From Your Hand to the Homeless

Close-up of a handshake | Source

How You Can Help Homeless People with a Personal Touch

In an often uncaring world it's important that we reach out to each other. You can give to the homeless in an indirect way (and you should if you want to) but giving and caring directly gives them something beyond price - human contact and recognition.

Perhaps the most painful part of homelessness for me was the isolation. At times, I felt there was no one in the world who saw me as a human being. While I have a hard time with eye contact myself, I saw that no one met my eyes; they turned their heads and hurried along.

By giving directly to homeless people you give a gift of recognizing their humanity and improving their sense of dignity and self-esteem. The items listed may not be dramatically life changing but they can serve as an excuse to approach someone who needs your voice, someone who needs to know that someone cares.

Most of the gifts listed below are less than $10 each and many are less than a dollar. So for the cost of a fancy coffee you can make a few lives a little better.

For your convenience, I've listed an online source for some items below their descriptions in case you don't have time to go out and shop for these small gifts.

We @ veterans project also build and hand out survival packs this short Video will show you some of the things we give and hand out to those in need when we have the funds and resources such as contributions and donations or personal funds are available A contribution of $25,will provide one full service pack for individual in need and a $10 contribution will help veterans project feed one individual for 2 days 

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Mylar Emergency Blankets

Warming gifts

Mylar blankets make great gifts for homeless people whether the weather is warm or cold. Mylar emergency blankets can keep in warmth better than any other available blanket of their size but they can also be turned around and used to keep heat off.

Mylar blankets come folded up tight into neat, pocket-sized packets which is why they are perhaps the best blankets to get for people with very little space to store them.

Keep It Warm or Cool

Mylar blankets or Mylar sleeping bags make thoughtful gifts. They are often sold near camping equipment in sporting good stores.

Emergency BRW Made In U.S.A. Survival Sleeping Bags - Pack of 4 Bags PLUS Four HeatMax 18 Hour Body Warmers.

I've found Mylar sleeping bags to be particularly good at trapping heat in.

Bring a Little Warmth Along With You 

While hand warmers or even the bigger warmers aren't enough to really keep a person warm they do provide a little extra comfort for cold hands. | Source

Hand Warmers

Those little disposable hand warmers can provide warmth and comfort on cold days and nights. Even in warmer climates, homeless people get cold at night.

Disposable shoe warmers also make great gifts for homeless people. Shoe warmers are usually found near hand warmers and other types of disposable heat packs. Heat packs like these can usually be found in sporting goods departments and sporting goods stores. They can also often be found in dollar stores. I took the picture of the hand warmer display in a dollar store.

photo by Kylyssa Shay

Granola Bars, Energy Bars, Cookies, Individually Wrapped Snacks 

Granola bars or energy bars are packed with calories and nutrients yet they are light and easy to carry, they taste good, and they don't spoil easily.

Granola bars make nice little gifts because it's easy to slip a handful of them into your pocket in case you run into someone who is homeless. They are also almost universally appreciated because they won't spoil or make a mess in a homeless person's pocket, backpack, or bag.

Unfortunately, many homeless people have problems with their teeth. So it's probably a good idea to also have some individually wrapped snacks that are softer, like soft cookies, little cakes, or even individual cups of apple sauce with plastic spoons taped on top.

Bottled Water, Gatorade  

In the summer, most homeless people can't get out of the heat so gifts like bottled water or Gatorade can help them to avoid heatstroke. If you put the bottles in your freezer overnight, they'll provide even more cooling power.

Moist Towelettes

It's really, really hard to stay clean when you don't have a bathroom of your own. Moist towelettes can help a homeless person feel cleaner when no access to running water is available. I've found that moist towelettes are good for quickly dealing with stains on clothing before they set.

Clean in a Packet

Nice-Pak D11000 Lemon Scented White Moist Towelettes, 5" x 7 3/4" (NICD11000) Category: Moist Towelettes

Moist towelettes are nice for after meal clean up and just to get the dust off your hands and face whenever you want.

photo by Kylyssa Shay

Hats

A lot of heat can be lost through an uncovered head in cold weather. Hats are probably the single most effective item of clothing to keep a person warmer.

You can buy cheap knit hats at most discount stores such as Family Dollar, Big Lots, and Dollar General. The ones in the photo were at Dollar Tree for just one dollar each.

Knit hats make great gifts even during warmer weather because they can also help keep hair cleaner when sleeping outside as well as keeping heads warmer in the cold.

Which Gift is Best?

Of these small gifts for homeless people, which do you think is best?

•  Hats
•  Gloves
•  Hand Warmers
•  Moist Towelettes
•  Combs
•  Granola Bars / Energy Bars
•  Mylar Emergency Blankets
•  Canteens
•  Hand Sanitizer
•  Drink Mixes

See results without voting

photo by Kylyssa Shay

Gloves

Gloves can keep homeless hands warm in cold weather and at night in warmer weather.

You can often find those stretchy, one-size-fits-all gloves at dollar and discount stores for about a dollar in many dollar and discount stores.

Magic Stretch Gloves

One size fits most stretchy gloves are a good choice because they, well, fit most.

