“Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” When it comes to the homeless, are we collectively failing to teach them how to fish?

Society is increasingly more impersonal in dealing with the downtrodden. That is a great failing and a consequence will be a lessening of capability and a greater likelihood that people will deteriorate to a point where their life is shortened. These are not easy problems to fix especially during times of widespread economic uncertainty, but food and shelter can be provided for everyone with some sharing of resources. This is simply not being orchestrated in an effective fashion without building in temptation to become dependent on the state. That has been a problem in the past and this is because of the poor fit in asking a bureaucracy of the government to carry out humanitarian work. There needs to be an overhaul of the welfare system and welfare agencies and welfare workers. There are many highly dedicated people who are truly wanting to become caregivers and to be a part of the upliftment of the downtrodden. These people are in the right place and deserve support and rewards for their generous nature. Those who are uncaring and unfeeling become a liability and corrupt the system, so there needs to be an oversight and supervision by true humanitarians. That is why the idea of a government bureaucracy brings immediate problems. It is better to have a hybrid system where private charitable entities like the religious institutions are functionally in charge of carrying out the mission and then using government funding to support the enterprise rather than put it entirely in the hands of government employees, many of whom have no particular background or training or humanitarian impulses that make them suited to be, in effect, caregivers. This system needs to be very well thought out in order to impart a gain in wisdom on its charges and not creating a state of dependency that will become inevitably disempowering and demoralizing for many who then lose faith in themselves to such an extent they may never become independent and seek something better in their lives. That entrapment needs to be avoided at all costs. That requires ingenuity and people with special gifts to be true social workers in helping people sort out their lives and get on track. There is much healing needed by all involved who are in need of such services. That is hugely neglected at present other than a kind of basal coaching and practical suggestions and some handholding to guide people a bit through various options that might be open. So there will need to be quite a revision from top to bottom and a reorientation as well. It would be much better if this were an entirely spiritual enterprise that was based on healing first and foremost with an eye towards providing necessities to keep people going so they can feel greater security and then a restoration of dignity because they have a place to go and a place to sleep and a place to eat regular meals, and have people to talk to about their situation and receive meaningful guidance and some upliftment as well. This still will be a problem in the case of the mentally disturbed. The demands of the system are quite huge to manage such people. At the present time, it is mostly done through medication in the absence of more effective treatments, so here too there is need for an awakening to the true causes of mental illness and the solutions needed to help people in meaningful ways. Most serious mental illness starts with spirit possession and corruption from within by these dark interlopers. Spirit removal should be routinely done by all caregivers helping others deal with life problems. There are many people in many such roles who could be effective healers in the bargain with some training and an openness to doing spiritual work. The interlopers have seen to it that there is a separation of church and state. That notion and great personal pride in accepting it both by believers and non-believers in the divine is a testament to mind manipulation, that all are in agreement that an unhealthy situation that denies seeing to the most important lifeline any human can have is not a role of government in any manner and people are simply left on their own. The end result is clear, people will not see to this on their own because they are largely in ignorance, as are the government representatives, in appreciating that it has a central importance in everything.