Beggars in Austin

I started reading a book entitled The Fear of Beggars by Kelly S. Johnson while I was visiting Austin, Texas for a week. The timing was incredible, because Austin has beggars on every street corner. The small town that I'm from doesn't have an obvious problem with beggars or homeless people, so I am usually fairly oblivious to the plight of those without a home or support. However, in Austin I encountered people asking for money, food or just hovering on a street corner looking miserable everywhere I went. Through that sudden change of environment and the insight of Kelly Johnson, I was able to examine my response to the poverty around me.



Honestly, I wasn't pleased with what I discovered about myself. My heart is full of fear of beggars - fear that they will be violent, fear that if I do give money that the money will be used to feed an addiction, fear that if I give food that the money they would have had to spend on food will be used to feed an addiction, fear that if I give to one beggar thirty more will appear, and even a fear of the general dirtiness of someone who has been living on the street.



Am I alone in having this response? I don't think so. Few people I have observed ever appear to enjoy interacting with beggars, much less rushing out to meet the nearest street dweller. Usually we all walk past with eyes averted, straining to look so absorbed in a conversation so that maybe we won't be bothered, won't be stopped - because of that fear that once we're stopped there is no resisting some unsatisfactory outcome.



This brings us to the question of is this response good. I have to admit that at this point, I have no answers. Even with the desire to show love to all of God's people, figuring out the right way to show love to homeless people is hard. As a female, I have concerns about physical safety that are hard to ignore. Even without those concerns, no easy answer appears. Should we give money? Should we give food? Should we help them find a shelter? Should we offer a ride? Should we simply give a tract and say "God loves you"? Ultimately, there are no easy answers to these questions. Recognizing that we are afraid of beggars and homeless people is at least a place to start though.