Helping the Homeless During the Season of Light Brings the True Meaning of Christmas

This time of year is always brings plenty of joy and hope. But it is also when the needs of those less fortunate are more keenly felt. Josiah Haken, CEO of City Relief in New York City, has a heart for the homeless… And a heart for those who have homes. Haken helps people like you and me understand that there’s nothing to fear about the homeless, that they are people, made in God’s image. People, who he describes as our “Neighbors With No Doors”, the title of his book. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith Podcast, Haken joyfully explains what a privilege it is to help people like Detra Thomas, who never ever expected to be homeless. But as Haken says, her story is more typical. Married for 32 years to a man she says was abusive. When she finally had the strength to leave, she found herself without a permanent home, grown children who had moved away, and a part-time job that didn’t pay the rent. Forced to seek a bed in one of the city’s shelters, she later found permanent housing thanks to City Relief. She is a face of homelessness that most people never see. Haken says most people think of the homeless as the panhandlers on the street, drug addicts or alcoholics sleeping on benches, but that the bulk of the homeless, who number about 40-60 thousand in New York alone, are families, working parents and children. Haken is hoping during this season of good will, peace and light, that people perform small acts of kindness to help their “neighbors with no doors,” to be the “Good Samaritan” that Jesus told of in His parable about the man helping the downtrodden stranger on the road.