Dental Care Items

It's hard to keep up with dental hygiene when you are homeless so a toothbrush and a sample-sized tube of toothpaste make another great, compact gift. 

You can find these items at big box stores like Target and Walmart, in dollar stores, and in drug stores, often in the sample size aisle. These items usually cost under a dollar.

Compact First Aid Kits

A compact basic first aid kit would be welcomed by many homeless people.

photo by Kylyssa Shay

Combs

Combs are one of the easiest small gifts to find and to carry. They are also easy to lose so replacements are often very welcome. They are durable and take up very little space.

You can get a big package of combs for just a few dollars at most discount stores. You can also find them in dollar stores and big box stores.

The Basic Black Comb

If you ever had school pictures as a child, you ought to recognize these. The basic black plastic comb is still the easiest to carry, most compact hair grooming tool.

Canteens

It can be hard to find a drinking fountain every single time you need a drink. A canteen can provide a way to carry a good supply of water around easily. Regular water bottles are good, too, but they are not as easy to carry if one is carrying all of his or her possessions around, too.

Canteens are harder to find than many of the other items on this page but they make wonderful gifts for homeless people. You can find them online and in military surplus stores. Also, they can sometimes be found in the sporting goods departments of department stores.

I like the military or Boy Scout styled canteens that are covered in fabric and have a strong carrying strap.

Old-Fashioned Canteens

Basic, old-fashioned canteens work very well for people who walk around a lot and have limited access to drinking water.

Fury Blanket Cover Canteen, 2 Quart with Shoulder Strap

The shoulder strap makes this canteen easy to carry around.

Drink Mix Packets

Homeless people can usually get access to water but water can get boring sometimes. Drink mixes such as hot cocoa envelopes or fruit flavored drinks also provide calories and sometimes other nutrients. Instant breakfast packets (the ones that don't take milk) are really great because they provide a meal as well as a beverage that is a treat. It's easy to carry a few in your purse or pocket in case you run into someone who might like some.

photo by Kylyssa Shay

Hand Sanitizer

Hand sanitizer, used properly may kill the flu virus and prevent the spread of germs.

Purse sized sanitizer gel is another cheap and easy gift to carry around. I also like the individual packets of hand sanitizer or wipes impregnated with hand sanitizer as they won't leak as easily or as much fluid if they do.

Sanitizer for Better Hygiene

Hand sanitizer is good to have around when access to running water and soap is not always a given.

Get Out There and Do It! - Give gifts to homeless people 

Get out there and give...

And then come back here to tell us about it. Drop me a line in the comment section below and I'll link back to your personal account of giving to homeless people.

• The Strange world we live In
  "April 28th was my birthday. When my Son asked me what I wanted, I told him I didn't know, and I'd think about it. When I finally realized what I wanted, I'm pretty sure it surprised him almost as much as it surprised me. I wanted a homeless survival kit of my own even though I am the founder of the Veterans Project the scope of our help is not just for veteran's but humanity as a whole and the betterment of it, some may think that it can not happen to you Well I beg to differ!!! I had recently took a trip a fact-finding mission with some team members of the veterans project and on return we found our accounts block without explanation and of course that takes time to rectify and get concluded and reopened given our banking system today needless to say we had no access to funds to get us all home to our family's so we were able to get everyone  but one back home but one and that one was me!!!! 
•  I found myself stranded for over 14days on the street and living out of my vehicle in a community I knew no one we anything was or what direction to go or who to turn to for help Yes me we may sometimes think that we have all the answer and I can overcome anything that can never happen to me.well given true to form life does have a funny sense of humor if you will although it was a short time of 20 days or so that i was stranded and you would think someone of my education experience hell I served 14.5 years In the US Army and have the knowledge of how to care for myself n the field!!!  
• But I learned something in that time that although it's similar survival skills it is in fact 100% different as to need urban survival skills lets call it street smarts somethings maybe in ways I lack and let me say I have come to admire from those I work with and those I have helped and have taught me ways of urban survival not found in any book I have read to date so it may not be that like me anyone did anything wrong to be placed in such away and I can not be the one to judge if another made their own bed or that thing with the funny sense of humor just jump up and bit them in the ass  !!! It was very humbling, to say the least and I would not that on anyone, I took me 14 days to ask for help and it was a Patriots group of brothers and sisters that came to my rescue all volunteer people that I have never meet nor did they have any idea of whom I was or am i my eye's I am very grateful for the fine people of Patriot Express who came together all across the country our countrymen and women came when called and not once did they question why only that a countrymen was down in the field and they came for me there is not greater love And has shown me that although we may have large organizations in this country that say they help those in need or the failed social programs like public assistance by the state or government and there is the VA programs that is said to assist veterans everyone needs to inform themselves on the truths of these programs,
•  if you are a veterans or not as I am and the many I have assisted will say they left us in the field we called for help and were turned to others to ask them but those that were supposed to help us did not only saying there are not funds to help you eat a meal or get home to your family in any public assistance program I contacted Private or public so when you have this Idea and pride built up inside you Just remember life does in fact have a funny sense of humor maybe not to you annd me but to life its a riot and it can happen to anyone anytime any place rich or poor there are those moment that only god knows why they happen  
• OUR COUNTRY WAS BUILT ON CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLES. THEY ARE THE CORNERSTONE OF OUR SUCCESS AS A COUNTRY.

