Did you see Oprah today??? 2/25/09

[Blueyes]

My son works with the homeless in Seattle. They have tent cities..in fact the ones that my son has worked closest with live in hot pink tents donated by the Girl Scouts. He leads a Worship Service for them every week...they call it Church Under The Bridge. They also have a program called Night Watch that rides around at night to check on people, hand out blankets, etc. The mayor wants them in a shelter, but the truth is that they are all full.

I think what made it real for me is when Dustin called and said "Mom, there are KIDS here..families with their kids!!" It was a pretty big shock for a young man from Texas! He said families had rather stay on the street because if they do go to a shelter, the wife and kids are separated from the husband...and shelters can be dangerous places.

I have learned so mush about homeless people in the last 6 months. They aren't all drunk or drugged bums that just won't get a job. There are educated, decent people out there that have just lost their jobs. Everybody isn't fortunate enough to have a family to help them through the hard times.

If you would like to, you can Google Nicklesville Seattle. There was alot of press coverage about them not long ago.

[gja1000]

We have many many homeless people here in Austin Texas - because the winters are so mild. Many of the homeless are the mentally ill who can no longer live in state facilities, but cannot maintain a job/home/etc on their own. We also have a huge population of homeless young people, some who have run away from home and others who have been turned out by their families. They have a tent city also.

My husband just watched the Grapes of Wrath last night and he was talking about how people from (mostly) Oklahoma moved to California for work in the depression and dust bowl and how they were treated when they got there. I don't know how my grandpa made enough to pay the taxes on our farm (in Oklahoma) during those times, but he did so my family didn't end up in California. If you read the book or watch the movie, the things those folks went through is amazing, but not unlike what is happening now, I think.

It is very sad and likely to get worse before it gets better. I do think it will get better, but will take some time.

[Janet]

Oprah had a couple on that use to make a 6 figure income. This couple is in their late 50's and now live in their office. The man was a joy to listen to and he said that the difference between his parents going through the depression and people now......is we haven't learned to save and live without like they had to do. We didn't learn the lesson. I believe for most people he is right. We have a rental house investment, but as far as savings....we don't. We just didn't always have enough to put back. I need to find a way to do that, to put money in savings.

[gja1000]

That is so true Janet. Things cost more today than they did back then, comparatively speaking too. But we "buy" more now, cuz there is more to buy. We all know we have too much stuff - but everyone does!!!

This is a good lesson, painful as it is.

[Janet]

Really made me think Gayle. I mean we have three 4 TV's in this house. One goes out so we really are fine. Hubby wants to get it fixed (and we are) but he also wants to buy a cheap one because it's just a matter of time before the one in the bedroom goes out. I think we should wait, but it just isn't worth the argument. So if he has the money saved up some where....more power to him. He has always had his private stash...not sure where he comes up with the money, but he always had some.

[DianaB]

That is so sad. I can't imagine living on the street when I had family that I could live with. So many people live pay check to pay check and when they lose their job they have nothing to fall back on. So there's probably a lot of families that are just a pay check away from being homeless. The thought of a child living on the street really bothers me. I would like to think that in our small community that people would open their homes to others in need but I don't know. In my family we've often talked about that if things were to get bad then the kids would all move in here with us.

[Tiramisu]

I got home in time to catch part of the show. I felt so bad for the couple in their office. It reminded me of the 20 days we had without water and electricity after Hurricane Ike.

Of course, there are lots of homeless people on the streets of downtown Houston and in shelters. I always say, "There, but by the grace of God, go I".

Our house is paid off, but there's still taxes and insurance. I worry about my kids and g-kids.