A Call To Arms

The Passion

It has been 13 years since God gave me the vision for “God’s House”, a homeless shelter/training center that is to be the epitome of God’s never ending love for his people. I would have never chosen to operate a homeless shelter as a career. However, once I received the vision I was so thrilled in the beginning; it seemed like a magnificent idea and a worthy calling. I went to work immediately to try to make it happen… I didn’t realize that sometimes there is a time lapse between the vision and the fulfillment of that vision. I was a new Christian and there were a great deal of things I didn’t understand. Since those early years I have been discouraged a number of times, lost my way, ran away, hid myself away and doubted that the vision was actually from God. Each time I foolishly strayed from God, He has gently wooed me back to His heart and reminded me that the vision was indeed from Him and that I am to carry it out. I feel most unworthy as the vision is now unfolding, but I am thankful at the same time because I love to watch God bless and lift up His beloved children.

Now that I am older and wiser I really see the magnitude of the task. Frankly it is often unsettling to me to think about it. But, that is a good thing because God deserves all the glory for this organization. That is why I believe my circumstances have worked out the way they have over the last several years. Furthermore, the main reason why we were in the Rescue Mission was so God could show us how he wants his House to be operated. That ‘life in your face’, hands on kind of learning produces changes that can’t be bought, they must be ground out and learned. Once learned they become a part of our DNA. In realizing my own weaknesses and failings I will be able to give all the glory to God. Believe me there was a time when I would have been happy to take all the credit while only giving empty lip service to God. But, now I realize that no matter how gifted I am this kind of monumental enterprise takes His Blessing and a lot of work to accomplish. It will also require our continual reliance on Him to provide. Those are some of the things I learned while living at the Rescue Mission because it was operated and maintained purely on donations and faith.

During the months we stayed at the Rescue Mission, I saw the goodness of God and His love for the widows, widowers, poor, downtrodden and orphans of our society. Some of the residents had family. However, their family was either far away, had passed away or was indifferent to that person’s circumstances. Ms. Ruth, who is the Director, is an incredible mighty woman of God. She taught me so much about what it means to serve God, to have faith and to persevere.

A Problem That Can’t be Over Looked

Not all people who are homeless are addicts or mentally ill, but often they are. These are two extremely devastating conditions that make it nearly impossible for a person to work. So, yelling and cussing at a person to “get a job” is a waste of time. Furthermore, the level of help available to the poor is sub-standard at best and out-right neglectful and even damaging in most cases. This is not to say that some homeless people and/or addicts don’t resort to all kinds of deception and other crimes to survive. This is as much of a societal crime as it is a crime for those who seek to deceive and try to get help by playing on the sympathies of unsuspecting persons who only wish to help. All the rules, red tape, policies, procedures and protocols have created this entity of deception. We cannot over look this type of problem and there needs a drastic change in this area as well.

When a person has a drug or alcohol problem it is always secondary to the mental and emotional scars they carry. Addiction is a symptom of an even greater underlying problem. Without proper treatment it is impossible for a person to move forward in their life. It is also necessary to offer alternate forms of employment just as we do for the mentally handicapped. We need to look at employment or volunteering as an end, not a means to an end. Some people may be too severe to do much, but they can do something. All people need tenderness and encouragement. I believe as a society we need to stop focusing on affluence and focus on the individual and his/her talents or gifts, especially if it is clear that they will never reach the same level of affluence that some others have.

We Are a Product of Our Culture

We live in this culture where there are these standards such as getting a good education then getting a high paying job so we can go buy houses and other possessions. We are taught to pursue this and although this pursuit has some value, what about the people that can’t fit into that ‘box’ or set of standards? Where are they supposed to fit in? Well, according to our standards they don’t. We often see them as unfit to even help because they ‘want’ to be homeless or they ‘want’ to be an addict/alcoholic or they are just plain ‘lazy’.

