I recently read that an Occupy group in Madison, WI just opened a new
community of tiny houses for the homeless. The community is comprised of nine
homes, a resource center and gardening area.
A fascinating “Why didn’t we think of that” project, funded by private
donors and built by volunteers.
These little houses are multifunctional. They provide a break from the
elements. Their occupants will have an address, which is needed for the
employable to find work. They can grow a bit of their own food. Before people can get back on their feet and take
advantage of job training and drug and alcohol counseling, they need a place to
live.
A funny thing about giving; it’s contagious. When you do something
selfless, it can take on a life of its own. At least it does for me. I think
about what else I can do to help. I’d like to think that those who donated and
the volunteers who built the community was bitten by the same bug, and are
paying it forward in other ways.
Today's political climate is a “Robin Hood in Reverse” scenario. Take from
the poor and give to the rich. However instead of a nimble forest warrior
riding his noble steed through the English countryside, we have expensively
dressed millionaires whisking about in limousines, living behind iron gates in
homes the size of shopping malls.
Many of the moneyed who already have more than they or their heirs will
spend in a century continue to accumulate wealth at the expense of the poor;
those whose fragile existence is one paycheck away from sleeping on the
sidewalk.
Giving to those who are less fortunate isn’t as popular as it once
was.
But it’s far from extinct.
Small home communities are proof that there are still Good Samaritans out
there who genuinely want to help the needy, who believe recipients are the best
of investments and who don’t expect anything in return.
Granted it’s only nine homes, but Pandora’s Box has been opened in Madison.
They plan to build more and expand the services offered by their community.
Austin TX, Greensboro NC and Portland OR have already jumped on the bandwagon.
Clearly tiny houses is an idea whose time has come.
Initiatives like these remind me of one of Jesus' most important directives.
“Love
one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” John 13:34.
Housing, food and dignity. There for
the taking. Given with no expectations.
Sounds like love to me.
