West Side Homeless Outreach, Inc.

BLOG UPDATE

When the topic of homelessness arises, truth and error abound. What are the facts? And the fallacies? Our frequently updated blog shares little-known truths about homelessness everyone should know. Click here to visit.

The current recession has hit the homeless—and America’s charities —hard. So your financial support is West Side Homeless Outreach’s greatest need.

We use your donated dollars to buy food, clothing and other vital pro-visions, which we deliver to people living on the streets. Your financial support of West Side Homeless Outreach is completely tax deductible.

Please click on donate; or mail checks and money orders to West Side Home-less Outreach, Inc., PO Box 5761, Playa del Rey, CA 90296-5761.

Thank you for your support.

FIVE FACTS

YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT HOMELESSNESS

1. It’s Serious

Homelessness is no joke. It threatens to destroy the lives of nearly 70,000 people in L.A. County.

2. It’s Painful

Most people living on the streets and sidewalks of West L.A. County tell us homelessness hurts—physically, mentally and emotionally. It’s anything but easy.

3. It’s Ensnaring

The longer one lives on the streets, the harder it is to return to normal home life. And sometimes, the harder you work to get off the streets, the more difficult it is.

4. It’s Embarrassing

Not showering, laundering your clothes or tending to other aspects of personal hygiene makes you stand out in a crowd in unflattering ways. It would be awkward for anyone.

5. It’s Fatal

Suicide rates are high among homeless people. Don’t be surprised. For those who’ve lost everything, it’s a viable option to living on the streets.

THREE THOUGHTS

If you want to help the homeless, we urge you to:

1. Make www.wshola.org your home page.

2. Tell at least three friends or coworkers about WSHO.

3. Set aside a mere 25 cents a day for a year and donate it to WSHO.

STARTING YOUNG

HOW TO HELP

Loren Franck, president and executive director of West Side Homeless Out-reach, enjoys feeding homeless people.

DO YOU C.A.R.E.™?

Our Effective Four-point Plan to Help Homeless People

Copyright ® 2010 by Loren Franck

At any given time, there are as many as 75,000 homeless people throughout Los Angeles County. Many of them struggle to survive on the county’s elite West Side, where the environment is less threatening and more comfortable than on urban streets.

Obtaining four walls and a roof is the most pressing need for homeless men, women and children. But until that simple goal becomes reality, thousands of society’s outcasts must sleep on sidewalks, in alleys and parks, on bus benches, and literally on the streets. The majority of these individuals worked hard most of their adult lives. They were responsible and respected members of their communities.

But then something terrible happened. Each of these formerly productive men and women lost a job, became disabled, were hit with divorce or were otherwise devastated. The day arrived when they couldn’t afford the mortgage, were no longer able to pay rent, or were otherwise drowned in bills. The only option for these unfortunate individuals? The cold, hard streets. In fact, one recent study suggests that only 10 percent of west L.A. County homeless people land a bed at night. That means a whopping 90 percent of men, women and children struggling to survive on West Side streets are doing just that—existing crudely on cement and asphalt.

West Side Homeless Outreach wants to help, and we’re convinced you do too. But you can’t help the homeless until you C.A.R.E.™ So let’s look at our new four-point plan to get you started. When practiced precisely and persistently, our C.A.R.E.™ plan will lay a solid foundation that will serve you—and the homeless people you assist—for the remainder of your lives.

Compassion

Call it what you want—caring, consideration, empathy or compassion—the compelling feeling from the heart that motivates you to help homeless people is the main fuel of West Side Homeless Outreach. Without it, our efforts would be cold and shallow.

One West Side Homeless Outreach supporter, Julie, recently completed a crash course in how compassion fuels efforts to help the homeless. A busy attorney by day, a committed mom and spouse at night, the 29-year-old Santa Monica woman recently accompanied one of our outreach teams on a sock distribution. Initially, Julie was skeptical. “We’re just going to give out socks?” she said quizzically when the two-hour event began. “Don’t the homeless need clean clothes and places to stay?” “Sure they do,” a seasoned volunteer answered, “but clean socks are among their most valuable commodities.” And after passing out several dozen pairs to homeless men and women on Venice Beach, her compassion began to blossom.

