It's a moment of tension we have all felt.
You are walking down the street. You see a homeless person. And you mentally freeze. A million thoughts seem to swirl in your mind...
"What should I do? Should I do anything? Should I look at them? Smile? Say hello?"
As you approach the homeless, you become more and more uncomfortable, and the tension within increases.
What happens next?
In 2008, a team of young artists spent two months in Portland, Oregon, to find out the answer to this question.
Spending this time on the streets revealed one thing: Each person that the team encountered had their own compelling story of why they had turned to the street. For some of them, it was out of rebellion - but the startling majority of them ad come to the streets seeking shelter.
Dear World contains excerpts of letters written by the street community to the world. Their stories are paired with their portraits and readers are given an eye-opening view of what life is really like on the street and how they can help people stay off it.
Readers will meet Miranda - a former meth addict who has found healing and restoration. They will meet Jeremiah, a young man who, like many Americans, misjudged the economic stability and lost it all. They will read the words penned by people that they choose to ignore, the invisible urban population that stands in front of us all.
Some of the community is heartbreakingly young; some members are born into the streets, other land their before they become teenagers. Other members are older grandparents shuffling down the street with all their belongings in a shopping cart. With the foreclosures at an all time high, the population is growing again.
We should not ignore them.
Dear World is a book that will challenge, inspire, and equip you to answer the question for yourself. And you will be honored to be the hands and feet of Jesus to your community.
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I had the pleasure and the great opportunity to work on this project in Spring of 2008 with the RevMedia team. It was a time that was both convicting and life changing and there are days when I still ask my self "
" What should I do?"
I'm sure I'm not the only one.
So, do something about it. Join the campaign. Write your own Dear World and send it in to see it published. Tell your story, tell their story.
Be the Change.