WHY WE HELP THE HOMELESS

Helping the homeless is one of life's thorny problems that sears the souls and challenges the minds of all who come near it. There's not a single day that we "do-gooders" -- while making bag lunches, driving down to D.C. with meals to deliver or buying needed food and supplies -- don't hear, ringing in our ears, the admonitions of dissenting spouses, friends or social philosophers: "You're making sure these people do nothing. They'll never help themselves if you won't let them be responsible for their own food and drink." And we know from life's experiences that people must accept responsibility before they can change. We see the logic of those who reason that with food and a place to sleep -- some would add a bottle of wine -- the homeless may never change. And, yes, we can see, and are fearful, that the Mitch Snyders of the world could be arrogant, self-serving, political exploiters who will bring the good intentions of us all into disrepute.

But we do not have the time, the resources or the wisdom to decide the intentions of the homeless or their advocates, or to prove who will be better or worse because of our "help."

So we are driven on by our belief that among the homeless are those who have never had and will never have the psychological resilience and toughness to bring order and discipline to their lives and that they will not change regardless of what food, drink or bed we may give them. But they are still fellow human beings, and we cannot abandon them.

We further believe and fervently hope that a little help, a little caring, may sustain some few during periods of hopelessness in their lives or may catalyze a desire in some few to get control of their destiny.

So we continue on with our own particular brand of compassion for the whole of the unfortunate homeless population -- believing in the ultimate triumph of the decency of one human being to another, humble in our expectations but firm in our belief that more good than bad will come of what we do.

FRANK KIZER

Lanham

Articles appear as they were originally printed in The Washington Post and may not include subsequent corrections.