The Other Side of Charity's Coin

Crisis Prompts Aid for Evacuees, but Area's Homeless Feel Left Behind

There's the picture that goes with the headline in today's Washington Post (a friend sent me the link). Can you say "posed"? Then there is the the metro column that goes on about the area homeless and the Hurricane Katrina victims (see link below).

Every Day, We Ignore the Everyday Poor

Being poor, being homeless, wondering where the next meal will come from, how will the mortgage/rent get paid this month, next month, how will the utilities get paid are all concerns many share or harbour in the back of their minds.... All concerns far too many Americans have yet reading the above articles I cannot help but feeling revulsed that they would capitalize on and exploit the victims of a devestating natural act in the name of raising local and national awareness of the poor, the homeless.

I can understand there are mental health issues for someone being homeless; however, I cannot understand subsidizing, enabling, a subculture that allows rampant procreation and abandonment of children. I struggle to clothe my ever growing children; yet there are children on welfare that dress in designer clothes. I pinch pennies to make sure my children have nutritious meals everyday; yet I see people wearing designer clothes and lots of "bling" in line at the grocery store using food stamps.

They put a homeless outreach center a couple miles from my house, just outside of the historic part of town. Ever since the place opened, the visibility of the homeless has increased. Were the homeless always around? Probably. However, what do those homeless people do? You can drive by at any given time of the day or week and see the same people waiting around to be fed.

I'm not bitter nor do I have anything against homelessness; but I do have something against people exploiting the system, a system that encourages people to be lazy, to NOT be held accountable, to NOT be responsible! Why do we keep feeding the homeless but don't bother to really teach them how to feed themselves? Why do the homeless feel (and sometimes act) like WE owe them? Why are people trying to stir my sympathies? And, taking that one step further, why do they only do it when there is some other "sensational event or cause" to tie it to? Why is it that many immigrants can share a single dwelling but we're trying to house families individually in public housing? There are so many families where each adult works 2-3 jobs to make ends meet; and, at the same time, there are so many families that sit idly by waiting to collect a check every month, many times with the adult claimants having some obscure disability, when it suits them, benefits them. Where is the work ethic? The sense of entrepreneurship? Why are we still subsidizing a failed system? Why are we rewarding poor people to have yet more babies, babies who have the very real potential to depend on us in their adult lives and/or be homeless?

As I stated earlier, I understand there are very real reasons for homelessness, many beyond the control of the homeless. I understand catastrophic events come along and make people homeless. Throwing more money at a problem does not solve it nor does it go away. Stopping the vicious circle does. Analyzing what is truly broken about the system and fixing it instead of applying the band-aid approach. Going to the root of the problem instead of just addressing obvious problems (i.e., hunger). Thinking of solutions that aren't always "politically correct" but are a more common sense and realistic approach. Understanding that yes there is an investment in getting people off the street, off the welfare rolls but, also, understanding that this investment is not without cost, sacrifice, to the poor person, the homeless person. We are too often trying to run our country by popular consensus instead of doing what is best for us today, tomorrow, and in the future. We often look to point fingers when the problem is so enormous it's not readily solved, remedied. We are a cash and carry, convenience society, impatient and intolerant, not wanting to be part of the process but always complaining about the results, the products

Effecting a change in mindset, raising awareness but also accountability at the same time, giving the poor and homeless tools (e.g., education, vocational training, low rate loans) instead of finished products (e.g., food, money, housing), giving them opportunities instead of options.

I watch our tax dollars go into an educational system that is failing our children, putting them at a competitive disadvantage in the ever flattening business world, widening the gap between the poor and the rich. Our schools are a system, trying to get our kids through the system, teaching them how to "work" the system counter to honest work ethic. Where do we break the vicious cycle? I would venture to say education. It goes back to the old saying, "knowledge is power". We have been struggling with the issues of poverty and homelessness for years and years, yet we keep striving to find quick fixes. Why not invest heavily in our educational system? We've already squandered the last 20 or more years, what's another 20 or so (another generation) if we know that in in the long run it will have a positive impact on generations to come? So having said all this... My parting questions....

Why are our teachers paid so little when they are educating our future, our future business leaders, our future political leaders? What incentive is there to be a "good" teacher? What motivation is there to be a good student? They go hand in hand... Think about it....