{"id":1349,"date":"2019-07-11T21:59:12","date_gmt":"2019-07-11T21:59:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/?p=1349"},"modified":"2019-07-24T15:14:25","modified_gmt":"2019-07-24T15:14:25","slug":"what-does-being-a-good-neighbor-look-like","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/what-does-being-a-good-neighbor-look-like\/","title":{"rendered":"What does being a good neighbor look like?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whether you live in a rural small town, a major urban area, or anywhere in between there is homelessness. Minneapolis and many cities around the nation are facing an epidemic of homelessness. With the recent Hiawatha Homeless Encampment, that emerged in Minneapolis late last summer heightened awareness around the issue, and many are asking the question “What can we do?”<\/p>\n

Hear from North Central Social Work faculty member Beth Brown, LICSW, as she responds to the Hiawatha Homeless Encampment from her experience, and offers takeaways for how we can engage with the homeless community in a helpful way.<\/p>\n

What is homelessness?<\/h3>\n

There is technically more than one definition of homelessness. The NHCHC<\/a> and most widely used defines homelessness as, \u201cAn individual who lacks housing (without regard to whether the individual is a member of a family). This includes an individual whose primary residence during the night is a supervised public or private facility (e.g., shelters) that provides temporary living accommodations, and an individual who is a resident in transitional housing.\u201d<\/p>\n

What can we do?<\/h3>\n

The first, and sometimes hardest, thing we can do is to be a good listener. As mentioned in a previous blog, Understanding the Hiawatha Homeless Encampment<\/a>, Brown encouraged her students, who encouraged their peers, to listen rather than beginning with immediate action. “We have only a limited knowledge of knowing who needs what, but by listening we are better equipped to be more helpful with our efforts,” Brown stated. She wanted her students to focus on just being there, smiling and listening. \u201cWe can do this, not by going in and saying, \u2018This is what I know, this is what I can do for you,’ but instead sending the message, ‘I don\u2019t know if I can help at all,\u00a0but you are God\u2019s creation, and you are my brother, my sister, my neighbor, and I want to hear.’\u201d<\/p>\n

\"how<\/p>\n

Brown emphasizes that there exists a delicate line between bringing awareness and being exploitative. \u201cAs Christians, we should be participating, we should be the hands and feet [of Christ], we should be going and saying, \u2018How can I serve?\u2019\u201d Something that Brown learned during this process was the goal was not to go in there and convert, the first goal was to go in and meet physical needs. \u201cSo let\u2019s go in, let\u2019s feed, let\u2019s shelter, let\u2019s do those things and come along them as partners, neighbors and friends, not as me over them. Through these actions, I believe that God can do some very cool things and He could bring about incredible relational discipleship, but we have to start with the basics.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"how<\/p>\n

Practical steps to being a good neighbor:<\/h3>\n

With such a large problem, it can be hard to know how to help or where to start. So here are some practical first steps:<\/p>\n