At the busy streets of the big city, busy people in business suits walk around at a frantic pace. Disposable coffee cups get thrown into rubbish bins every half a minute. Well-dressed executives receive calls on their expensive phones. Employees stare quickly at their watches, wondering if they'll make it to the subway station or the bus stop just in time. Yet in this picture of wealth and big business, there are those who stick out like a sore thumb.

There's that old woman bundled and huddled in old scarves, with all her belongings piled up in a rusty shopping cart that's missing a wheel. There's that crippled man in a frayed overcoat slouched right beside the subway station, with nothing to his name but a cardboard box for a bed, and an old cup to collect spare change in. There's that family of four that just got evicted from their apartment, and made the dumpsters in a dark alley their “home” for a few days.

Homelessness may seem dramatic, but it is a very real problem in society. It's not easy to hold down a job, and it's definitely not easy to make enough money for a down payment on a house. Many homeless people are honest, hardworking people who don't have the same chances and opportunities as others. Handicaps, poverty, and a lack of education are just a few of the many things that contribute to homelessness. While homelessness is a long-term problem that requires a lot of effort from society as a whole, you can do your small part in eradicating the problem for good.

Who are the Homeless?

Studies and surveys show that in the United States, over 600,000 people are homeless. There are two kinds of homeless people:

• Temporarily homeless people are those who don't have a permanent home for the time being. Many temporarily homeless people are evicted from their homes or their apartments, or have to sell their homes because they can no longer afford the payment or the mortgage. Some live in homeless shelters, inexpensive hotels, temporary dwellings, or in the streets until such time that they can afford a home.
• Chronically homeless people are those who don't have homes to begin with and continue to live in the streets. Many chronically homeless people have trouble holding down a job because of substance abuse, extreme poverty, or a physical or mental disability. Without jobs, they cannot pay for a house or an apartment, and are forced to live on the streets.

Spare a Little Something

Some people prefer not to give to homeless people because it doesn't address the problem of homelessness for the long term. Yet by giving small alms to the homeless, you can help them get through the short-term, which is also very important. Here are some things that you can give to a homeless person on the street.

• Spare change. A small amount of money can help homeless people buy clothes, food, and snacks to get by that day. There may be some homeless people who'll use the money to buy stuff like cigarettes or alcohol, but many of them will appreciate a small amount of money you can give to help them out.
• Food. Many homeless people scrounge trash cans and dumpsters for food that's thrown away, or sneak into restaurants and fast-food outlets for leftover food. Some of the homeless subsist on soggy fries, half-eaten burgers, or cold cups of leftover coffee. A hot meal can help them get energy to find work and to trust the kindness of strangers.
• Old clothes and blankets. There are many things you own that you can give to those who live out in the streets. An extra umbrella can protect them from the rain and snow. You can give them a fresh change of clothes, like pants or shirts that you don't use. A warm blanket from the department store or a second-hand clothes shop is inexpensive. If you can afford it, you can buy one to give to a homeless person.

Give to Homeless Shelters

Even the kindest and most generous people in the world know that homelessness is a very big problem. All the small kind acts in the world will not take one homeless person away from the streets. Homeless shelters are put up by charitable institutions to provide shelter to the homeless. Some homeless shelters also provide livelihood training programs for homeless people to get a steady income and turn their lives around.

While some homeless shelters get government funding, money and supplies are still not enough to help the hundreds of homeless people who go there every day. A box of old clothes, extra groceries, or a token donation can help homeless shelters feed and house the homeless.

Participate in Programs for the Homeless

Maybe cooking and serving food in the soup kitchen of a charity or a church does not compare to a morning jog at the park, but every little bit of effort can help solve the problem of homelessness. You can check out the bulletin board announcements of your local church or charity to check schedules for many outreach activities you can participate in. Here are some community-sponsored activities that you can join and help with over a weekend:

• Soup kitchens. Soup kitchens feed homeless and hungry people in poor areas, especially in inner-cities and other low-income areas. You may cook up a secret recipe for a special dish for homeless people to enjoy, or you can distribute plates or bowls of cooked food to the poor.
• Bake sales. Say you have a great recipe for oatmeal cookies or cheesecake. Some charities and churches sponsor bake sales where the proceeds of the sale go to homeless shelters and feeding programs for the poor. Not only will you have fun baking the goodies just like Grandma used to make, but you also help the homeless with the sale.
• Distributing goods and supplies. You can set aside a weekend morning to join a charity brigade. Some charities spend mornings giving away food, clothes, and beddings to people who live on the streets. You can incorporate your morning exercise routine with this activity, especially if the charity brigade goes around a whole city block. Food banks are a good place to donate food items. You can also give donations of food and other used items to charities like the Salvation Army or the Volunteers of America.
• Reading campaigns. Many homeless people don't have an income because they don't have enough skills to get and keep a job. Some charities hold adult education classes for homeless people who want to learn how to read and write. You can set aside a weekend afternoon to volunteer to teach one of these classes.

Get to Know More About the Problem

One of the best things you can do about homelessness is to read and to understand the problem. Books, journals, and other documents in the public library can help you understand the problem of homelessness from many perspectives. Some governments may keep resolutions, drafts, and other public press releases at the library. At first you may be intimidated at how much reading you have to do, but it will all be worth it.

You may even find some mistakes or loopholes that your local government made that don't solve the problem of homelessness at all. If you can, write a respectful letter addressed to the city council or to the appropriate government agency regarding what you think can be done about the homelessness problem. Remember that in a democracy, every voice and every opinion counts.

Be More Understanding

Sometimes even the least that you can do is often the best you can do. The homeless are often called “invisible people” because they are almost always ignored by the people walking past them. Some people even act hostile towards the homeless; they may kick them around or spit at them, and treat them as less than a human being.

Even the simplest act of kindness can make a dejected, homeless person believe that people are genuinely compassionate. A penny, a cup of coffee, or an extra scarf means more to a homeless person with nothing than to a person who has everything he or she needs.

At the end of the day, the busy streets fall silent, the street lamps dim, and everything falls silent. The homeless people of the once-busy streets will shuffle into a storefront or a dark alley, straighten out their cardboard boxes, and huddle under thin blankets or worn and frayed coats. The old woman will check to see if there's anything to eat in the mess inside her shopping cart. The man will try to warm his body by breathing into his hands. The kids in the alley will cry out for food although their parents don't have the money for it.

It all seems surreal and depressing, but a little bit of kindness, compassion, and a couple of neatly-folded dollar bills can go a long way to make this world – or at least the busy streets of the big city – a better, happier place.