The vast majorities of people in this country are actually treating their family and neighbors no better than the way people are treated in a cast system. We see this type of social system in Eastern cultures where people are assigned meaning and worth based on their position at birth. The homeless and mentally ill have become this country’s ‘Untouchables’. It is even worse because everyone is given ‘equal opportunity’, so more is expected out of people and we are quick to judge if they are not working as hard as we are. We use our own lives and accomplishments as the ruler by which to measure others by. Equal Opportunity is a myth in some circumstances. It’s another one of those concepts that looks good on paper, but often gets lost in translation due to the lack of character in the people of the workforce and our biases as a culture. I have definitely met homeless people who tried to get jobs but due to the symptoms of their illness cannot get or keep a job no matter how hard they try. We live in this culture that has an “every last man/woman for him/herself” mentality. We should all be moved to repentance (a changing of our mind and way of thinking). Let us each examine our own failings in light of what we have done to or have not done for our fellow human beings.

Those who are mentally ill or maladjusted didn’t chose to be that way. It is remarkable how much patience we have with a sick child or a mentally handicapped adult. Mental illness has such a negative stigma that it creates outcasts that are forced to live substandard lives with substandard medical and psychiatric care as well as becoming forced into isolation from the community.

People reason that everyone has problems so others need to just “get over” whatever ails them. However, we don’t tell cancer patients “you’ll just have to ‘get over’ your cancer”. We don’t tell diabetics that they should just ‘get over’ their failing pancreas and we don’t tell someone with a ruptured spleen to go home and ‘get over it’. Furthermore, we get angry and irritated if someone approaches us or asks us for our hard earned money.

We have many reasons to justify not helping such as, “that person has just as much of an opportunity as I do”; or “that person must be too lazy to get help”; or “that person is just trying to play me”. We have become nasty, mean, hateful and indifferent to the suffering of our fellow human beings.

This was clearly demonstrated by a recent incident in which a woman died in an emergency room in a hospital full of security guards, nurses, attendants, other patients and doctors. A video was released of the incident and can be found using this web address: Woman dies in NY Waiting Room.


I encourage everyone to watch this video and read the article because this is what we have become as a society, we are ALL guilty, even myself. As you are watching, remember this woman died in front of your very eyes via this video, so this is not to be taken lightly.
Her name was Esmin Elizabeth Green she was 49 years old. Please read her full story here:
">The Story Behind The Video.

This tragic event happened on June 18, 2008. Ms. Green was a mother, a daughter, a sister, a cousin, a child of the Most High God. Her life mattered to her family and her friends, but most of all to God. Her life ended tragically while she was left to lie there alone and suffer. Even more saddening is that she was a psychiatric patient, which further shows our cultural indifference and prejudice against this population. I just now, in researching this document, for the first time read her entire story. I just hang my head in GRIEF over this. I pray this never, ever happens again.

I am emphasizing this, not to condemn us all, but to WAKE US UP to becoming more compassionate towards our fellow human beings, to stop thinking someone else will help and to start helping when we see someone that is in need. Believe it or not it doesn’t have to take very much of your time. So, the next time you pass a person asking for money, help them to call the local shelter with your cell phone or buy them a lunch. It will not kill you to do it.

We shouldn’t use the notion that a person is trying to take advantage of us to keep us from helping. Perhaps if we ask and take time then we can find out what type of help that person really needs. If the person is trying to pull off a scam you may have to take that chance. One act of kindness can make such a world of difference to a person that is hurting or in need so we should not use that as justification for not helping.

If you are a Christian, I pray to God that you don’t keep walking. We must remember the text of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-28; Mt 22:34-40; Mk 12:28-31) and Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Luke 5:3-12pp -- Luke 6:20-23). We are called to be the peace keepers, the merciful, the light and the helpers in this world. The Church is His body; we are the eyes, hands, arms, legs, feet and heart of Christ. Followers of Christ know this so I don’t need to go any further here. You may also like to read this passage as it doesn’t matter so much what I say but it is what God says that matters most.

