Hungary became a country as a Christian country. I feel sorrow for the homeless of Hungary who are now criminals because they are poor or rootless. To me this is as backwards as it gets, that is if this is what Hungarian Christianity has come to.
This I realize is a strong statement, but I come from one of the wealthiest "Countries" of all, not just the United States but California, which has an amazing economy statistically but which still has thousands of homeless people, and believe me when I say that those homeless census' are only of those willing to be counted. California, especially the large cities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles, where rents and housing costs are extreme has that impressive economy but still so many are not included in it.
I believe stereotyping homeless people is a problem. For instance a stereotype is that homeless are all mentally ill, addicted, or criminal, when sure, some are, but many are not. Consider that there are people out there who have worked for many years but at jobs that just did not pay enough money or had no retirement plans.
I've met these people around town due to some volunteer work I've done and because I take my dog to parks which are usually near civic centers and libraries. In recent months I've met a man who is on dialysis who was a fisherman for many years and who has been sleeping under the roof of a senior center for two years. I met a woman who sleeps in a borrowed car who is a cancer survivor and due to her illness was out of the workplace for some time. Both impress me as intelligent and stressed out but well mentally (i.e. not seriously permanently mentally ill.) I also met a man who refused to pay his rent when his rich and powerful landlord refused to repair the walls of his old apartment which had vermin (rats) coming in. He was on the street for 11 months before he found a place in a new senior building. The new senior building was built in a part of the city that has a crime rate almost double than the rest, in other words a very undesirable area. Most people in it are afraid to go out after dark.
In the United States being mentally ill (and willing to go on disability such as SSI), or addicted (and willing to get into rehab) generally will lead to housing with some sort of government subsidy for the rent, but even then this can take months or years.
I attended a church service recently where the minister was talking about "What would Jesus do?" Wasn't it Jesus who said the way we treat THE LEAST OF OUR BROTHERS is the way we treat Him? If this is so, then the criminalization of homeless in Hungary is not the act of a Christian or a Christian Country. Please think about this for one hour this week, the hour you might devote to church going or not.
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