Now, several months after her awakening of compassion, Julie is gathering blankets and sweatshirts for West Side Homeless Outreach’s annual Thanksgiving Donation Drive. She’s converted to compassionate service. It’s the spark that ignites all she’ll ever do for people who have no homes.

Action

What you say, believe and feel about homelessness is important, but it’s what you do that counts most. When the rubber meets the road, homeless people are assisted through action. In fact, action is one of the three most important results of compassion. (The remaining two? Regard and enthusiasm. More on these momentarily.)

When Nick appeared at West Side Homeless Outreach last Thanksgiving, he was ready to volunteer. Many of his friends, coworkers and family members had been bitten by the volunteering bug, and he wasn’t going to be left behind. But Nick quickly learned that volunteer efforts vary in value among homeless people. And through volunteering at West Side Homeless Outreach, he discovered that some uncompensated actions are more helpful than others. During one outreach activity near Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), where a surprising number of homeless people gather, experience taught Nick that homeless people want to receive practical assistance, not help that merely makes volunteers feel good.

Today, Nick is one of West Side Homeless Outreach’s most action-oriented volunteers. Where there’s an opportunity to lend homeless people a hand up, he takes it; where a need arises, he meets it; and when homeless men, women and children require an advocate, Nick is there.

Respect

You can’t look down socially on homeless people and extend a hand up. To help these men, women and children effectively, you must respect them and never condescend. Initially, you might be tempted to tell homeless people how much you know about their plight, but don’t do it. People living on the streets don’t care how much you know; they need to know how much you care.

When an undergraduate at Yale University, Flo felt like the proverbial big woman on campus. Her 4.0 grade point average and impressive résumé of student activities (including leadership of a leading Yale sorority) fueled her already overflowing self-esteem. And when Flo trekked west to pursue her master’s degree at Stanford, her high level of self-esteem traveled with her. Only after moving to a chic condo in Venice and volunteering for West Side Homeless Outreach did she receive lessons about respect for homeless people. Last spring, while delivering blankets and plastic tarps to men and women who live on Venice streets, she realized that homeless people deserve respect. Of the homeless, Flo quips, “Without homes, yes; deserving of disrespect, no.”

Now the ambitious investment banker has high regard for the homeless, especially the men, women and children she helps face-to-face and hand-to-hand through West Side Homeless Outreach. “When I remember how I used to be, I laugh at myself,” Flo says. “Helping the homeless has taught me an important lesson about respect.”

Enthusiasm

When your heart is in your efforts, you can’t help but succeed. Helping homeless people differs drastically from working at a boring, repetitive job. For example, when constructing widgets, your fervor for the task matters little. But when lending society’s neediest people a hand up, your fire for the task paves the path for success.

When Cam volunteered to help West Side Homeless Outreach gather clothes for people living on local streets, she wasn’t sold on the idea. An executive assistant for a computer firm, Cam was accustomed to performing her job unenthusiastically. But shortly after her first WSHO encounter with homeless people, Cam changed. She realized there was synergy involved in helping the people who need it most. The more Cam helped the homeless, the more enthusiastic her efforts became. And the more enthusiastic she became, the more effectively she assisted homeless people.

The funny thing about enthusiasm? It’s contagious. It definitely was for Cam. In fact, she became one of West Side Homeless Outreach’s most eager volunteers. And now, whatever task she tackles on behalf of homeless people—gathering clothes, distributing food, or handing out blankets—she does it with utmost enthusiasm. That verve has carried over into her job and personal life too.

Only one person is stopping you from extending a much-needed hand up to local homeless people. That person is you. Contact us today to help ease the pains and perils of local homelessness. We need your help—and so do the homeless men, women and children we assist.

Let ’em know you C.A.R.E.™

Loren Franck is president and executive director of West Side Homeless Outreach. He may be reached at loren@wshola.org.

The downturned economy has hit homeless people hard. Can you help us help them? Money is our greatest need. Your donated dollars buy food, clothing and other vital provisions, which we deliver to unsheltered homeless people who need them most. You can also contribute these items directly to us. All donations to West Side Homeless Outreach, an IRS-approved 501(c)(3) charity, are tax deductible. Please click on donate; or mail checks and money orders to West Side Homeless Outreach, Inc., PO Box 5761, Playa del Rey, CA 90296-5761.

This 10-year-old (above right) has already learned how to help homeless people. He’s shown here giving fresh drinking water to a Santa Monica homeless man.