We have an increasing number of children at the Mission; currently there are about 100 children receiving emergency services each day. Union Rescue Mission (URM) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the poor and homeless. Established in 1891, URM is one of the largest rescue missions of its kind in the United States and the oldest in Los Angeles. We provide a comprehensive array of emergency and long-term services to our guests, including: food, shelter, clothing, medical and dental care, recovery programs, transitional housing, legal assistance, education, counseling, and job training to needy men, women, children, and families. |
| Union Station Foundation | For over 30 years, Union Station Foundation has helped thousands of homeless men, women and families leave the streets and begin leading productive and self-sufficient lives. Your contributions help to ensure that Union Station Foundation remains a lifeline of hope to the families and individuals that come to us in need. Union Station Foundation (USF), located in Pasadena, California, is the San Gabriel Valley’s largest private agency serving the poor and homeless. Union Station offers emergency and transitional housing for individuals and families, hot meals, job development, healthcare, case management services and substance abuse recovery support. Every year, we serve over 145,000 meals and provide 30,000 nights of shelter to our clients. |
| Wool Works Resources | This page lists organizations that accept donations of finished knitted goods or in some cases, knitting supplies. It's based on Joan Hamer's Pine Meadow Knitting News Charity List. Over 40 US states are listed with multiple organizations in each state. |
See the Gifts Directory for more suggestions.
You can help homeless people by sending this link to your friends:
http://www.2givenow.org/giving/2homelesspeople.htm
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