I'm reading The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman. It is the second book in the past 3 months that have made me consider how easy we have it here in the United States. The other book was 1,000 Splendid Suns, the follow-up to The Kite Runner.
The Zookeeper's Wife is set in Poland and the story begins as Germany prepares to invade Poland. 1,000 Splendid Suns is set in Afghanistan's tumultuous past at the time that the extremist government tore down the huge Buddha statues carved in the side of the cliff. Both are stories of countries that root themselves in conflict and war and both are stories of a new generation about to experience for the first time how war steals the average-ness of life.
Thank God I have not experienced this in my life. Every so often, though, I wonder what it would be like, how our America would be different, if we did not expect tomorrow to be the same as today. If we had enough pressure behind us to push us forward to be even more resourceful, even more prayerful, and even more connected to one another. As it is right now, for the most part, all I need in my life is me. I don't ever expect to need my neighbor to feed me dinner because my pantry is empty.
Of course, this comes from a middle-class, privileged-class perspective because for some in America, this is the reality of their life. There are some people who really do need someone to feed them dinner or provide them shelter.
When I read the paper this morning, I must admit I lost this perspective. The pastor of First Presbyterian Dallas, in response to a Dallas program that sweeps-up homeless at night on the streets, has made his parking lot a Sanctuary, in the classic understanding of those in the middle ages, when fleeing a military foe, knock on the doors of a giant Gothic cathedral and yell the words "Sanctuary," announcing to the world that they are safe. His church has taken a stand to protect homeless people who don't want to be scooped up and put in treatment or a shelter and he now allows them to make camp each night in his parking lot. He provides a security guard and a power-washer, which some of the homeless help by spraying down the lot each day.
When I read the article, my first thought was how that might affect perspective visitors and their perceived sense of safety when visiting the church. Shame on me.
That's what happens when you live each day feeling as if tomorrow is guaranteed, almost as if there is some giant FDIC in the sky that protects the safety of my little world that I have worked so hard to construct and wish to all my heart that it never has to face the real challenges of life that people all over the world will endure today and tomorrow.
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Homelessness is a growing problem which very few Americans have shown concern for. The roots of homelessness as we know today probably started in 1969 when Ronald Reagan was governor of California. His 'LPS Act' emptied out the state's mental hospitals followed by an explosion in homelessness. It's no wonder that today the number of California homeless (200 million) equals the next 4 highest states COMBINED (Florida, New York, Texas and Michigan). The nation would receive the same boost in homelessness with Reaganomics and the cut in mentally ill and public housing, drug rehab & food stamps. During Reagan's reign, low-cost housing plunged from $32 billion to $7 billion. Between 1981 and 1989, homelessnes rates tripled. Today, approximately one-third of the single adult homelessness suffer from some kind of severe and persistent mental illness. At least 5% of these mental ill are severe enough that they cannot function outside a mental institution. Also, at least half of the mentally ill homeless are dually afflicted with an alcohol or drug problem. Drug poisoning is by far the number reason for deaths among the homeless.
Some other demographics of the country's 800,000 homeless at any given time (3.5 million at some time within a year):
* 65% are men
* 40% are between 31-to-50 years old
* Two-thirds are single and one-third are in families with children
* 60% are minority
* 75% are inner city; 25% are suburban or rural
* 20% are military veterans
* 60% have a job; 25% are unemployed; 15% are not in the labor force
* 90% of homeless women have experienced physical or sexual abuse at some point in their lives
The main contributors to homelessness are:
1. Government support of emergency shelter and services
2. Affordable housing -- dire shortage of housing for the very poor. The historic withdrawl of federal support for the creation and operation of low-income housing that began in the early 1980's and continues today must be reversed if homelessness is to be ended.
3. Lack of comprehensive health insurance insurance and social services.
4. Insufficient income -- minimum wage is insufficient to rent a one-bedroom apartment. Turning the tide, the Democratic Congress was recently able to increase the minimum wage.
5. Discrimination against homeless persons must be prevented. Public systems including education, child welfare, criminal justice, health care and others must not deny services on the basis of one's housing status. Homeless persons' civil rights to vote, to frequent public places, to utilize public facilities and to enjoy equal protection of the law must be supported and advanced. Dallas has been rated the sixth worst city in the nation for abuse of the homeless' civil rights.
REMEMBER: Homelessness is not illegal!
JiM
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