Delivering Hope Homeless Outreach

Then God will turn to those on the left and say, “Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. For I was hungry, while you had all you needed. I was thirsty, but you drank bottled water. I was a stranger, and you wanted me deported. I needed clothes, but you needed more clothes. I was sick, and you pointed out the behaviors that led to my sickness. I was in prison, and you said I was getting what I deserved.”

Then they will reply, “Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?“ And he will answer, “I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.”…..Matthew 25:41-45.….Richard Stearns Version, CEO of World Vision and author of the book The Hole in our Gospel(pg. 59).

There is a lot of misconception regarding homelessness in Ross County, Ohio and everywhere for that matter. The sad, but true, reality of this statement reared its ugly head when I recently learned that one officially reported count stated there was one homeless person in Ross County (yes, as you are choking and coffee is spewing out your nose in disbelief, I said one). In response to this comes the emergence of the Delivering Hope Homeless Outreach.

On Friday evening, March 4, 2011, and every Friday evening following, a group of us are going to meet at a common place with various food and material supplies. We will then head out to various homeless camps throughout Ross County and deliver these supplies for no other reason than to show our homeless brothers and sisters we love them. If you are reading this and have a heart for something like this, there are a variety of ways to get involved.

First, you can pray for this outreach as led to. Next, you can donate either monetary and/or material supplies to support it. You can mail monetary donations marked for the Delivering Hope Homeless Outreach to the mailing address on the Delivering Hope website or click on the designated donation button on this site to donate online. You can also email someone on the Delivering Hope or this website for details on where to donate other non-monetary items. Below is a list of items commonly needed by our homeless brothers and sisters:

Tarps and tents
Sleeping bags and blankets
Heavy Coats, carharts, and rain ponchos
Work, hiking, or winter boots
Hoodies and sweatshirts
Men’s and Women’s sweat pants and jeans
Men’s underwear and insulated underwear and socks
Women’s brief underwear and insulated underwear and socks
Heavy gloves, hats, and snow pants
Duct tape and bungee cords
$5.00 gift cards to fast food restaurants(so our brothers and sisters can legitimately sit in the establishment with a cup of coffee and/or food and warm up)
Batteries
Flashlights and lanterns
Battery operated alarm clocks(some of our brothers and sisters work)
Food items-Vienna sausages, apples, oranges, snack packs of crackers with peanut butter or cheese, candy
Personal items-Razors, soap, deodorant, tooth brushes and paste, lotions, lip balm, tissues, toilet paper, women’s body spray, combs and brushes.

Finally, you can bring all your supplies and join us to go out to the camps. You are invited to do one, a combo, or all of the above. If you feel led to get involved in this outreach opportunity, please contact us on either site for more details.