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Murphy’s Law, written by Barbara Murphy, appears monthly in The Golden Times. The column represents the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the opinion of the publisher.
Country Has The Resources, Creativity
To Conquer Homelessness
Jesus said “the poor will always be with us,” but He also said that we should give until it hurts to help them. The poor were precious to Jesus.
In 21st Century America, on the other hand, the poor are regarded as human garbage to swept out of sight and destroyed by indifference.
The Great Recession has brought out the worst in all of us. We common folk have generally cut way back on our charitable donations. The presidential candidates argue about which one most strongly requires welfare recipients to get off the dole and go to work, and state and local governments faced with huge budget deficits often rush to solve that problem by first cutting help to the poor.
I was all set to write this month’s column on another subject when an August 24 headline on the first page of my morning Philadelphia Inquirer blew me away.
The headline read: “Disabled Homeless Lose Aid.” The article under the headline by staff writer Alfred Lubano stated that PA Gov. Tom Corbett’s administration “has cut funding for a Philadelphia program lauded as the ‘gold standard’ for helping disabled homeless people get federal benefits.”
The article explains that in May, Pennsylvania’s Department of Public Welfare (DPW) gave Philadelphia’s Homeless Advocacy Project one month’s notice that the DPW plans to eliminate $722,000 used to obtain Supplemental Security Income (SSI) money for homeless or near homeless people who have received federal benefits for more than five years.
DPW spokesman Carey Miller said that the cut was made because Pennsylvania is “reprioritizing funding for programs that emphasize work.” By taking money from the Homeless Advocacy Project, Mr. Miller said, “we will be able to focus better on job placement....”
“Well,” some would say, “these people got federal help for five years. They should get off the dole and go to work.” The trouble with that argument is that many of those getting the SSI benefits don’t have the mental capacity to work.
The sad fact is that too many people in this country simply do not or will not understand that mental illness is a crippling illness that can last for a lifetime and usually does.
Clinical depression, for example, is a debilitating illness that leaves the sufferer incapable of coping with the working world. But because depressed people often look strong and healthy, they are regarded as malingerers who should “just pull themselves together” and go to work. You cannot convince many people that depression is a dreadful disease and that its victims deserve our compassion and financial help — as do victims of other mental and physical illnesses.
The article explained that the money being cut from the Advocacy Project was used to administer a national program that streamlined and significantly speeds up the SSI application process, which can normally take as long as two years. It’s a daunting process and many of those eligible give up trying to get the help they need because the application process is so complex.
As an example of how the program worked, The Inquirer cited the case of a 31-year-old Northeast Philadelphia woman named Danielle. She has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and other mental illness, including post traumatic stress disorder. Not long ago, Danielle, who was then living on the streets, tried to kill herself. Through the Advocacy Project now being cut, Danielle received SSI benefits of $698 per month in addition to $205 a month in food stamps (another program now sadly under attack). With this financial aid, Danielle was able to rent a small apartment and get counseling.
She will lose all of this essential assistance if the Corbett administration sticks to its resolve to de-fund the Advocacy Project.
Sister Mary Scullion, Philadelphia’s Patron Saint of the Homeless, told The Inquirer that Pennsylvania is trading short-term gain for long-term loss by cutting funding for the Advocacy Project. She said that “more people will wind up in shelters, resorting to crime to get money for food...then winding up in prison, now the largest mental hospital in the United States.”
It distresses me to no end that Americans who insist they are a godly people have so little compassion for the homeless. A truly godly America would make sure that no one in our country has to live on the streets.
We should demand housing for the homeless be made available via a variety of sources including churches, caring individuals, charitable organizations, foundations and government. Yes, such an enterprise would cost money, but it also would create a lot of construction, repair and maintenance jobs. Housing need not be elaborate — for example, visit a local Ikea and note their displays of complete living quarters (kitchen, bedroom, living space and bath) in less than 250 square feet.
To me, homelessness is one of the most terrible things that can happen to a human being, but there is a cure. This country has the resources to make sure that every one of its citizens has a roof of his or her head — a place to call home.
