Every day that I venture out of my comfort zone, I see men and women carrying “HELP ME… JOBLESS... RAISING KIDS” plea for financial support. They stand on busy intersection corners, hoping that their message would elicit the needed monetary assistance necessary for survival.
There is no doubt about it… poverty and homelessness continue to grow at a fast and alarming rate in America
A recent “60 Minutes” feature on this subject reported that 25% of the country (one in every four Americans) are homeless. Families are living in their vans because they lost homeownership brought about by the domino effect of the loss of gainful employment. Family members are using public facilities for their basic hygiene needs. School kids are staying overtime in libraries to do their homework.
Every night as my bus turns around a very busy interstate intersection, there is always a man or woman holding up a cardboard with the depressing SOS message. Judging from their clean and decent demeanor, those folks look like recent layoff casualties of Corporate America.
There is a vacant retail space in my neighborhood that a homeless man has designated as his sleeping quarters (so I thought in the beginning). Recently I found out that he has actually made the area his rent-free home because I have seen clothes lying on bushes nearby. It is heartbreaking specially since I never expected such visible hardship to happen in my neck of the woods where homeowners still manage to afford their mortgage payments. I can’t help but think of the unfairness of the situation. While the blessed others are living in their comfort zones, protected from the elements, many more are living outdoors in abject poverty, not certain where their next meal will come from.
Although we have to get used to panhandlers who try to solicit public sympathy, there is one thing we can contribute to their miserable plight: our prayers. My hope is that everyone could find it in their heart to say a prayer for the unfortunate members of society, to ask for divine intervention so that their poor lives may be uplifted. There is a limit to the financial assistance that can be extended their way as everyone has their own hole to fill. However, unlimited prayers have the power to fix what appears to be an unsolvable problem. Faith can move mountains. If only everyone believes in what the habit of praying can achieve, ours can be a better world.
