Policy plus Relief

Tricia Neal's column in the Sunday paper was quite good in revealing the emotions that can surround us when a desperate issue facing our fellow humans is brought into our sphere of awareness. The reporting on the cardboard village peopled by students in order to raise awareness was also purposeful in that for a brief time it made it just a little harder to ignore that there are people hidden from our sight who daily run the risk of not seeing tomorrow. People who are normally outside the normal community structures that provide physical and emotional support that enables us to have a lifestyle that is free from fear of hunger or fear of being subject to the elements or fear that some medical issue that would be a minor inconvenience to us may become a life threatening illness to them. We picture these people as living under bridges or in cardboard campgrounds and all that is true but there are many more who leave an impression of normality when medical, nutritional and emotional insecurity are a way of life. People who gain access to what we think of as basic requirements outside the normal systems that most people have to ensure that they do not fall through the cracks and disappear. The fact is that many more of our brothers and sisters than we realize are barely hanging on. Many more are a paycheck or two away from that fate and this is either ignored or, as is often the case, blamed on their own failures and lack of industriousness.

The report in the paper said that the cardboard village project hoped to raise $10,000 for Somerset Community Mission to help them with their wonderful calling to serve the least of us. It is a very admirable project just as is God's Food Pantry and the numerous other private agencies that have sprung up to meet the desperate need. These entities can never have enough resources to provide for their clients needs because their needs go beyond food, medicine and bedding. Their needs extend to once again including them in our society as useful and valuable members. Should it ever be acceptable for us to ignore our fellows for any of these reasons? I think not. I am not so delusional as to think that each and every person can be given a life free from want but I am also not so delusional so as to think that we are doing anything close to what we can to alleviate the needs.

We have a perception problem of what the causes are of poverty and homelessness and it results in mistaken solutions. While the immediate needs mentioned must be addressed there also must be solutions that reach over the longer term with the goal of eradicating poverty and homelessness. You say it can't be done? I say it can.

What I would like to see is for these efforts of our kids and Somerset Community Mission and all the others who try to fill the gap result in larger efforts to change the governmental policies that hold the real solutions over the long term. What I would like to see are people coming together to be educated on the root causes of these things and trying to create solutions that would result in long term and permanent change. Relief is wonderful and doing it is at the heart of every faith that we have but the ideal must be to eliminate the need. Scripture says “the poor are with us always” and that is likely true but being poor is a relative thing. In a society that is so rich, just as Tricia realizes, there is no need for so many to live outside of the protection of society's structures. This is where the real service can be used and our children can be taught how to be effective in running their own government. Maybe us old fogies could learn a thing or two ourselves. So, the real question is twofold. Do we want to do it and how can it be done? Let's face it. There are a lot of folks who just don't want to do it. Those unfortunate people we are talking about are out of sight, out of mind. We can give to the offering at church and donate to God's Food Pantry and we feel all better about ourselves. I still have not become so cynical that I don't believe that we can do better. We can because we must.

What needs to be done? Policy. This means that we need to be able to change government policy independent of political ideology. In political speak that is “reaching across the aisle.” There are any number of studies that indicate that if we invest in solutions to prevent catastrophes that we will save money in the long run dealing with emergencies. Some people are just afraid that we will give something to someone that hasn't been earned. Keep in mind, that is not the focus. The focus is long term savings and gaining productive citizens. One of the projects that is being tried, successfully I might add, is providing housing to homeless people before requiring that they have a job. Those who have tried this have found that emergency medical expenses have fallen dramatically just by doing this. In addition, those people gain enough security to be able to work and be productive even if they don't cover all of the costs of the housing. Society still realizes a savings because of the decrease in other categories.

Another part of policy that needs to be addressed is short-sightedness. We have been guilty of not giving projects enough time to become profitable. And, while we are at it we should redefine exactly what profitable is. It may not be a matter of dollars and cents. We need to be able to see ten or twenty years down the road.

I am happy to say that as far as medical care goes we have begun the journey with the Affordable Care Act. I am acutely aware this is a contentious subject and I will freely admit that there are kinks that need to be worked out but emergency rooms are seeing dramatic reductions in patients that cannot pay. What this should do, if those savings are passed on to consumers (which is by no means certain) is reduce hospital charges and lower insurance rates. That is simple capitalism.

I strongly urge kids, young people, to become engaged in the political process. I can assure you that you can make enough noise to be heard. Become educated, educate those around you. I would like to see adults throw off the cynicism and be optimistic again that we can have a more egalitarian society.

My Take is this. It can be done. Cynicism is the way of the past and has nothing to do with youth. The youth have taken up causes before and managed to change the way things are done. Go for it.