major causes of homelessness. Our society believes that “If somebody is homeless, then we should give them a home.” This is a bit like saying, “If somebody is poor, then we should give them money.” They don’t believe that such individuals might be broken, hurting, or suffering the effects of sin; otherwise they might say, “If somebody is hurting, then we should provide healing.” So our communities provide housing first. To be clear, housing is always a good idea. If we get every hurting person off the street and into a home, we feel better, but they do not—they are still hurting. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. It just means that housing and a safe place to sleep are only part of the solution. As rescue missions, we know this even when we provide shelter beds or transitional housing. The best of all is when, through the love and grace of Jesus Christ, we can provide healing. When healing takes place and relationships are restored, families and friends step back into peo- ple’s lives. They bring with them hope and love and pictures of grandkids…and a home to come back to, a place and a people who have been missed. The real solution to homelessness is quite sim- ple. We need to bring homeless people back home. Whenever I get homesick, it’s never for the roof over my head or the door I can lock. It’s always for the people in my life. It’s the love I crave and the love I miss. I am sure this is true with those experiencing homelessness too. How much better it would be if the tire shop wouldn’t just sell more tires, but that they would send a couple of staff members to go out with some brooms and sweep up the nails that are causing the problems and the pain all along. We would do well to do the same, and to invite others to join us. Ĩ 14 WWW.AGRM.ORG MAY/JUNE 2017 When healing takes place and relationships are restored, families and friends step back into people’s lives. They bring with them hope and love and pictures of grandkids…and a home to come back to, a place and a people who have been missed. Jeff is the president of Union Gospel Rescue Mission in Seattle. He previously served for 26 years at Hume Lake Christian Camps in California. You can reach him at jlilley@ugm.org.