Can you imagine having nowhere to rest, no home, no bed and no place to go? When you try to find rest in a park, on a stoop or even in the street, you get kicked out by people who say you legally can’t be there. This is what it’s like for the homeless.

In my city of Lancaster, PA, our homeless citizens are routinely chased away from places where they’re just simply trying to lay down and rest.

Living on the streets is not easy, neither is getting off them. One thing that would help though, is if the people trying to survive homelessness could at least have a place to rest without being harassed by government, shop owners, or anybody else.

Dave Costarella is the founder and director of Hand Up Partners (more on them in the coming weeks), an organization whose stated goal is to solve homelessness in Lancaster. One part of that process is to get citizens to see our homeless neighbors as part of the community, and to better understand the things that make surviving homelessness even more difficult than it needs to be.

Costarella wrote and recorded the song and video below, illustrating the problem of there being no place for the homeless to be. Too often, the only people willing to help in this situation are the drug dealers, who are always eager to offer their version of help.

I hope you’ll take a few minutes to watch:

Just Let Me Lay Down

If solving homelessness sounds like an impossible dream- it isn’t. There are numerous examples from all over the country, where communities have stepped up big-time to help their neighbors. One of those places is Vero Beach, FL, where a group called The Source has implemented many of the things Dave has been advocating here in Lancaster. The Source director Anthony Zorbaugh recently spoke at a community meeting with Hand Up Partners, and both Zorbaugh and Costarella agreed that no progress can be made unless it comes from connecting with and caring for people as individual members of the community. Dave explains it well in this short video.

Essence of Humanity Interview

Are there homeless in your community? Is there anything that was done to help them? Please share any success stories and I’ll share them with Hand Up Partners.

My family’s annual fundraising holiday song is in the works, with proceeds going to Hand Up Partners and Dave Costarella- more info coming soon.

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