(Matthew 25:31-46)
31) "When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. 32) Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, 33) putting sheep to his right and goats to his left. 34) "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what's coming to you in this kingdom. It's been ready for you since the world's foundation. 35) And here's why: I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, 36) I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me.' 37) "Then those 'sheep' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? 38 And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?' 39) 40) Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me - you did it to me.' 41 "Then he will turn to the 'goats,' the ones on his left, and say, 'Get out, worthless goats! You're good for nothing but the fires of hell. 42) And why? Because - I was hungry and you gave me no meal, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43) I was homeless and you gave me no bed, I was shivering and you gave me no clothes, Sick and in prison, and you never visited.' 44) "Then those 'goats' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn't help?' 45) "He will answer them, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me - you failed to do it to me.' 46) "Then those 'goats' will be herded to their eternal doom, but the 'sheep' to their eternal reward." (The Message)

WOW! This is one of the two scriptures God gave me in revelation with the vision of God’s House. I don’t think we should help because of fear, but out of love for a God that loves us so very, very much.

A Loving Solution

The time has come for a shift in our way of thinking and in our treatment of the mentally ill, addicts and homeless. These are social problems that need a community answer. We as American’s need to stop thinking someone else will take care of it, because they aren’t and we as American’s, and especially Christians, need to WAKE UP and start really taking care of these people.

How many more years is it going to take before people realize that millionaires can be drug addicts just as much as the homeless man or woman. Millionaires can be mentally ill, yet, they have the luxury of better care. Unfortunately, we can all think of at least one wealthy and famous person that died of a drug overdose. So, why do we look upon the poor person who is mentally ill and treat them any differently than someone who has education, income and other resources? I will tell you why, it is nothing more than PURE unadulterated prejudice. Each and every pair of eyes that is reading this page (or writing this page) is responsible for the solution to this.

I believe that we, as a society, must stop judging and condemning these people. Our system has failed them and WE continue to fail them as they die, or are murdered, because of being left helpless on the streets. The conditions on the street are so very dangerous and there is such a lack of care. A homeless person is raped, beaten or killed every single day somewhere in this country. Most of the time no one even knows about it and our morgues are filled with Jane and John Does. Many of us just go about our lives never even thinking about anyone but ourselves or our own family.

Will you make a commitment to yourself today to just start helping someone somewhere? That is where the solution starts, with one person helping another person in some way. Rejoice over the fact that you have the means, the capacity and compassion to assist those in need. Then do it again!

Please use wisdom and discretion. Don't go out in the middle of the night in to camps that homeless people sometimes set up and if you need to take a person somewhere always have a male with you if you are a lady and always have two people. Call the destination first to let them know when you will be arriving and give the person's name that you are taking there. What I am mostly talking about here in helping are situations during day light hours in busy public places or for you to go to the homeless shelter in your area and volunteer. Try to partner with an established ministry or organization when at all possible. I also believe we shouldn't give money to those asking for it, because most likely that will go to drugs or alcohol. If you have time offer to help them go to the local shelter, know what the local shelter requires of people and encourage them to go by the rules.

If someone is not acting appropriately and seems to be confused, dazed, incoherent or just not acting ‘right’ call 911. Many cities have an emergency response team for psychiatric situations. Use the police, hospitals and other entities. These are better than nothing. Also search your own area and find out what kinds of services are available.

Give cash donations to established organizations that assist poor or homeless populations. If you are an employer try giving someone a job. You may have to have extra patience or work side by side with person. I would caution against paying someone "under the table" because that is against the law. People can work and make a certain amount of money even if they get unemployment or social security benefits. Realize they are just people. Set realistic expectations of them. Be smart, lock up your valuables and work with the person being a teacher and mentor. Forgive and be gentle. It takes time.

In acting on this advice you agree to not hold myself, Elizabeth McCay Deckard responsible for any of the risks you take and that you will not hold UNITAL as being responsible for anything negative that happens. This is my disclaimer statement.


If you have a heart to help please see this website
http://unital.weebly.com, this is the organization that I am establishing for this cause. The website includes the mission statement, objectives, current needs and the option to give a donation. If you have ideas or suggestions you may e-mail me at lizbrian08@yahoo.com. I bless you as you go out to the highways and byways to extend your hand and heart to someone in need. I will be doing the same. I will be writing of some of my experiences in the weeks to come.

I hope you will return to this page and tell your story as well. Let us encourage and inspire one another.