Taking in Strays

While I was trying to decide what to write about next, my daughter suggested I write about taking in strays. Sure, that's relevant to our house right now, we just took in one and we're getting ready to take in another this weekend. That's what we do, take in the homeless. The last one was a little black ten year old dog, the next one is a young man in need of a place to stay.

Yes, the strays I usually take in are cats or dogs. Most people that know me know I'm a sucker for an animal that is facing being dumped or put to sleep. That is how I ended up with so many cats and dogs at home, taking in animals that I couldn't place in new homes. But I've found over the years that it isn't always a crabby kitty or a fussy puppy that needs a place to stay. Sometimes it's just a little more complicated than that.

We've all watched “The Blind Side”, but how many of us have lived it? I don't have a spare bedroom, but I have found out that when you find a young person in need they're more than happy to have a couch to sleep on while they're getting back on their feet. I haven't put anybody through high school and on the path to college, but I have let somebody know that they are cared about and they do have a family they can turn to.

A study from 1988 showed that between 500,000 and 600,000 Americans were homeless. A study from 1994 showed that an average of 7 million Americans have been homeless at one point in their lives. A third study done in 1997 showed that between 1987 and 1997 that in 11 cities in 4 states the need for shelter beds doubled. When we take into consideration the number of foreclosures in America since the beginning of the recession, the number of homeless could be astronomical. So what do we do about it?

Churches and charitable organizations do as much as they can to help ease the pressures, but we need to do more. I can say that I've kept three young people and one entire family from having to endure homelessness for long. I won't pretend it was always easy, there were bumps in the road, but it was worth it to help friends in need. I never know when I may be the stray in need.