Skid Row Part 2: Kids
"The average age of a homeless person living in the US is 9-years-old. 3.5 million people. That 1.35 million children..."
Part 2 of Good Magazine's documentary on the homelessness epidemic in Los Angeles focuses on children (part one is here). Again, this is tough to watch, so be warned. That being said, even tougher to live, so take a few minutes to watch.
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Just wanted to say thanks for point this out to the TPM community. The fact that we simply neglect the indigent is a quiet tragedy that can all too easily continue in perpetuity without this kind of exposure.
It is tough to watch, but it's necessary.
February 26, 2008 4:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah when you see something about the poverty and its effect on the Americans that live it leaves me with a sense of disgust, shame and helplessness. How can we help? What the people in this film need is much more substantial than just education or just money. I believe what we need to alleviate these types of scenarios is to encourage activism within the community . I mean what if they brought a recycling facility down to the place where some call home, what if they got on the job training, what if we had community gardens which could be tended by them, what if we had a community music program that gave outlets to those that felt a deep sense of anger at their communities and parental neglect. The only way to we can truly change these situations is to listen to what they have to say and make the community feel comfortable moving forward for an active participatory solution.
February 26, 2008 6:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
JoshQuasimoto,
Money has been known to relieve a lot of poverty. :-)
Europeans were absolutely shocked at the conditions revealed in the U.S. by Katrina. We got a black eye around the world for the way we treat our most vulnerable citizens.
Lots of ways to fix things but first we might think on fixing ourselves. We are the main problem.
Heckuva job, America.
Best, Terry
February 27, 2008 6:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
In all the sadness of this video, there is the wonder and hope of a Franklin.
The Democrats need so much to rid themselves of the "middle class" meme so that kids like Franklin will have a real shot at a decent life.
Thanks, Andrew. Indeed the film is tough to watch but there is brightness too if you look real hard.
Best, Terry
February 27, 2008 5:25 AM | Reply | Permalink