Why We Hate The Poor, Part III

By TIM KILLEEN

On Monday and Tuesday, respectively, I wrote Part I and Part II of this piece. This third installment, I suppose should really be titled "Why We Don't Hate The Poor," but for continuity's sake, I'll stick with the above caption. Loyal readers (who are much appreciated) have read my former pieces on social entrepreneurship and its growing role in creating innovative approaches to age-old problems. (For those who haven't, read here, here and here). These organizations, and the written pieces I've found them through have actually caused me to continue my optimism despite parts 1 & 2 of this piece.

It's always sobering to read that 50 million homeless or near-homeless people live in your country. It isn't like I didn't know they existed- I see them every day all around the city- but to consider that 50 million is roughly the size of Chicago, Los Angeles and Manhattan times three really puts things into perspective.

However, not all is lost. The internet alone has created great new opportunities for philanthropists and volunteers to get involved in issues they care about and make an immediate impact. Sites like The Hunger Site and Free Rice have sprung up to allow quick and easy solutions for people looking to make a difference. In addition to these sites, locally based organizations have also become more and more prevalent, using new and innovative approaches to tackle problems like homeless and hunger. This, of course, is on top of the tried-and-true methods that really have helped thousands of hungry and homeless people throughout the years like food banks, soup kitchens, homeless shelters and religious charities.

Even corporations and corporate players have gotten into the mix. Whether a corporation donates money, time and resources to a charitable endeavor for PR purposes, in response to consumers' growing demands for corporate social responsibility or just to be good corporate citizens is beside the point. More and more, we see major corporate institutions sponsoring philanthropic outreach and if they get good press for it, they've earned it. On top of corporate actions is the work being done by billionaires like Warren Buffett and Bill Gates. While tycoons have often been generous in the past (Carnegie, Rockefeller), the current group is not only giving millions away, but also devoting so much of their time to the effort.

Yes, homelessness is a problem. It's a major problem. It won't be solved nearly fast enough for the millions living through it today and tomorrow. However, our society arcs toward progress and, as has been proven in technological and social achievements in the past, we eventually solve whatever issues to which we devote our efforts. But it's not going to happen easily and it won't happen without hard work. A gentle prod toward your state, city or federal governmental representative probably wouldn't hurt either.

Why We Hate The Poor, Part I

By TIM KILLEEN

A lot of things go into determining what I write about on any given day. Often times, as may be obvious, I find something interesting written by a journalist or a blogger and try to comment and expand upon it. At other times, I may have a conversation or come across an idea in my everyday interactions that spark an interest. Sometimes, it's a combination of things.

This weekend, I was out with a friend who recently graduated with a Masters Degree in Social Work and our conversation turned to the provision of social services in our country, especially when states are feeling the harsh effects of the recession and are in financial ruin (especially our own State of Illinois). I noted that social services, in general, have always seemed to me to be a direct counter to the argument that the free market is best equipped to deal with any situation. I don't see a lot of venture capitalists jumping at the chance to offer HIV/AIDS treatment to the urban poor or to quell rising unemployment rates in Appalachia.

The next day, while sitting down to write my first post of the week, I came across this piece by Saul Friedman discussing the War on Poverty and its silent, but sure, demise. While looking at the history of poverty-killing measures throughout the last 50 odd years, I was reminded of my conversation with my friend and thought it worth discussing.

For the past year or so, I've sat on the Board of a street magazine in Chicago that helps homeless and near homeless individuals get their lives back together through direct sales. The vendors, many of whom have proven themselves to be hardworking and dedicated people with rocky pasts, buy the magazine from the organization and sell it at a profit. In addition to offering this "hand-up" approach to fighting homelessness, the organization has also recently embarked on an expansion, of sorts, through partnerships with other projects to offer job-skills training, housing assistance and other necessities to vendors who want to better their situation.

Through my work with this organization, I've learned a lot more about urban poverty issues, the struggles that the poor deal with and the stereotypes others have about them. Quite simply, I've learned that, as a whole, we kind of hate the poor. Mr. Friedman's delve into the history of the War on Poverty, as well as numerous other indicators, which I'll discuss more in Part II of this series, have brought me to this conclusion. However, there is also hope in this situation and ways to reinvigorate our War on Poverty (both through governmental and local organizational approaches) which I'll discuss in Part III. For now, please feel free to leave your thoughts and comments on the current state of poverty in America and where we can go from here.