More Americans hungry, homeless in 2006: mayors

[rodeodance]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061214/us_nm/usa_homelessness_mayors_dc

More Americans hungry, homeless in 2006: mayors

By Lisa Lambert Thu Dec 14, 5:03 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More Americans went homeless and hungry in 2006 than the year before and children made up almost a quarter of those in emergency shelters, said a report released on Thursday by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

"The face of hunger and homelessness right now ... is young children, young families," said the conference's president, Douglas Palmer, the mayor of Trenton, New Jersey.

The survey of 23 cities found civic and government groups received, on average, 7 percent more requests for food aid in 2006 than in 2005, following a 12 percent jump in 2005.

Requests for shelter rose by an average of 9 percent in 2006, with requests from families with children rising by 5 percent. More than half the cities said family members often had to split up to stay in different shelters.
..........

[Monkeyman]

1. Found on the Street Iraqi veterans and their families

Our homeless veteran total is 200,000 think how many are not veterans. This crap in the riches Country in the world has got to stop

http://www.helpaveteran.org

[OhioChick]

2. The US Government

should be ashamed of this. Bring back jobs from overseas so that people can work, feed, clothe and shelter their families.

[lunerod]

3. breaking news?

How is this breaking news to anyone who's lived through the Bush economy?

[silverojo]

11. It seems to be breaking news here, at least

Almost all we hear about is the war...and while it's a very important issue, all these impoverished people here at home are being forgotten.

Including homeless veterans of the Iraq war.

We need more articles like this, to keep the suffering of America's families front and center in the media spotlight. We need more candidates like John Edwards who are capable of objecting to the Iraq war AND caring about America's poor at the same time.

We need to quit forgetting the needy, just because they're not as dramatic as a war, and therefore considered not as "newsworthy" by the media.

[Megahurtz]

30. I Agree.

It's, War, War, War, in the News, but is the issue of poverty, hunger, and Homelessness
ever covered by the News? People unable to finds jobs and/or jobs that pay enough
to support them and their families ever mentioned?

Hell No!
Let's paint a rosy Bullshit picture of how we are the richest Country in the World:eyes:
so it looks as if everyone is rich!

What a horribe joke and the joke's on us. :(

[katsy]

4. Happy Holidays.

My wish this season for this criminal administration, the bloodsucking vampires known as haves & have mores, corporate facists everywhere and their enabling supporters:

In addition to your great wealth aquired by thieving, lying, murdering, may you and your heirs suffer great pain and loss. Drop dead vampires. May you never dream again. You've sucked the hope and dreams from our children's eyes, families, friends and fellow human beings here and around the world. You've replaced hope with starvation, pain and grieving. I have no empathy for you. Die. Very painfully and very very slowly. May your dreams be tortured and frightening. May you never leave your fortressed homes without fearing us.

The death of a slug is far more tragic than yours.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0ELgFGd2fs


:rant:

My apologies to those of you who have more capacity for love and forgiveness than I. There's just no empathy left in me.

[Monkeyman]

5. I have seen to much lately to have any empathy left for the chimp

[barb162]

7. Actually this started in the 80s but there has been a huge

increase in it the last few years

[katsy]

8. Parasites.

They suck everything good and whole from society.

[babylonsister]

9. Holy shit. Great rant! Righteous, and scary, but I understand

your anger. You did that so succinctly!
I'm impressed, and hope you're okay.

[katsy]

19. 22 parties those worthless maggots are going to.

Children die in Iraq and starve here.

Up until a couple of days ago, I was "righteously angry" and disgusted.

22 parties later I'm furious.

Give up a few parties and give to the soup kitchens. Make an effort. Set an example for the other worthless idle rich. Show us some humility and sacrifice. Maybe they can make the poor mascots and coddled them for just one holiday. I want leadership that gives until it hurts.

Ya' know, I have 5 year old twins who are making responsible choices this season. One toy and we donate our $ to the food bank and other charities their school sponsored events like adopting familes etc. That's sacrifice for 5 year olds. My daughter gave her desert $ to a child who didn't have cash for desert in the lunch line! The prouder they make me the angrier I become with these greedy slobs in washington.

[barb162]

6. Yep, keep sending American jobs to Asia, keep importing H-1B

Visa workers to the US when there are perfectly capable Americans already doing the jobs, and when the economy collapses, see if China sends some food to the food pantries here

[Historic NY]

10. What a shame Americans starve while Iraqis die.....................

Suffer the Little Children to Come Unto Me Or, Of Such is the Kingdom of Heaven"And they brought young children to Him, that He should touch them: and His disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God"
(Mark 10:13-14

Republicans and * could only develop corporate aid vs. aid for people. they couldn't even pass a minimum wage hike w/o putting some earmarks on it to support corporate greed. Katrina showed the whole world how FUBAR we really are. Its a shame the so-called richest country in the world and the most powerful nation can't even take care of its own people. Shame, Shame, Shame. The bible thumping Republicans can't even take care of innocent little children, unless of course its involved Rep. Foley.

[babylonsister]

12. And let's not forget the homeless who are single without kids to

even draw attention to their suffering. What is anyone doing for them?

[EFerrari]

14. Actually, most programs for the homeless haven't caught up

with the reality that homeless families (mostly single moms with kids) are now the fastest growing segment of the population.

So that means, if you're homeless and have managed to keep your family together, there are few to no services that are prepared to help you.

Most programs are set up to interact with single people.

