Does Anyone Care?

On Sunday night at 10:30pm a young man was murdered by gun shots on the street next to my house. He was killed right in front of his girlfriend, who was driving the car, and two children that were in the back seat. He was shot in the back while they were driving, and in one instant all of their lives were changed forever. The next day, some predictable things happened. The TV news trucks showed up to bring other people's pain into the comfortable living rooms of 2.5 million people living in the Pittsburgh region. The TV cameras are gone now. A newspaper reporter got the scoop from the victim's mother, and the next day an article about the pain of gun violence from a mother's perspective hit the news shelves around the city. The newspaper reporters are gone now. The local government and police officials pledged their support for the community while speaking out against this type of behavior. The politicians and police are gone now.

The powerful people are gone. Who remains? The victim's girlfriend and her children remain, living with the pain of their tragic loss and also living with the knowledge that in my neighborhood violence could break out at any time and in any place. Does anyone care? The residents of Homewood who have chosen to stay even though the neighborhood has broken down remain, hoping against hope that things will somehow improve some day. Does anyone care? The children in the neighborhood remain, doing their best to fill the gaps in their lives with whatever resources they can manage. Does anyone care? The gangs remain, ready to unleash violence on one another at a moment's notice. Does anyone care? The drug dealers remain on the corners, symbols of the underground economy that has settled into my neighborhood to fill the void left by the departure over the years of legitimate businesses and jobs. The drug addicts remain, focused in on their next high and what story they will have to come up with this time to make that happen. The prostitutes remain, moving discreatly out onto their corners each night to make enough money to feed their kids or feed their habit or fill a hole that may have been ripped open in their hearts a long time ago. The homeless remain. The widows remain. The orphans remain. The poor remain. The hurting remain. Does anyone care?

God remains. God cares. God has not abandoned Homewood, even though most Christians in Pittsburgh have. There are some Christians who have not abandoned Homewood. LAMP mentors can be found navigating the streets of Homewood every day of the week, day and night, in order to be an extension of Christ's love for those in need in this world. There are some local Christians who are committed to staying here. I am one of them. I am committed to reaching the young men in Homewood before they reach the point where they join gangs or deal drugs or drop out of school or get caught up in the streets. Julie is one of them. She is committed to reaching the young women in Homewood before they make short term choices at a young age that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives. She loves to sit out on our front porch and chat with our neighbors and the people who walk by. She has ministered to prostitutes. She has ministered to single moms. My wife is an amazing woman. My seven year-old daughter, Kyra, is one of them. She builds incredible relationships with the kids in our neighborhood. They stop by our house to spend time with her all the time. God has given her an amazing heart for reaching others. My five year-old daughter, Sierra, is one of them. She's a little comedian who makes all of the kids from our neighborhood laugh. She loves to draw pictures of those kids with street chalk on the sidewalk in front of our house. Last week, she asked one of the five year-old boys from our neighborhood to marry her. God gave Sierra an abundance of affection for other people, especially for her friends in Homewood.

Still, there are many needs in Homewood and not enough Christians engaging to fill them. There are hundreds of thousands of Christians in the Pittsburgh region. What will they do about the stories of violence in Homewood that they hear on the evening news, or read about in the newspaper, or the calls from the politicians and police for everyone in Pittsburgh to get involved? Will they choose to seek out the least and the lost in their own city, or will they harden their hearts and turn their backs? People are dying. People are suffering. The time to act is now.