Sucks to be Homeless

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(Picture taken by Orin Borgelt 2012)

Tomorrow will be my 8th year to spend 24 hours in the shoes of a homeless person on the streets of Kansas City and by far the worst weather forecast I've seen. Today is gorgeous outside, a little cold, but nice, sunny, and dry! Tomorrow the forecast is calling for bitter cold and snow, up to 4 inches! Yay!

You may be wondering; Did I consider canceling after I heard Bryan Busby give the forecast? No way! Okay, maybe for a second. To me this is a great way to really experience how much it sucks to be homeless. So we press on! Like one friend said, "Timmy it will be memorable!"  That's a fact!


THREE THINGS I ASK

1) Say a prayer for those of us living homeless tomorrow.

Mainly pray that we will get from this journey what we need to get and that we'd get a proper perspective on life and how blessed we really are to have what we have.


2) Say a prayer for the homeless in Kansas City and around the world.

This time of year is really tough for homeless, especially those living in colder climates.


3) Give financial support to reputable organizations who help the homeless.

There are many organizations in Kansas City (some listed below) who do a fine job reaching out to the homeless! Google "Help the Homeless (NAME OF YOUR CITY)".


FOLLOW HOMELESS JOURNEY

Twitter: @TimmyKC
facebook: /timmygibson
Instagram: /timmygibsonKC



*Kansas City Rescue Mission (This is where we ate dinner)
(816)421-7643
Kansas City, MO 64108

 *We have worked a lot with KC Rescue Mission over the years! I personally know they do an outstanding job helping homeless men and women get clean up and back in society.
City Union Mission  
(816)474-9380
Kansas City, MO 64106

Neighbor2Neighbor (This is where we ate lunch)
(816) 931-1150
Kansas City, MO 64111

reStart Inc. 
(816)472-5664
Kansas City, MO 64106

Hope Faith Ministries  
816-471-4673
Kansas City, MO 64106

Forest Avenue Family Shelter  
816.753.4753
Kansas City, MO 64110

Shalom House    
913-321-2206
Kansas City, KS 66104

Mother's Refuge    
816-353-8070
8.09 miles from city center Kansas City
Independence, MO 64055

Salvation Army
(913) 829-0578
19.25 miles from city center Kansas City
Olathe, KS 66061

Homeless Are People Too

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(This picture was taken by Orin Borgelt on my 5th Homeless Journey)
 
Saturday, September 21st I will embark on my 7th Annual 24/Hr Homeless Journey on the streets of Kansas City. I will be joined, for the first time, by Dr. Dennis Putinski, who is not only a leader at our church but a retiree who has a heart for the homeless.

 
I have been both criticized and praised for my efforts to raise awareness for homelessness. I specifically do it to help the Kansas City Rescue Mission as they prepare for the holiday season as well as the winter season. That is when it is really tough to be homeless, especially here in Kansas City. The criticism does sting, to be honest, I never like being criticized, but obviously I haven’t let it detour me from doing what I feel compelled to do in helping raise awareness for the homeless.

 
I would like to clear a few things up, to help the ‘critics’ understand better, some will never understand hence the reason they are  critical. And after that I will give you the main reason I do this every year. 

 
1)      “This is all a PR stunt.”

Absolutely! That is exactly what it is; I am attempting to raise PUBLIC awareness for the homeless problem in United States and Kansas City! This doesn’t do anything for me personally, or even for the church I pastor! We do not grow one bit from doing this PR stunt! We are a small church of a couple hundred people, have been a couple hundred people for many years. We do not get a single dime for this PR stunt either! It actually cost me personally to do it each year.  

2)      “You are exploiting the homeless.”

In my understanding of what it means to exploit I don’t see how we are “exploiting” anyone. I really don’t. We are not benefiting from this at all. All the benefit is to help the KC Rescue Mission, which in turn helps the homeless. And we are not treating anyone ‘unfairly’ in the process. I could understand this if I was getting something from this, other than sore feet and a crick in my neck.

 
     3)      “You just like being on TV.”

Yes I do, but only because I have a message I believe in! I was invited to be on a big time talk show a few years back about a stupid topic, and I declined! It was more of a Springer type talk show and the content was racy, so I declined. And if I just wanted to be on TV to be on TV, then I would be on TV a lot more often. I like TV only because it gets me in front of more people I can potentially help in some way. And lastly, when we first did this, 7 years ago now, I didn’t notify any news stations, they found out via someone else, and then they requested I send a press release every time I do it so they can run the story.



4)      “It’s not hard to live homeless for one day.”

Of course! It is not at all difficult, I have never said it was a difficult 24 hours. It’s easy really, and honestly it’s fun. Fun because of the stories we hear and the people we meet. I will do this every year until I am unable.

 

WHY I LIVE HOMELESS

 
The bottom line for me is that I am privileged. I would be considered ‘rich’ by most of the world since I make $50,000 a year! You and I know that that doesn’t make me ‘rich’ in the way we think of being rich, but to most of the world’s population it is rich. So living homeless, even for 24 hours, gives me an opportunity to hang around people who are not privileged. People who have nothing but the clothes on their backs and the items in their grocery cart they push around. I on the other hand would need a semi-truck, or two, to hold all my stuff. And living homeless each year helps to remind me how blessed (or lucky) I really am. And how that me being blessed is not just so I can get more ‘stuff’ but so that I can help those who are less fortunate than I am. I believe we are blessed to be a blessing.

 
FOLLOW ME

If you would like to FOLLOW my journey please do so through one of these websites or social networks.

 
Twitter: @TimmyKC

Instagram: TimmyGibsonKC

Personal Facebook: /Timmygibson
 
Church Facebook: /mercychurchKC
 
Website: timmygibson.com
 
Church Site: MercychurchKC.com