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An Everflowing Stream

Amos 5:24

Robert MacAfee Brown said, "(Religion) provides a norm, a standard by which we are rendered dissatisfied with the way things are... as a way of liberating us for change." Karen Armstrong said, spiritual "experience must be incarnated in our behavior toward others... The test of true spirituality is practical compassion." May God ever render us dissatisfied, liberate us from complacency, and empower us to be agents of compassionate change in Nevada and throughout the world. Bishop Dan Edwards

Resolution: Support for and improvement of the federal government’s network of programs to reduce the numbers of those living in poverty…EC 3/02

The Homeless State

I identified myself with the movie An American Tail the first time I saw it, I too thought that “there were no cats in America” but I discovered many “cats” during my life here. One of them is the homelessness. How in the best country in the world this problem can exist, and even worse how can it be ignored. I live in the city of Neon where money is king. What no one sees, behind the lights, behind the masquerade where the fantasy ends the reality starts; there thousands of Americans live paycheck to paycheck; and many of those Americans are a paycheck away from being homeless. The financial problem is increasing, and before it gets better will begin to fall again.

People should be appreciative of the jobs they have, It is the paycheck that keeps us all in balance; the American society demands payment for decent living. Not everyone has that comfort The homeless don’t have the luxury of jobs to earn money to pay for bills, have been evicted, or as in many cases in the present situation the home they had has been repossessed.

We cannot ignore the homeless, it is a problem that affects everybody, even though when most people try to dismiss the fact that they exist. Maybe it is the fear of being homeless themselves. To be outside in the scorching heat or trapped in the icy wind, are things that nobody wants to endure; but ignoring it will not make the problem disappear. Homeless humans still would be out there behind the neon lights doing whatever it takes to survive; some will clean car’s windows or ask for money to buy food and drink from a gas station.

The homeless people are human beings in need of help. They are still strong willed individuals who have been mistreated by fate and have their problems seen indifferently by society. One could argue that some of those who so called homeless are in fact cheaters who mimic a sympathetic state just to get easy money. But they should not deter any compassionate deed toward the truly needy ones; the ones that have to suffer indignities staying out all day and night, with hardly any food and water, in dirty and biohazard areas picking up diseases and being ignored by society.

To be a decent human being could be challenging at times. I am not going to deny that I feel scared or uncomfortable trying to help a dirty smelly man with a scruffy beard and brown dirty jacket that he found in the trash along with the chewed up sneakers he is wearing; But I am blessed with a good life, and I have the obligation to give back to the world and the community, and the homeless man has a name and a history, he also has a mental problem, but when he laughs telling silly stories and drinking the cup of coffee I give him, he is just like me human; the difference is that he is on the bad side of luck.

The United States is one of the greatest countries to live in, but not all have good standards of living. For this to be America, we need to act American and be decent, be compassionate and give the opportunities back with hope.

(This article was written by Lourdes V. Castillo, a member of Iglesia de Todos los Santos, All Saints’ Episcopal Church, Las Vegas, Nevada. Lourdes has immigrated to the U.S. from Guatemala and currently works as a Dialysis Technician.)

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Resolution: Support for and improvement of the federal government’s network of programs to reduce the numbers of those living in poverty…EC 3/02

The Homeless State

I identified myself with the movie An American Tail the first time I saw it, I too thought that “there were no cats in America” but I discovered many “cats” during my life here. One of them is the homelessness. How in the best country in the world this problem can exist, and even worse how can it be ignored. I live in the city of Neon where money is king. What no one sees, behind the lights, behind the masquerade where the fantasy ends the reality starts; there thousands of Americans live paycheck to paycheck; and many of those Americans are a paycheck away from being homeless. The financial problem is increasing, and before it gets better will begin to fall again.

People should be appreciative of the jobs they have, It is the paycheck that keeps us all in balance; the American society demands payment for decent living. Not everyone has that comfort The homeless don’t have the luxury of jobs to earn money to pay for bills, have been evicted, or as in many cases in the present situation the home they had has been repossessed.

We cannot ignore the homeless, it is a problem that affects everybody, even though when most people try to dismiss the fact that they exist. Maybe it is the fear of being homeless themselves. To be outside in the scorching heat or trapped in the icy wind, are things that nobody wants to endure; but ignoring it will not make the problem disappear. Homeless humans still would be out there behind the neon lights doing whatever it takes to survive; some will clean car’s windows or ask for money to buy food and drink from a gas station.

The homeless people are human beings in need of help. They are still strong willed individuals who have been mistreated by fate and have their problems seen indifferently by society. One could argue that some of those who so called homeless are in fact cheaters who mimic a sympathetic state just to get easy money. But they should not deter any compassionate deed toward the truly needy ones; the ones that have to suffer indignities staying out all day and night, with hardly any food and water, in dirty and biohazard areas picking up diseases and being ignored by society.

To be a decent human being could be challenging at times. I am not going to deny that I feel scared or uncomfortable trying to help a dirty smelly man with a scruffy beard and brown dirty jacket that he found in the trash along with the chewed up sneakers he is wearing; But I am blessed with a good life, and I have the obligation to give back to the world and the community, and the homeless man has a name and a history, he also has a mental problem, but when he laughs telling silly stories and drinking the cup of coffee I give him, he is just like me human; the difference is that he is on the bad side of luck.

The United States is one of the greatest countries to live in, but not all have good standards of living. For this to be America, we need to act American and be decent, be compassionate and give the opportunities back with hope.

(This article was written by Lourdes V. Castillo, a member of Iglesia de Todos los Santos, All Saints’ Episcopal Church, Las Vegas, Nevada. Lourdes has immigrated to the U.S. from Guatemala and currently works as a Dialysis Technician.)