Sewing Kits

When your resources are limited, a sewing kit can help keep clothing in good repair. Sewing kits make very practical gifts and are both very portable and very inexpensive. I strongly recommend the kind that come in sturdy, reusable cases.

Travel Sewing Kit

This is one of the better travel sewing kits for the price. Other kits have cheap plastic boxes that come apart too easily. This one actually holds up to use for a while.

Note from the Founder of VeteransProject Joseph F Barber,

Many will tell you That ,The lord only helps those who help themselves !!! and will not help those who may have issues beyond anyone's control and yet many of those who may be asking for help have worked their whole lives and yet life has a funny sense of humor, I heard and then what of the others those that have lost their way and can not seem to find their way back to life or what they once had ,again life has a funny sense of humor yet cruel, for me to hear another say such things as the lord only helps those who do not help themselves ,“There is some kind of a sweet innocence in being human- in not having to be just happy or just sad- in the nature of being able to be both broken and whole, at the same time.” ,and If I am correct we were created by god and we are human !! , I do not think people truly understand the meaning of the words they read or do they have an understanding or and awakening to the true meaning of love and god!!! , I think the best way to put this is simply this , for god so loved the world he gave his only son , tell me my friends what would you not do for your son or daughter's !!! and that is exactly what god expects of us and each and for each other and our world. Know this brothers & Sisters,Patriots and citizens alike, We are all in this together no matter race color or creed or the issues we may have or the idealism that hold us from awakening to the truth and one another ,“But if I'm it, the last of my kind, the last page of human history, like hell I'm going to let the story end this way. I may be the last one, but I am the one still standing. I am the one turning to face the faceless hunter in the woods on an abandoned highway. I am the one not running but facing. Because if I am the last one, then I am humanity. And if this is humanity's last war, then I am the battlefield.” Who of you will stand with me my countrymen,

Joseph F Barber,Founder
of The Veterans Project 

On a personal Note: I would like to say something that many in our world and country to today seem to be afraid or ashamed of or admit is their faith it is my personal opinion that we should trouble no one about their faith and yet many do in these troubled times, we are all haveing to live and there are many who ask me where I stand and to that it is with god no matter what you may call him & my countrymen and women When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me'. There have been those that have asked me why it is I do these things am I trying to change the world or our country and my answer to that is simple this I do the things I do not to change the world or are country but so our country and our world does not change me and make me like it a machine cold and without compassion for life and those things in it,And I close with this final word to all who read this article with my words of faith and truth of who I am Just so everyone is perfectly clear as to where I stand in my Faith as a Christian and to god “I am a strong Christian. Not a perfect one—not close. But I strongly believe in God, Jesus, and the Bible. When I die, God is going to hold me accountable for everything I've done on earth. He may hold me back until last and run everybody else through the line, because it will take so long to go over all my sins.” Honestly, I don’t know what will really happen on Judgment Day. But what I lean toward is that you know all of your sins, and God knows them all, and shame comes over you at the reality that He knows. I believe the fact that I’ve accepted Jesus as my savior will be my salvation.  

★ HELP FEED HOMELESS VETS CHILDREN AND CITIZENS ALIKE ★ While veterans represent 8% of the total population in the United States, they are disproportionately represented among our homeless: a startling 12% of the homeless population are veterans, or 16% of homeless adults. Most homeless veterans–over 90%–are male. About half of homeless veterans are disabled. You can help.
https://www.facebook.com/FREEDOMORANARCHYCampaignofConscience/videos/10204314036651126/?l=6514538313520225050

Giving the Gift of a Warm Meal

From Your Hand to the Homeless

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I believe that to meet the challenges of our times, human beings will have to develop a greater sense of universal responsibility. Each of us must learn to work not just for one self, one's own family or one's nation, but for the benefit of all humankind. Universal responsibility is the key to human survival. It is the best foundation for world peace,I say this as a veteran and citizen of humanity many will ask how do we accomplish this world goal that I can not answer but I suspect that until humanity sees our world as one human family violence and horror will continue not out of the establishments will but buy the silence of good people watching in fear of what's seems so much bigger than them and so they freeze that is terror my freedom loving friends and know this from seeing things of war and violence with my own eyes we can not win this game of life with these tactics 

"We were taught under the old ethic that man's business on this earth was to look out for himself. That was the ethic of the jungle; the ethic of the wild beast. Take care of yourself, no matter what may become of your fellow man. Thousands of years ago the question was asked; ''Am I my brother's keeper?'' That question has never yet been answered in a way that is satisfactory to civilized society.

Yes, I am my brother's keeper. I am under a moral obligation to him that is inspired, not by any maudlin sentimentality but by the higher duty I owe myself. What would you think me if I were capable of seating myself at a table and gorging myself with food and saw about me the children of my fellow beings starving to death":


Help ease their burden. Just $25 helps provide homeless survival packs