Last night I watched a rerun of Deep Space Nine in Which Captain Sisco and Dr. Bashir (never read name in Braille) and Lieutenant Dax were shifted into a time not too far in the future. The Captain and Dr. were held in a public "Sanctuary" in San Fransisco. It was a 20 square block area into which ten thousand people were held. Some were people with mental illnesses and no treatment, due to budget cuts. Others were simply unemployed. No one there had an official criminal record, but there were people who preyed on others.
A couple of friends were driving down a street several weeks ago and saw an elderly man holding up a sign. All it said was, "Hungry." As they were both working in jobs paying just over minimum wage they had a little money. They went to a nearby fast food joint and bought this man a meal. They asked him briefly what had happened in his life. He used to own a home, he had worked all of his life, but all of those things were gone now.
Tomorrow, one of the largest rallies of people trying to keep deep cuts from being made in the Medicaid Program will take place in Washinton, D.C. It will include many people with disabilities.
One of every returning veterans from Iraq or Afghanistan is already homeless.
Many "working poor" people can't even Qualify for Medicaid. And many have lost their homes due to unemployment and foreclosures.
Some families are divided. A husband and father must go to the shelter for men while his wife and children go to a differing shelter for women and children only.
Many people have forgotten survival skills like mending clothes, gardening, bartering, raising animals, and what will they do if the prices of food keep climbing?
All of these people Could very easily end up in a "Sanctuary." On the DS9 episode, when the inevitable riot began an th police began shooting, I couldn't stop my eyes from filling. That could be me, it already Is so many places today where there is war. It could be my healthcare aide who works to support her disabled husband and three kids. If Ann were alive, it could be her, and our veterans and the elderly man with a sign which simply said "HUNGRY!"
Once again today there was an older man standing at the corner or Battlefield and Campbell holding a sign that said "Hungry." I was on the way to wal mart with a friend and in the wrong lane and couldn't stop. An hour after being in Wally Mart we passed the intersection and didn't see him. My friend and I decided we'd get Wendy's for the night and headed up that way. We saw the man standing at the corner or Sunshine and Campbell now. I bought him a cheeseburger and was able to give him $5, not much but it was what I had on me. I told him he shouldn't have to be hungry. He told me he knew it, but he had no other option. He spent many years doing hard labor. He even worked for years in a mine. He was a mechanic and a construction labor. He had bad back problems, a knee that was constantly giving out, and he was in a lot of pain. He has been trying for disability, but it's been a 3 year fight already and he was too young for social security. Any money that he got he immediately put towards a place to live forgoing food and other necessities.
ReplyDeleteI feel that our country has failed it's citizens when they have to live like this.