If you watch television, if you read the newspaper, if your eyes are open as you walk down the streets of any major city, then you know that we have a problem in our country. In the richest city in the world, in the richest country in the world, there are too many people who are homeless and too many people who are hungry. And we can't sit around waiting for the government to solve this problem, we have to roll up our sleeves and do it ourselves. Not because someone says we have to, but because it's the right thing to do.

Who are the homeless? Many of them have mental or physical disabilities. But the majority of them are regular folks, like you and me, who have lost a job, been through an illness, folks who in better economic times were able to get by from paycheck to paycheck.

Perhaps the building they lived in was condemned or had a fire and they couldn't find an apartment with a rent they could afford. Some of the homeless have jobs and still can't find an apartment they can afford. There was an article in The Times recently about a man making $30,000 a year who couldn't find an apartment for eight months!

Many of the homeless are families, especially single-parent families. And almost half the homeless are children under the age of 10. Those children certainly can't be held responsible for their circumstances and certainly shouldn't be punished for it. There are homeless veterans and senior citizens who must choose between buying food and buying medicine --- because they can't afford both.

The homeless are our neighbors; they are people, who if we got to know them, might be a good friend, and a responsible citizen. No one wants to be homeless. No one wants to sleep in a shelter or on the streets. No one wants to be hungry. The homeless have the same dreams and hopes as you and I. Think of them and you might easily say, "There but for the grace of God go I."

None of us by ourselves can solve this problem. But we can do something about it; we can make a difference by supporting the Coalition for the Homeless and the Interfaith Nutrition Network, two organizations that have been helping the homeless and the hungry for over 20 years. Every dollar you give will help someone who doesn't know where their next meal is coming from or where they'll sleep tonight.

Please be generous. Contributions may be sent to: Coalition for the Homeless, 89 Chambers St., New York, NY 10007 or Interfaith Nutrition Network, 211 Fulton St., Hempstead, NY 11550.