This past week I attended a session on homelessness and the poor led by Atlanta Union Mission CEO Jim Reese. Jim made a startling statement,
“Have you ever noticed why you don’t see women living on the street? It is because they take your kids away from you if you’re living on the street. That’s why they’ll live with men who are on drugs or will beat them. The most important thing to these women is keeping their families together.”
I literally teared up when he said that. For decades I resented my mom because of some step-fathers I had. Looking back, the reality is mom was out of money and if she didn’t do that, we would have been homeless.
Several thoughts:
- Men, we have to do a better job as husbands and fathers and not put our families in these situations.
- Bad decisions with good intentions are still bad decisions. However, I can sympathize on a certain level with these women.
- Churches, we need to take care of single moms in our congregations so they don’t have to settle for options that have generational consequences.
Jim’s session rang my leadership bell as a husband, father, citizen, and church leader. How does his statement make you feel?
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