As many of us are a paycheck away from trouble, Rev. Jerry Doss, whose Abundant Faith Ministries is a provider of services to the homeless in Springfield, sees some homeless people who were doing better not long ago. Doss says some of the clientele he sees are only recently in trouble. He says people who had tremendous resources at one time, lose their job and find themselves in need of resources now.
Doss says they receive a number of calls each week from people with needs, from food to clothing, or just to help get through social issues such as depression.
He says it's rewarding to see people give back though. He says you often see it on television or hear it on the radio...volunteers feeding turkey dinners to the homeless at Thanksgiving, or somebody dressed as Santa Claus giving presents to the homeless at Christmas. Doss says he sees some formerly homeless people who have turned their lives around now helping the homeless.
"They serve now from their heart, as opposed to it just being a job," says Doss. "They say 'hey, I want to make my life count' and when they've been through challenging situations they say, 'I remember when I was out there' and they want to help someone out."
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development says more than 15,000 Illinoisans are homeless.
(Posted 12-10-2012 at 10:54am, Illinois Radio Network)