0 The Ugly Reality...Homelessness Never Far Away

One of the most difficult things I can imagine for the people I've known who experienced homelessness, especially families, is when they face returning to it. And this week I found out about a family that did.

Charlie, our HEAR US "poster child," the cute boy whose image was captured by photojournalist Pat Van Doren, a longtime friend and conspirator, and his mother, "Cookie," recently lost their home, for reasons that I'll keep private, but not unlike reasons of other vulnerable people. 20-year-old Charlie had been working, but got laid off and is now just trying to make ends meet by temp work, staying with a friend. His mom is staying with people she knows.

In our latest documentary, "It's All About the Children," each of the 7 women expresses some form of "I'd never want to be homeless again." It reminds me of Scarlett's quote from Gone With the Wind,

As God is my witness, as God is my witness they're not going to lick me. I'm going to live through this and when it's all over, I'll never be hungry again. No, nor any of my folk. If I have to lie, steal, cheat or kill. As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again.  

I certainly don't mean to imply that Cookie or Charlie would ever "lie, steal, cheat or kill," but I could understand the sentiment. 

When I visited them in summer 2008 I was touched by Cookie's pride in showing me her blue glass collection. She beamed as she spoke about her "clowning" as Cookie the Clown, brightening kids and old folks' days with her routine. Charlie was finishing courses for his high school diploma and was working had his sights on getting in at Caterpillar, a great paying job.

Formerly homeless families face repeat bouts for any number of reasons. It's easy to slide down the slippery slope. It's much harder to get back up, and the thought of being homeless hangs like a dark cloud over your shoulder, even for those far removed, as this family was. Stigma, lack of resources, feelings of failure--all contribute to the trauma of the return trip.

Today as I drove across Texas' backroads, I saw lots of roadkill, including a wild boar. It got me to thinking about people in poverty--they are the roadkill on the Capitalism superhighway. 

Seems to me our way of dealing with poverty and homelessness needs drastic changes. It's bad enough to experience homelessness once, but you should be granted a "get out of jail (homelessness) free" card if facing it again, sort of like we gave those rich bankers and Wall Street scoundrels. 

Detail: The Ugly Reality...Homelessness Never Far Away

0 Cries from the Street, People Moved to Tears...

Yesterday I shared My Own Four Walls with a group of women from Naperville that I refer to as "the salt of the earth." They are members of Church Women United--the women that faith communities rely on to get things done.

Naperville, one of the most family-friendly communities in the nation happens to be the HEAR US home base. Tillie and I have slept in Naperville--just to be able to say I was homeless in Naperville--and I know lots of good people from this homogeneous suburb.

Despite an educated populace, I suspect it's like every other community--largely clueless when it comes to homeless kids. Following the 20-minute screening of MOFW, the reaction of almost the entire audience to these articulate young spokespersons was clear...tears. Several woman bought MOFW DVDs and books that we sell to raise awareness of homelessness and to keep me from being homeless in Nevada.

Meanwhile, on a totally different level, tears were being shed on Wall Street as once-solid financial firms crumbled under the weight of what people like me would attribute to greed.

I understand the financial market about as much as most people understand homeless families. At least I admit my ignorance. And I try reading about the problem--and proposed astronomical solutions--numbers my little brain can't comprehend.


Seems to me that it's time for some mutual understanding. Since people affected by the shattering sounds on Wall Street are inching closer to calling the streets "home," perhaps we could share some street-wise tips. I can tell you where some good places are to sleep in Naperville if you don't have money. You can tell me where to find some pockets of dough to fund HEAR US. Sounds like a fair trade to me....

Detail: Cries from the Street, People Moved to Tears...

0 Can't Help But Wonder...

My perspective is different than the average American, whatever that means any more. I look at the extremes of wealth and poverty with a somewhat jaded eye, knowing more about the effects of the extremes on the bottom end than the top.

That being said, I can't help but read this op-ed submission with agreement as to the absurdity of income levels of Wall Street's leaders who seem to have led this country's, and global, economy down the toilet.

As millions of US households struggle with unmanageable mortgage payments, falling home values and foreclosure, Wall Street executives are awarding themselves record year-end bonuses.

Major US banks are reporting billions of dollars in write-offs from bad investments and double-digit losses in stock value. Nevertheless, among the four largest investment firms—Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns—bonuses amount to nearly $30 billion.

You see, my thoughts tend to drift to the "have-nots" who have not even a place to call home.

The kids who played with these stuffed animals are now getting closer and closer to the abyss of the worst kind of homelessness that families experience--having absolutely no place to stay at any time.

Imagine, if you will, hearing mom and dad stress out because they know their motel room costs more than they can pay, and their city has no place for them to turn for emergency shelter. That stress pours out, tainting family life with a toxic residue that poisons the kids as well as the adults.

If this family can't soon find a home they will slip further into the vortex of homelessness. It shreds any vestige of "normal" family life that exists. It causes people to make mistakes, some serious, as they struggle to keep a roof over their heads. Parents slip into despair because they can't provide the basics for their children. Kids act out, knowing their lives are not anything like they were, and they become alienated from friends and isolated from normal childhood experiences.

What would one of these over-compensated money people say to the kids who had to leave their toys behind in the home their family lived in for the past 5 years, paying rent and caring for each other, when the landlord refused to make needed repairs and the city condemned the property?

Seems to me that real national leaders would realize that allowing out-of-control wealth building is not good for anyone, including the overly-wealthy who have more money than God. But changing things would turn today's economy on its ear. How bad could that be?

Detail: Can't Help But Wonder...