(And I post this knowing that if you are homeless or a host of other categories, the system does it's best to tear your family apart because it's easier to deal with you one at a time.)

[babylonsister]

15. But if you're homeless without a family, you fall by the wayside, at

least for online donating. I could not find one. There's a DUer who is homeless and I tried, but it's incredibly difficult.
A few threads recently about Habitat for Humanity vs. true homelessness that didn't go great. But it's getting worked out.
I gave to H4H last year, but after all the crap adverts I got this year, I know there's an organization that puts more money into doing than soliciting money.

[EFerrari]

17. You are right.

It is incredibly difficult, babylonsister.

Try the National Coalition for the Homeless. This is a self-help org that is effective nationally. Dear to my heart, anyway. You decide. :)

http://www.nationalhomeless.org/

[Megahurtz]

28. Actually, no,

most programs are set up for people who have kids.
They disgard the single Homeless people and treat them like they are lazy criminals.
"What's wrong with them if they are Homeless and can't find a job to support themselves?":eyes:

At least that's the way it is in shitty California.

[EFerrari]

33. Hmm. Now I wonder if I have my facts straight.

Maybe I'll give the Coalition a jingle and see if they can help me out.

:)

[Megahurtz]

34. Well, unfortunately

I'm just going by past experience!

[EFerrari]

35. Well, here's to today, Megahurtz.

:hug:

[EFerrari]

13. There are people living all around us in these conditions.

Or, trying to live.

[anitar1]

16. Yes, too many. I think everyone is entitled to have warm

shelter and food to eat, at the very least. We just had a food drive here. Canned goods picked up by our mail persons and delivered to the food bank. The food banks can barely keep up with the demand anymore. Things are becoming worse by the month.I am not in a christmas mood, thinking of all the people in dire straits, and those poor people in Iraq who live in terror and are afraid to go out their doors. They too, are having a hard time obtaining food and water.I wish I could stop thinking about all of them , but it doesn't work that way for me.What if our children and grandchildren were out on the street ?

[EFerrari]

18. Well, we do what we can do. If we all did, we could fix this thing.

Thank you for thinking of your neighbors.

:hug:

[LynnTheDem]

20. But bush is setting a record for money for his war.

Let Americans eat cake.

bush has a war on.

[rebel with a cause]

21. People will argue

That a country filled with obese people cannot also be filled with hungry people. Except.....

1. Poor people often fill up on carbohydrates in an attempt to control their hunger, and not the healthier food that costs more
at the grocery stores.

2. When you are prone to be hungry, your body stores up fat because your brain signals that it is needed for later.

3. People suffering from poor nutrition, and obesity, tend to be less active due to low energy levels.

Beleive it or not, they now say that even lack of sleep lends to weight gain. Sometimes you cannot win for losing.

[Brazenly Liberal]

22. My question for conservatives

All those folks who keep saying we are better off without government programs for the needy because private organizations can feed and shelter people more effectively:

If they can, why don't they?

[rebel with a cause]

24. Alright, time for me to be a downer.

First of all I don't think there is enough private organizations out there to handle all of those in need. On top of that....

I worked for a non-profit organization that depended on donations, government grants and medicaid. They were more focused on the books than they were their "clients". Staff was cut, services were cut and the clients were put in jeopardy because they were worried about being in the "black and not in the red". And when I say in the black, I mean in the BLACK! And the people high up in the agency were VERY well paid. This was an agency that worked with children, but I imagine it would be the same with many of the other non-profit organizations that work with the poor and homeless.

A non-profit organization is still an organization, and most are more interested in operation results and funding than anything else. I wish I could say I didn't believe this, but I do. :dilemma:

[Brazenly Liberal]

27. Yep. You are right.

But there are also many organizations that do function better. Some of the best put 95% or more of monies available into actual work done.

Still in all, the evidence says the right wing is wrong. Private orgs can't do the job. It's unrealistic to expect they can. I've been arguing this point with GOP types and they just don't seem to get it. Their argument is always one in which the government has to completely defund social programs first and then private charities will step in and do it better. It defies logic. Ending what government programs do exist will only vastly increase the number of people who need assistance. If private organizations can't do it now, how the hell are they going to do it when there are so many more people in need?

[rebel with a cause]

31. You're right, of course.

One of the problems with the right wing way of thinking is that (like you said) the private organizations cannot take care of the amount of people who need assistance in the first place. These organizations usually depend somewhat on government funding also, and when the wingers then cut the funding (to give the rich their tax breaks), this hinders the organizations even more.

In my opinion it is the same with state governments. Under bush, the states have been pushed to take more of the responsibility for social programs, education, etc and yet they have cut the states federal revenue that has been in place for years. If you happen to have a democrat governor, the way we do, then the right is quick to point out the money problems the state may be having and accuse them of everything if they happen to not be having problems enough. Oh well, I'm probably just blowing out hot air.

[Lance_Boyle]

23. Silly mayors...

these people are merely suffering from low food security and are domicile-challenged.

See? re-wording makes it all better...

[rebel with a cause]

25. Much better

I feel so relieved.:sarcasm:

[progressoid]

26. Exactly! It's not hunger, it's low food security. Sheesh. nt

[SeattleGirl]

29. Touche', Lance

The evil Bush Cabal is absolutely convinced that if they re-word something, it DOES make it all better. And if they don't talk about something at all, it doesn't exist.

You know, I doubt Bush could last 24 hours as a homeless person.

[rebel with a cause]

32. Just a thoughtless one.

bush being bush = :beer: