How can I help the homeless?

I have a fantastic life and I am so privelliged, even if sometimes I think I have the worst life ever (I am a teenager afterall :)), my family are not rich, not 'posh' or have the best house on our street but we get by and I am so grateful for the fact that I have those little luxuries in life that make me happy and content but I have this gnawing pain in the back of my mind that when it is pushed to my attention it hurts me so much I could cry. There are people on the streets that need help, that don't have loving families to provide of them, hold them whe they're sad, they barely have anything to eat. I feel so much love for these people, christmas has just passed and each night I prayed for these people, it is heavily snowing where I live now and when I think of these people on the streets I get a huge lump in my throat, my heart truly does go outto them but I am sick of sitting and feeling sorry for them I NEED to help but I have no idea how please help me to help them. Pelase. Thank you and God bless you all.

The area where I live has a program run by a group of churches where they open their doors and kitchens to the homeless on a rotating basis. The police are aware of which ones are currently open so they can direct them to the shelter. If your area has such a program, you could volunteer to help there. If there is no such program you could organize one. If you are unable to do that, money is always needed for homeless programs. You could organize fund raisers for the groups running the shelters and get other teenagers involved.

Your concern is very commendable.

I love your compassion. :-)

Look for organizations to volunteer with asthe others have suggested. If your school has a service organization, join it. Try to organize a service project in line with your wish to help homeless people. If you have a religious affiliation, organize a project there.

You could also divert bithday and holiday gift giving towards projects aimed at helping others.

Start thinking long term. You can start thinking about your career/education options. Do you want to work for or run a non-profit that helps homeless people, or do you want to do something else that earns lots more money so you can donate more and vol on the weekend? What skills do you need to develop? What's the best college for you? What colleges have active service organizations that you can join? How can you develop better leadership, planning, and management skills now so you can design and raise fundsfor projects that benefits others? Don't be afraid to THINK BIG.

And here's something that most people don't think of... Keep that sense of gratitude and contentment with what you have. That will help you become more of a saver / investor / giver when you enter your earning years, and will help you live below your means. When you do that, you can plan to include generosity in your budget so you can also put your money where yor heart is.

If you start now and learn to think long term, I have no doubt that you can make a large impact in many peoples' lives.

well, like rob said, theres probably a group like that nearby. I know where we live, theres a program called feed the homeless and u make food or buy it and serve it to tons of homeless people. u can also make donations there. if not, again like rob said, try to organize somthing. I wish there were more teens like u out there:) good luck:)

1. Volunteer at a place that helps these people if you have one.
2. Save up money and contribute to charities, or directly to them.

If you really want to make a difference:

3. Save up money and start a local organization.
4. Get together a group that can all pitch in and help with this. With any luck the group will get bigger and bigger, and then who knows? Something big might start.

(This was written when I was kind of in small hurry so I didn't get a chance to read the others comments. Sorry about any repitition of ideas.)

well im glad your trying to make a change :-) maybe donate food to a food drive for the homeless. good luck!

If you have some extra cash on you, try giving a small fund to them. If you can or want, bring an extra jacket along with you each time you walk along the street or even see a homeless person anywhere. Then, even if it's summer, they can at least be warm:)