i live in a mission with my mama because my daddy went to jail. we've been here for six months. mama said we're waiting for a home to go to. it's taking so long though. this place isn't really so bad i guess. but it's crowded and it's really not much fun. i want a house again with my own room i don't like getting up so early and i don't like being around so many people all the time. when i go to school the other girls laugh at me sometimes. i'm not sure who my mama said we were waiting on, but i hope they hurry.
i lost my job a few months ago. i haven't been able to find work since then. i'd even flip burgers at mcdonalds if i could. there's no shelter here for single women so i have to sleep wherever i can. sometimes i sleep with a friend on the floor. sometimes i sleep in the back of a u-haul truck. the other nite i slept on a bus stop bench, i was tired and too exhausted to walk anymore. yeah...i was alittle scared. i talked with a social worker today, there's a new program being put into place to fast track me into an apartment. fast track.....it's going to take six months. i wish they'd do something. i'm trying but i can't do it by myself.
these are just three examples of homeless people. yeah, they told me this over the course of a day or two. there are many programs being implemented and many programs being discussed to try and end homelessness. it's time to stop discussing programs and implement the fastest most effective, most cost effiicient program and be done with it. while we're discussing programs and deciding if it's cost effective or if it can be implemented and reach the homeless....the homeless are suffering through conditions usually seen in third world countries. they're cold. they're hungry. they're dying...every day.
it doesn't matter if they're entitled to it or not. it doesn't matter who pays for it. it doesn't matter if you think it's worth it or not. the united states government has the money and the means to end homelessness. churches and social agencies and advocacies need to bond together and come up with a common plan under a common umbrella and end this blight on this country. anyone with a conscience or an ounce of compassion would not oppose any program that takes men, women, and children off the streets and puts them into a safe environment and roof over their head.
it's time to stop talking. it's time to be more than aware. it's time to just do it. i know i don't care what you call it....just end homelessness....now.
see you around town