I'm just speechless as to what I seen this morning on TV. This is the reason why I know I should not watch the news, but then if I didn't watch the news, then I wouldn't know what is really going on out there! I guess there are areas across the states that are now called "Tent Cities". Has anyone ever heard of these??? I always thought ten city was jail!! NOPE, they are vacant fields (I heard some are even parks) where the homeless are going after they are turned away from homeless shelters. In sacramento, the shelters are turning away around 200 people A DAY. These people are pitching tents & living in their tents in these fields. One family I seen had 2 younger children & the mom was telling the news crew how they are getting cold at night. I heard the comment that the city was allowing these people to stay at these sites. ALLOWING? These are People we are talking about, families with children..WHY are we letting them be homeless?
I am totally heartbroke about this issue, when did we quit taking care of our people? When did the government stop caring about what is really going on out there? Do they know or do they just not care? Cant they open new shelters?? Provide warm places to sleep? Showers or bathrooms? I know the economy is hurting but give me a break! If you can bail out banks then you should be able to build another shelter somewhere for families with no other options. Then I must ask, where is the family? No way in HELL would Ty & I ever let anyone in our family live in a tent in a field somewhere & I know they would not allow the same for us! As hard as it is to live with other people, you must do it when necessary & that situation is absolutely necessary! The guilt that came over me as soon as I seen that report was completely overwhelming for me on a personal level. It's no secret that Ty & I are going through our own financial struggles & we have made many budget cuts in our finances, some that were very hard to do. We complain because we dont want to get rid of the boat, cabel channels & vacations, while some people dont even have a place to lay their kids down to sleep at night! WOW. I feel so incredibly grateful that our kids can get hot meals, showers, beds, clean clothes & so much more that I have personally always taken for granted. I'm so grateful for my family & I love them so much! In a strange way, I was probably meant to watch that. Our struggles we face are no where near those of others.
The Morgan Bunch - Our Family Story
As sad as it may be to some, most people are very prideful. If Derek and I lost our house right now, there's no way in hell we'd move back in with our families, or go to a shelter. We'd be living out of our cars. It's just a pride issue. Many of those families are drifters, they choose not to go to shelters. And it's probably good that they don't.
ReplyDeleteHomeless shelters, battered women shelters, etc run rampant with disease, illness, and parasites. What parent would rather subject their kids to the mentally ill homeless, to the disease infested, to the drug addicted? I would rather risk the tents, than the shelters.
Tent cities have been around for a long long time. But there is just a large homeless population now, that is in the public eye. They've always been there. Homeless have always been camping at parks at night, sleeping under high school bleachers, in alley's behind Dunkin Donuts.
Unfortunately there really isn't much else we can do for these people. Because many of them aren't willing to work. Those that are, aren't the one's begging on the street corner. It's a sad situation yes, but one that will always be around.