Attacking homelessness one family at a time...

Start by imagining sitting in your living room on Christmas morning, your hands wrapped around a warm cup of coffee, kids anxiously waiting, and all your loved ones sitting around you in your home.. While a house is a structure that provides a place to sleep and to protect one from harsh weather, a home is much more. A home is defined by the hearts of the people in it, a home is a place to gather, to make memories, to love, and to get away from all the stresses of the outside world. It is a place to learn, to grow and develop as a person. Now imagine not having a home. Imagine not having a place to do all of these simple things that most people don’t even think twice about. Homelessness in the United States holds more than 500,000 people in it’s strong grip, and on top of that the amount of people left homeless and unsheltered has risen 9% in a one-year period (The Data Face). Studies strongly indicate that the reason behind the rising rates of homelessness is due to the lack of affordable housing. “As of 2017, eight of the ten states with the highest rates of homelessness (which includes Washington, DC) are among the ten most expensive places to live.”  (Business Insider). In psychology, Maslow’s popular “Hierarchy of Needs” shows a pyramid of needs from basic needs(bottom) to more complex needs(top). In 1943, Maslow said that individuals must be able to satisfy the lower levels before proceeding to the higher levels. (Simply Psychology).Credit: Simply PsychologyShelter lies at the second level of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, so according to the pyramid, the homeless population is not even able to meet what is considered to be the second basic human need. Consequently, the homeless population experiences much greater difficulty in reaching the psychological and self-fulfillment needs. As Grace Like Rain, we have a vision of a Community Village that will help provide a solution to this huge problem that not only Denton County is facing, but the nation as a whole is facing. This Community Village will be named Love First, because above all, we want to love first because that is what God has done for us. We want for families to come and live here while they are working with a Coach and Family Case Manager to set and reach goals that will help them eventually get back on their feet and reach self-sufficiency.  Love First will not only satisfy the affordable housing need, but also provide counseling and an abundance of resources to help with emotional and spiritual obstacles that a family may be facing, all on the same property and community that the family would be living at. This vision is to put the homeless into HOMES, where they may grow to love themselves, others, and above all God.  So imagine with us one more time, seeing the faces of moms and dads as they are sitting around together talking, sharing a cup of coffee, the kids running freely around without Mom and Dad worrying about safety, laughter filling the air, and imagine watching these families experiencing a sense of love, community, and having a home for the first time in a long time, or possibly ever. Just imagine being able to be apart of ending the homeless problem that so many people are facing, and being the hands and feet of Jesus by providing the homeless with a home. If you would like to be a part of Grace Like Rain and our vision of Love First by giving financially, you can click here. If you know of land or would like to be a part of the team to make this community happen, please email us.  Isaiah 58:7 “Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter -- when you see the naked, to clothe them, and to not turn away from your own flesh and blood?” Leviticus 25:35-36 35 “‘If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and are unable to support themselves among you, help them as you would a foreigner and stranger, so they can continue to live among you. 36 Do not take interest or any profit from them, but fear your God, so that they may continue to live among you.”