Yetzer Ha-Tov Foundation ^®

One man’s trash is another man’s hope

Children will not remember you for the material things you provided

but for the feeling that you cherished them.

 ~ Richard Evans ~

 

The year 2008 will long be remembered as a time when hideously overpaid bankers, leaders of industry, and carmakers lumbered to the governmental powers that be, hats in hand, begging for financial assistance and intoxications of billions of dollars. Much to the dismay of millions, such aid was granted.

YET disregarded by members of Congress and the media were scores of families – many with infants and toddlers – who were homeless in the midst of this fiscal chaos. Where are the nation’s priorities? What does it say about our country that we are willing to bail out banks, but not our most helpless citizens? With the nation’s economy the way it is, including numbers of foreclosures, job layoffs, rising food and fuel prices, and not enough low-cost housing, the legions of children who are homeless will increase.

The following estimate on homelessness is from a study done by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty which states that approximately 3.5 million people, 39% of which are children, are likely to experience homelessness in a given year. In early 2007, the National Alliance to End Homelessness reported a point-in-time estimate of 744,313 people experiencing homelessness in January alone. *It is important to note that this study was based on a national survey of service providers. Since not all people experiencing homelessness utilize service providers, the actual numbers of people experiencing homelessness are likely higher than those found in the study.

One in fifty American children was homeless in 2005-2006. 2% of all American children are homeless in a given year. 1,555,360 American children lacked permanent homes during these years. 22,688 of those children call the streets of Oregon their home. This number excludes youths who are homeless and living without their families. The total number is an under-count. Homeless, these children also endure a lack of safety, comfort, privacy, reassuring routines, adequate health care, uninterrupted schooling, sustaining relationships, and a sense of community. These factors combine to create a life-altering experience that metes out deep and lasting scars.

I have given you approximate statistics and am sad to say there is no way that the homeless count can be measured with 100% accuracy. But we must consider which is of more importance in the knowing: the number of people that experience homelessness each year, or how to prevent it from getting worse and determining a way to bring it to an end?

 

If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am not for others, what am I? And if not now, when? ~ Rabbi Hillel  ~

The Tiniest Little Problem