Turning Our Nation's Back on the Poor: Don't Be Surprised

Traveling is nothing new to me, but the reason for the huge gaps (the length surprised even me!) in my blogs has been 3 trips to New York this month. But that's not the heart of this post.

Even in my tired state of mind I can get riled up by perusing homelessness/poverty stories on the web. A typical article, from the Madison Times, illustrates the homelessness creation efforts of the federal government--or at least the part of the federal government ultimately responsible for policy decisions.

Homelessness--for adults or kids--doesn't happen in a vacuum. It's usually not caused by one thing, but the culmination of the budget cuts that have led to significant reductions of nutrition, health care, and housing services. These and similar cuts play a major role in shredding the safety net that barely holds today's vulnerable families and youth.

A young relative of mine (I won't get more specific until I get permission) shared with me the reality of her homelessness experience. She was in her early 20s, struggling with "stuff" and easing pain with whatever substances were at hand. After several months on the streets, piling up too many legal problems with no resources to bail her out, she ended up in jail.

True, it was probably the critical moment, "hitting bottom," that sadly is needed before we make lifestyle changes. Anyone who knows much about jails and/or prisons knows this is an ugly, and potentially tragic, way to turn one's life around. Fortunately for her she had some family members supporting her--though with tough love--so she wasn't totally without hope, though I'm sure it seemed that way at times. Today she's clawed her way back to self-sufficiency, tenuous as it may be.

But, the reason she ended up in jail was essentially that she she wanted to get into a treatment program but lacked insurance or money. This country's turned its back on helping people attain sobriety. And, if a homeless person is "lucky" enough to get into a 3-day detox program they get released to the streets--not the best place to test fledgling sobriety.

She told me about how hard it was being so alone on the streets, knowing that she couldn't get a job without a place to live and couldn't get a place to live without a job.

Then she gave me something more valuable than a paycheck. She thanked me for what I do--raising awareness of and sensitivity to homeless kids and families.

Seems to me that being busy or tired is no excuse. I best continue doing what I'm doing--so kids like her have a chance to live up to their full potential.

New York, New York Could Help Regauge Poverty

Homeless shelters in rural southern New Mexico are rare--or consist of ramshackle trailers gutted to make dorms, like this location outside Deming. Emma, the woman who runs this ministry, says it's not a place for families. But they come anyhow....

A New York movement to change the way poverty is measured could give rise to a long overdue adjustment to how this nation measures poverty. The reassuring message that "only" 12.5% of the population lives in poverty is misleading at best.

The current U.S. Poverty Level is based on the good ol' days--the 1960s. Remember those days?? Gas cost $1 for 4 gallons! Home heating and electric costs were minimal. Housing didn't require 2 incomes. Take a look at this link and decide if you'd be able to survive, much less thrive, at this level.

No president wants to adjust the poverty rate in this country. It just wouldn't look good, "My legacy is poverty statistically doubled during my term of office." Nah, it ain't gonna happen.

Some enlightened economic experts have determined what it takes to survive in this rapidly changing economy, suggesting that doubling the current rate would be more accurate. The independent and brassy mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, has embraced their concepts.

Shift from bustling NYC to the fringe of the SW United States border to the town of Columbus, NM. This crusty, dusty community of about 1,800 embodies poverty to the limit: at the current rate it shows up at 57%. More realistically it would be 100%, with no visible means of lifting itself out of the poverty pit.

As we were being shown around this area by the school district's homeless liaison, both Laura and I cringed at the thought of anyone being raised here in this shantytown. Hundreds of children walk to an overcrowded school and play on the shade-free dirt roads a mere 3 miles from Mexico.

"Doing without" typically means doing without water, without heat, without a solid structure to come between ravages of weather and your family.

Far too many places like Columbus exist in our still-wealthy country, hidden in the mine-scarred Appalachian hills; in forgotten fringe neighborhoods abutting fast food littered Interstate highways; spilling through the guts of large, medium and small cities; discretely concealed on the edge of glitzy resort communities; and scattered like tumbleweed throughout remote rural areas.

What seems to be lost in the argument is that these neighborhoods are comprised of people--adults and children discarded by the techno-economic monster that devours its own in its greedy pursuit of power and profits. Homelessness is a natural by-product of such inequities. Homelessness is proof that poverty is alive and well in America.

Seems to me that it's time to get the numbers right instead of deluding ourselves that "only" 12.5% are poor. Maybe by channeling 25% of our nation's resources to alleviate poverty and homelessness we'll start to undo decades of neglect that has led to the mess we're in right now. What do our presidential candidates say about this?











Columbus, NM poverty