Struggling with poverty

[hicaniplay]

No stalkers hunt me down, but thought I'd share a local news story with you guys.
http://m.thesalemnewsonline.com/mobile/news/article_f023a66e-b130-11e4-89a6-e730be7ec6de.html#.VNo8_OyMkMc.facebook


Anyone have any thoughts on ways to help? How do you help others, if you can?

This is really sad to me, both because this is local and because I know there are places that try to help. For example there are two churches that give out free clothes and small toys to anyone who wants them and the food pantry gives out a box of food with a proper full (or nearly) week's worth of meals monthly. Which I suppose isn't helpful at all if you can't drive to pick the stuff up nor have anywhere to cook or store food.

I'm not sure what else is available but maybe this quote from the article helps to explain some too:

Says Richardson: “I can describe the mindset of people living in poverty with one word, ‘fear.’ … When someone has no hope it’s like carrying deadweight, and they’re not even capable of helping themselves. It’s like a paramedic responding to an unconscious person. You can’t expect them to let the medic know what happened, or to help the situation. But once you give people hope, they wake up and their whole outlook changes on the future. Then it’s that much easier to begin helping people out of poverty.”

[BlackSheepNY]

There really isn't enough being done in this country to combat homelessness.  Our biggest problem is the government giving away our tax dollars to help terrorist countries and other countries, and not spending that money where it belongs - RIGHT HERE.  Poverty is a growing problem in the U.S. due to the phenomenal amounts of unemployment.  Our tax dollars should be working for US, not some terrorists.

[Nancy5]

I agree with Blacksheep.  Our government sends billions of dollars to poor countries with no chance of ever being paid back.  Yes, in these countries people are hungry, they are homeless, etc.  and my heart breaks for them, but I feel once everyone in this country has a roof over their head, heating fuel in their tanks, and food in their house, then and only then should we help these countries.  How can they send money to other countries when citizens here are homeless and hungry?  I am so tired of hearing we are helping this country and that country, can anyone come up with a country who helps us?  Thanks all you countries who helped us when we had Katrina or Sandy.  We had help from no one, like always.

[hicaniplay]

How can they send money to other countries when citizens here are homeless and hungry?  I am so tired of hearing we are helping this country and that country, can anyone come up with a country who helps us?  Thanks all you countries who helped us when we had Katrina or Sandy.  We had help from no one, like always.

I agree with both of you on the first bit of course. Personally I can only remember ever seeing ONE ad years ago on late night tv asking for donations to aid hungry AMERICAN children. Only saw it once, but what a stand out, considering all the other ads are asking for money to aid hungry children in foreign countries, medical, or animals.
It's often an issue that seems ignored or hidden. Like we have to pretend America is great and perfect 100 percent or something.
(Not that my heart, and yes a bit of cash, doesn't go out to the less fortunate in other countries. Just because there are problems at home doesn't necessarily mean we should completely shut down on our more distance family.)
I'm gonna be called a liberal democrat commie or some such, but less military spending more helpful spending is how I'd like it to go, tho not gonna say any more than that.


However, as to the last bit of your comment and your question, a simple google search turned up a list of countries that offered aid to the US after the hurricanes. So, yeah.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_response_to_Hurricane_Katrina
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/9282598/ns/us_news-katrina_the_long_road_back/t/foreign-aid-us-katrina-relief/#.VN0WePnF_To
https://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20121101221113AAP9iP8
I guess to be fair, apparently the aid offered was less than a billion total when it cost the US 125 billion, but at least aid was offered (even if most wasn't taken). At least according to the one Washington Post article I skimmed (just not feeling up to reading downer stuff right now) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/28/AR2007042801113_pf.html

[paints]

There is a guy in Arkansas who had a good idea.
http://www.theoneinc.org/category/updates-the-van-central-arkansas/

[ShadeTree]

I know what this is like. I have lived my whole life walking right on or very, very close to either side of that dreaded poverty line. It takes a massive toll on people, and a large portion of that is in ways you can't readily see with your eyes. No one should live this way. Poverty shouldn't exist. But it won't go away until greed is either extinguished, or kept well in check; and we all know how unlikely this is to accomplish in a world of 7+ billion people.

[Sendmicheck]

These stories are very touching.  Thank you.