Thought for the Week - 10/10/2021

Dear Friends, 

On 10th October 2021 people around the world mark World Homeless Day. The concept of ‘World Homeless Day’ came out of online conversations between people who were working to respond to homelessness around the world. Began in 2010, World Homeless Day has been marked on every continent except Antarctica, in several dozen countries, and its purpose is to draw attention to people who experience homelessness and provide opportunities and resources for others to respond. 2021 also marks the 30th Anniversary of the founding of The Big Issue by John Bird and Gordon Roddick in September 1991. It exists to offer homeless people and those at risk of becoming homeless the opportunity to earn an income from selling the magazines on the streets and help them to reintegrate into society. Each year vendors collectively earn around £6 million as they buy copies of the magazine and sell them on keeping the difference. There are some 4,100 vendors working across the UK every year and since 1991 more than 105,000 people have been given ‘a hand up’ by becoming a Big Issue vendor. It is the world’s most circulated street newspaper and in the UK each year around 4 million magazines are sold. This is just one way in which homelessness is being addressed in the UK, but there is much more to do, especially as autumn turns to winter and the cost of living rises, and people are struggling with their finances. In the book of Proverbs there are various references to helping those who are poor and in need, for instance, ‘The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern’ (29:7), ‘Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honours God’ (14:31), ‘Those who shut their ears to the cry of the poor will also cry out and not be answered’ (21:13), and ‘Those who are kind to the poor lend to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done’ (19:17). You can find out more about Homeless Sunday, and homelessness in general, by visiting the Housing Justice website at the following address:

Grace and peace,

Neil

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