The holidays come around every year, and they do so for a purpose. To give us an opportunity for magnanimity, to share of ourselves with family, to rise above our circumstances, our possessions, our personal protectiveness, our inclination to disregard the uncomfortable. Of course, that is not all they are for, but they do provide the opportunity for us to extend ourselves beyond ourselves. Thanksgiving moves families together for the day, to renew ties, strengthen bonds and usher us into the Christmas season, a season that can be difficult for some, to say the least.
This has been a formidable year for many. People have lost jobs, homes, family, and the self-esteem that accompanies such loss. Recovery is a process that takes the help of others. It takes the help of family, and of strangers alike. It takes people committed to having less so that others may have more. And in many cases, ‘more’ can be defined simply as ‘subsistence’, something we all deserve.
There are many families living in homeless shelters, and in other circumstances less than ideal, and less than dignified. Many remain there because it is just too difficult to come up with first and last months rent, and a security deposit, to get their family into their own apartment, all the while trying to keep the kids going in school, and themselves going with work. A very trying and complex juggling act at best, and one that would challenge the best of us. I would like to suggest this Christmas season that my readers get their friends and families together to commit to making a difference for another family in their time of need. That you curtail the buying of expensive gifts for one another, and, instead, contribute the money you would have spent on those gifts to secure an apartment for one of these families that are down on their luck. You wouldn’t need to commit to paying future months rent, just get them started, and they can carry it from there. I’ll bet many of you could even furnish the apartment with the stuff you have in storage. You can do this. You just have to do it.
If you’re an apartment building owner, how about eliminating the deposit and the last months rent this year to allow a homeless family a new beginning?
The holidays come around every year, and they do so for a purpose.
Click on the little envelope below to email this suggestion to friends and family.
