THE INVISIBLE HOMELESS

I read that 16% of our school age children are homeless according to a survey from 2007.

Can this be true and not on the front page?

In my son’s fifth grade class of 25, is it possible 4 children do not have a home to go to, or a bed to sleep in every night?

Do his friends at the Boys and Girls Club join the swim team so they can shower 3 times per week? Is the club the only place they can do their homework? Is that ice cream bar their dinner?

I have been waking up in the middle of the night and wondering where all those children are sleeping. I walk down the hall and see my 10 year old with his loyal Australian Shepherd at the foot of his bed, and start to cry. Every child should have a safe place to sleep.

This is the true crisis in our country today. This is the story our 24 hour cable news channels should be telling.

Instead, we hear endlessly “breaking news” about Jon and Kate (who are they anyway?), David Letterman and Rush Limbaugh.

I think I know why.

Our homeless children do not shop. They do not vote. They do not have a voice. They are invisible.

Giving is easy, asking is hard.

I am so inspired by all of the  self-made entrepreneurs who now give back in a very big way, Somerville, Gates, Oprah, Bono, etc.    People with humble beginnings, who through drive, talent and intelligence have created their own wealth.  As impressed as I am by these people, I know the joy truly is in the giving, I’ve created an entire internet based nonprofit around this idea.  Philanthropy should not be exclusive to the rich, all of us with $10 or $20 pooled together can also change the world.  That’s the easy part, the joy of giving, universal in it’s appeal.

The much more difficult part of the equation is the asking, for money, shelter, food, clothing, clean water, and medicine.  I know this first hand.   It is awkward to say the least, as a self-made woman,  who worked as a cocktail waitress to pay for  law school, to have to ask for money.  And even though it is not for myself, but for the causes featured on our website, for our operating costs, our salaries, office space, etc., it is still very humbling.  I know it shouldn’t be, I know the world cannot be changed without all of us contributing what we have to those who do not have, but, I have trouble getting those words out “How can you help Worldflix.org, what can you contribute?”

So, as much as I admire all the self-made philanthropists, giving away their hard-earned money, I admire the recipients even more.  It is much more difficult to ask for help than to give, it takes a very strong person to say he needs money to pay the rent, food to feed his children, medicine for his wife or shelter for his family.   The hope for the recipient is to make it through one more day and to say to himself that this is only temporary.    When he gets back on his feet, he will give back to those in need, so the cycle and joy of giving can be repeated.    This is the mantra I say to myself every day, it is okay to ask others to help us change the world one video clip at a time.  One day we may be helping them.

Mandatory Charm School for our Nation of Narcissists

I spent one summer of Saturdays attending Charm School on the fifth floor of the May Company Department Store with the rest of the boys and girls from my neighborhood.   Our parents said it was mandatory, no discussion.  We learned table manners, how to address adults and our fellow students with respect, how to dress for different occasions, and how to treat others as we ourselves would want to be treated.

Later, as a rebellious teenager, while waiting until midnight to see the Rolling Stones at the Hollywood Bowl,  I would regale my friends with hilarious stories about my long lost summer at the May Company, how my penchant for giggling while trying to walk with books on my head prevented me from “graduating”.   At the time, I believed civil rights, poverty, and the war were so much more important than anything I may have learned in Charm School.

But now, in September, 2009,  as a wife and working mother, in this long summer of narcissism and incivility, I wonder if Charm School should be mandatory before someone can attend the Video Music Awards, play in a tennis tournament, become a member of Congress or attend a Town Hall Meeting.     I wonder about the example we are setting for the next generation when a Congressman can call the President of the United States a liar and then raise money based upon his rudeness.  I wonder about people shouting at their fellow citizens in Town Hall meetings making it impossible to have a reasonable discussion about health care,  a musician who upstages a fellow musician, and an athlete who believes she can speak to a referee in a demeaning manner.  I wonder what has happened to our civility, manners and etiquette.

Most of all, I wonder if Charm School should be mandatory, again.