*
Barbara Murphy, 79, writes about controversial issues each month.
To Conquer Homelessness
Jesus said “the poor will always be with us,” but He also said that we should give until it hurts to help them. The poor were precious to Jesus.
In 21st Century America, on the other hand, the poor are regarded as human garbage to swept out of sight and destroyed by indifference.
The Great Recession has brought out the worst in all of us. We common folk have generally cut way back on our charitable donations. The presidential candidates argue about which one most strongly requires welfare recipients to get off the dole and go to work, and state and local governments faced with huge budget deficits often rush to solve that problem by first cutting help to the poor.
I was all set to write this month’s column on another subject when an August 24 headline on the first page of my morning Philadelphia Inquirer blew me away.
The headline read: “Disabled Homeless Lose Aid.” The article under the headline by staff writer Alfred Lubano stated that PA Gov. Tom Corbett’s administration “has cut funding for a Philadelphia program lauded as the ‘gold standard’ for helping disabled homeless people get federal benefits.”
The article explains that in May, Pennsylvania’s Department of Public Welfare (DPW) gave Philadelphia’s Homeless Advocacy Project one month’s notice that the DPW plans to eliminate $722,000 used to obtain Supplemental Security Income (SSI) money for homeless or near homeless people who have received federal benefits for more than five years.
DPW spokesman Carey Miller said that the cut was made because Pennsylvania is “reprioritizing funding for programs that emphasize work.” By taking money from the Homeless Advocacy Project, Mr. Miller said, “we will be able to focus better on job placement....”
“Well,” some would say, “these people got federal help for five years. They should get off the dole and go to work.” The trouble with that argument is that many of those getting the SSI benefits don’t have the mental capacity to work.
The sad fact is that too many people in this country simply do not or will not understand that mental illness is a crippling illness that can last for a lifetime and usually does.
Clinical depression, for example, is a debilitating illness that leaves the sufferer incapable of coping with the working world. But because depressed people often look strong and healthy, they are regarded as malingerers who should “just pull themselves together” and go to work. You cannot convince many people that depression is a dreadful disease and that its victims deserve our compassion and financial help — as do victims of other mental and physical illnesses.
The article explained that the money being cut from the Advocacy Project was used to administer a national program that streamlined and significantly speeds up the SSI application process, which can normally take as long as two years. It’s a daunting process and many of those eligible give up trying to get the help they need because the application process is so complex.
As an example of how the program worked, The Inquirer cited the case of a 31-year-old Northeast Philadelphia woman named Danielle. She has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and other mental illness, including post traumatic stress disorder. Not long ago, Danielle, who was then living on the streets, tried to kill herself. Through the Advocacy Project now being cut, Danielle received SSI benefits of $698 per month in addition to $205 a month in food stamps (another program now sadly under attack). With this financial aid, Danielle was able to rent a small apartment and get counseling.
She will lose all of this essential assistance if the Corbett administration sticks to its resolve to de-fund the Advocacy Project.
Sister Mary Scullion, Philadelphia’s Patron Saint of the Homeless, told The Inquirer that Pennsylvania is trading short-term gain for long-term loss by cutting funding for the Advocacy Project. She said that “more people will wind up in shelters, resorting to crime to get money for food...then winding up in prison, now the largest mental hospital in the United States.”
It distresses me to no end that Americans who insist they are a godly people have so little compassion for the homeless. A truly godly America would make sure that no one in our country has to live on the streets.
We should demand housing for the homeless be made available via a variety of sources including churches, caring individuals, charitable organizations, foundations and government. Yes, such an enterprise would cost money, but it also would create a lot of construction, repair and maintenance jobs. Housing need not be elaborate — for example, visit a local Ikea and note their displays of complete living quarters (kitchen, bedroom, living space and bath) in less than 250 square feet.
To me, homelessness is one of the most terrible things that can happen to a human being, but there is a cure. This country has the resources to make sure that every one of its citizens has a roof of his or her head — a place to call home.
*
Barbara Murphy, 79, writes about controversial issues each month.