Open Door
RANT WARNING: Continue at your own risk...
Tonight we took a field trip to the Open Door Community in Atlanta. Its a service center/semi-shelter/mission for the homeless. They provide food, clothing, shoes, blankets, medical attention, etc. for the homeless of Atlanta. The approach is different than the one I would take as I am more social service centered but they (the live in "workers") do things I am not willing to do. What you ask...living in the same house with 15-20 other people, pooling financial resources and having next to no ownership of stuff. Each person makes only $11.50 spending money a week! I spent most of that on my dinner this evening. Nonetheless, I support what they do and the services they provide.
Unfortunately Atlanta's homeless population is growing and the City/ATL Citizenry rather than addressing the problem has decided to try to close all the homeless shelters in what is now high property value areas... including the Open Door. To "solve" the homeless problem they just want to push out/get rid of the homeless people by putting them in jail or pawning them off onto other cities. All I can think is "wow...I live in a city/state with absolutely no compassion!" There is actually a group of citizens living near the Open Door (its on Ponce de Leon near the Majestic) who have hired a para-military security force to "ensure neighborhood security" see: terrorize the homeless. These upstanding citizens also have a 6-point plan for neighborhood improvement and point 4 is to close the Open Door Community. *head explodes*
Why are we as Americans particularly Southerners such self centered materialistic people? How is it that I live in the Buckle of the Bible Belt and yet the "poor" are so neglected and ignored? How can they want to put homeless people on buses to other states and yet call themselves good Christians/Muslims/Jews/Pagans/Buddhists? I call bullshit. I think "the Buckle" must be like the hole of a donut, empty of the good material of which it claims to be a part.
As you can see it got me riled up. I have not yet figured out what to do with my own guilt, purposeful ignorance and attempts to look the other way on the issue of homelessness. I am not sure where to start but it seems this semester I am being exposed to several homeless centered agencies/missions etc. What do I do with that?
On a happier note: Got an A on my CC midterm paper. Yay. Just one paper to write this weekend that's due at 5 pm on Saturday. For now, to the reading for tomorrow.
Tonight we took a field trip to the Open Door Community in Atlanta. Its a service center/semi-shelter/mission for the homeless. They provide food, clothing, shoes, blankets, medical attention, etc. for the homeless of Atlanta. The approach is different than the one I would take as I am more social service centered but they (the live in "workers") do things I am not willing to do. What you ask...living in the same house with 15-20 other people, pooling financial resources and having next to no ownership of stuff. Each person makes only $11.50 spending money a week! I spent most of that on my dinner this evening. Nonetheless, I support what they do and the services they provide.
Unfortunately Atlanta's homeless population is growing and the City/ATL Citizenry rather than addressing the problem has decided to try to close all the homeless shelters in what is now high property value areas... including the Open Door. To "solve" the homeless problem they just want to push out/get rid of the homeless people by putting them in jail or pawning them off onto other cities. All I can think is "wow...I live in a city/state with absolutely no compassion!" There is actually a group of citizens living near the Open Door (its on Ponce de Leon near the Majestic) who have hired a para-military security force to "ensure neighborhood security" see: terrorize the homeless. These upstanding citizens also have a 6-point plan for neighborhood improvement and point 4 is to close the Open Door Community. *head explodes*
Why are we as Americans particularly Southerners such self centered materialistic people? How is it that I live in the Buckle of the Bible Belt and yet the "poor" are so neglected and ignored? How can they want to put homeless people on buses to other states and yet call themselves good Christians/Muslims/Jews/Pagans/Buddhists? I call bullshit. I think "the Buckle" must be like the hole of a donut, empty of the good material of which it claims to be a part.
As you can see it got me riled up. I have not yet figured out what to do with my own guilt, purposeful ignorance and attempts to look the other way on the issue of homelessness. I am not sure where to start but it seems this semester I am being exposed to several homeless centered agencies/missions etc. What do I do with that?
On a happier note: Got an A on my CC midterm paper. Yay. Just one paper to write this weekend that's due at 5 pm on Saturday. For now, to the reading for tomorrow.