Would you invite a stranger into your home and offer him/her hospitality?

Answer 1

We do. I'm part of a movement of small intentional communities where people provide housing, meals and community for people who need a place and some time to get on their feet, and we don't charge them rent.
Over the years "we" have taken in refugees, former soldiers, women fleeing violence, people partly recovered from addictions who need a 'dry' house to live in, travellers, people who lost their income and housing due to health or moderate mental health challenges....
It's a trip. I recommend it for groups of single adults who are willing to live and work communally, and share income/resources.

I've also known of families who keep one spare room to provide hospitality for one 'lower-risk' single person at a time (i.e. a pregnant young woman thrown out of her home by family, or an international student who can't afford the full cost of housing and meal plans on top of their tuition, or an older person who requires companionship while their regular companion or caregiver is away or in hospital, etc.)

EDIT: I just realized I should clarify some things. A group of us rent two houses side by side. We occupy half the bedrooms in each house, and invite people to live with us. Everyone (or couple, or parent with young child) gets their own room. The rest of the rooms, the food in the fridge, the computer we use, are all shared.

Are there risks? Yes. It's been good that a couple of us have a background in jobs that have taught use to assess risk, recognize mental health problems, and understand something about addictions. We're clear with people from day one that it's short-term housing (from a few days to a few months, usually) and that if the living situation isn't working out for us, they may be asked to leave immediately. (By not charging rent, they are our guests, and cannot claim any 'right' to stay longer if we have to ask them to leave.)

Have I ever had to evict anyone summarily? Yes. We found a crack pipe in the house several months after a recovering addict moved in. We confronted him gently and with concern for him and his well being, but firmly. We gave him a list of nearby shelters, several bus tickets, and a small amount of cash (enough for one meal). We let him take a shower and pack up his stuff, and he was out that night. (Though we kept a lot of his stuff in the basement til he had somewhere to take it.) I had one person supporting me in the process, and five community members 'on alert' in case of any need for assistance. It went smoothly.

Radical honesty and preparation helped. He told us when he moved in, that he goes through periods of using. We asked what that looked like, how we would know if things were out of control, and discussed boundaries for community safety. He was told in no uncertain terms "What you do elsewhere is up to you. We recognize that beating an addiction involves multiple relapses, normally. We're not going to judge you for that. But this is a dry house. Don't use it here, don't bring it here, don't keep any in your room, and if you're high, find somewhere else to sleep it off before you come home. And if you owe a lot of money to dealers, who might want to track you down at home, that's not cool. Don't bring that kind of trouble here. This is our home. We have to protect this community, for us, for everyone else, and for people like yourself who want a 'safe' place when you're not using." He understood, he agreed, and that was the basis for the eviction later on.

Does stuff ever disappear from our houses? Occasionally. Bedrooms are one's own space. We have a policy that each person's room is their own, and of NOT having locks on bedroom doors, so that everyone has to cultivate a culture of trust, instead of a culture of mistrust. It seems to work - the only things that have gone missing in our house since I've lived here, have been a few items hat were left lying around in common areas.

There is one exception to the 'no locking' rule: One of us has a small safe where prescription medications, and important identification or legal papers can be kept (i.e. refugee or immigration documents), to ensure their safety.

To be honest, people are more important than stuff.
I'd probably take bigger issue with all of our pots and pans and things we have to rely on every day all disappearing, than if a TV disappeared. (We don't have many big-ticket items to begin with. The less stuff you have that's worth stealing, the freer you are from worry about it getting stolen or damaged!) The most frustrating thing to have disappear is probably bicycles, because they're the thing most easily stolen and converted to cash that we really have to rely on. But bikes disappear in this neighbourhood all the time - that's not specific to th hospitality that we do.

We prefer honest, challenging, trusting relationships that promote growth and healthy interactions, over consumerism, mistrust and defensive or pseudo-self-protective isolation.

I think a large part of why this works for us, for the most part, is that there are so many community members, and few of us have regular work schedules, so there are always lots of people in and out. Until recently, we didn't even lock our front door every night, let alone during the day if anyone's home. And we live in what is notoriously considered to be one of the roughest neighbourhoods in our large city! Also, we live between three other households of people who are part of our community and share our values (though not doing hospitality in their homes because they work full time, or have small children, or have no space.) They are a huge support for us.

Answer 2

This is a rather strange question, but I'll give it a shot. If the stranger seemed like a nice enough person, I might accept their invitation, but I'd also know that I might be dealing with a Jeffrey Dahmer type. I also happen to think that there's lots of places I can find salvation if that's what I'm looking for or I haven't found it already, so why would I need to go into the person's house?

Answer 3

Yes I would. I've never had the opportunity to bring home a stranger, but I have had the joy of inviting those who had nowhere to go for the holidays to share with my family.

As a teen runaway, the kindness of strangers was extended to me regularly. I would appreciate the chance to return the favor.

Answer 4

In these days it is difficult to invite some stranger into our house, if they need food or money I will give them without letting them inside. And ofcourse if my family is with me I may invite a stranger and it depends upon the situation.

Answer 5

I know... Jesus is the stranger... It's a familiar story to me, one my father loved.

I wish I could say I would invite a stranger in, but I cannot do things like that for the sake of my family's safety.

The best I can do is donate to the City Mission and know they will use my money to *safely* care for those in need.

Answer 6

Done that.

Drunk/homeless dude passed out in a bush at the side of the road. We literally had to drag him into the car reeking of booze and b.o. He was totally unconscious.

Took him home cleaned him up had dinner with him. Turned out he had a small cabin in the mountains. We drove him there gave him a few bucks and some clothes. It seemed to give him the lift he needed to get back on his feet.

His name was Frank and he made hunting knives in his shed. He got that going again and did ok for himself selling knives to hunters in town.

Answer 7

That depends on a lot of things, like the circumstances, my impression of the stranger etc.

Answer 8

It depends on the situation. Now, if you're thinking of Jesus, and your point is we wouldn't let Mary in, so we are not Christians, any more, let me tell you I am NOT a Christian, but I would probably help a pregnant woman. But my house is religion-free, so my home, my rules. No preying (I mean, praying) at home.

Answer 9

Yup, I use to take homeless people to my house for dinner in graduate school. I rode the bus and there were always a couple hanging around the stop. I considered myself fortunate to have a good stipend and I felt obligated to share it.

Answer 10

Yes, I would...If they ended up being a crazy killer thats ok also. At least I would have known that I was spending my final momants thinking about someone other then my self...
If I did'nt and they were in true need of somthing then what would that say about me?

Answer 11

I think this is very risky. Although Islam is very much for hospitality and helping the needy but it is against endangering innocent souls as well. You do need to be hospitable but wisely too.

I do not think I would do such a thing. I might be wrong, though.

Allah knows best.