2014, a time for caring for others - and a better way to give to the homeless

I haven't posted in a while, but I thought the start of the year was a good time.

I have read many posts about having to be responsible for your own happiness over that last year. For 2014 I suggest a new plan. Lets forget selfish lifestyles and concentrating on ourselves, the look after your own happiness because everyone else will. Lets all concentrate on everyone else's happiness - that way ours will be looked after for us and everyone will be happy.

We can go one step further - lets just concentrate on looking after everyone else - that way anyone who needs looking after is.

The most damning feature of our society is selfishness - the inability to look outside our own little worlds and in to the wider world. Lets have a society based on care and compassion rather than selfishness and consumption.

If you see someone homeless in the street, smile and talk to them - they will appreciate that almost as much as money. Don't give them cash (which can be spent on drugs and alcohol), buy them lunch - if they have a pet, give them food for the pet (most will feed the pet before themselves) and spend a little time talking to them - our time is our most valuable commodity.

With this in mind, I am trying to start a new scheme, and will be emailing the major supermarkets, fast food restaurants, media outlets and some famous and very rich people.

The idea is simple, there is good evidence that giving money directly to the homeless can cause problems. A number have drug and alcohol addictions that it may well be spent on. My Wife and I deal with this in the simplest way, by giving food.

But I had the thought, what if we were able to give a voucher for food, that way they could get more than one meal. Taking this further, what if these vouchers could be used in charity shops for basic clothing and bedding. What the voucher could be spent on would be limited, so it would only cover food and drink, and only the basic versions of those (no alcohol or luxury items). This would mean we could help - with far less chance of harming.

If we could get pet shops and vets involved then we could help care for their pets. I know a lot of people scoff at the homeless with dogs - but I have spoken with many, and the only friend they have in the world is their pet. I have seen them give water to the pet first on a hot day, and when given food tear it in two and give the bigger section to the pet. I have seen them shivering in the cold, with the blanket wrapped round their only companion to keep it warm. These are not the actions of someone using an animal to get money, but the actions of someone who truly cares for their companion.

To start all we would need is the various companies to provide till receipts that act as vouchers for their outlets. It would not cost them anything, and may make some money (with vouchers that don't get used).

Longer term, a joint scheme with a single voucher would be nice, where you can buy them from any participating store, and the money gets put in to an account to be drawn from when the voucher is used. With every year, any money from vouchers that have expired going to provide Christmas dinners for the homeless. This larger scheme though would require some staff, an account and would therefore have expenses.

To get this to work though, requires more than just an idea, it requires a following, It requires people that will use it and it requires businesses to get on bored. Please forward and share this, lets get a following - lets show that it will be used, and then it will be easier to get others on board.
I will post a link to this on Twitter (please retweet) and on Facebook (Please both like and share).

I intend to make 2014 about caring for others, please join me.

Having to steal to eat

I have just read a concerning article over a court case in the town I live in. An unemployed man, who had had his passport and other vital papers stolen from him was taken to court for stealing £12.54 in food and drink from Asda. At the time of the theft he hadn't eaten in 4 days . . . .

He was found guilty and fined £50 and told to pay Adsa a £15 surcharge for the goods.

The court case isn't what bothers me most - people cant been seen to be allowed to get away with theft, what ever the reason. The part that concerns me is that in our society we have a situation where someone needs to steal to eat. How can our government claim to be tackling poverty, when situations like this still occur.

There should be some way we can feed the homeless and poverty stricken victims of modern society with out them having to resort to theft. Even if it's just a can of discount beef stew in a disposable bowl (that would cost at most 15p per person). In 2008 there were just under 100,000 homeless according to government figures (which hide large numbers of people). That is under 5.5 million pounds per year to give a hot meal to each one every day - that is only 1.5 million over what the Prime Minister spent on travel last year.

The government has spent a fortune on it's digital britain report - concerned about getting high speed broadband in to every house in the country - shouldn't it be more important to get food in to every mouth in the country first?